Feb 11, 2015
Pneumonia, yet again
Dad has been in an acute area in Emergency at the Grey Nun’s for twenty four hours. It now seems that he has pneumonia, for the fourth time in six months. He is very very confused and is in isolation but we have no idea why. They only said that they were waiting for test results. He is also awaiting a bed as he is likely to be there at least a week. No idea how long that will take, possibly a few days. At least he is not in the hallway in ER as a few others are. I have not yet confirmed it but I recall that I was told last fall that a resident is allowed to leave the long term care facility for a maximun of 10 nights, including being transferred to a hospital. After that he looses his bed and has to go the the bottom of the waitlist. We’ll deal with that in ten days. Cripes I can’t see my sibs packing up his room and starting all over again. This time they had moved in some furniture. It would be a huge job.
Sadly Dad is totally out of it. I haven’t spoken to him yet. He was given phenobarbital for pain last night and is still suffering the side effects. He is on IV antibiotics and is not eating and is dehydrated. Each time I call they are extremely concerned with Dad’s blood pressure. When he crashed in the ambulance it was around 56/30!! Today it is around 69/46 which for him is very good. They keep trying to treat him for low blood pressure. I have told several medical people his history but it does not get passed on. I mean the guy’s heart is pumping around 25 -35% of normal so what do you expect? Sadly it seems that the system is failing. No one at the nursing home seemed to know the signs of pneumonia nor had an idea of what to do in an emergency. They are sadly lacking in certain skills but excel at patient privacy. Dad’s brother in law came to visit today at the nursing home. He respected my sister’s sign to not disturb Dad from 1 – 3 PM as it is his nap time. At 3PM he went into the room, found it empty as well as the bathroom and went to the front desk. They told him that he had to call me here in Mexico for information. When he refused they then they told him to call my sister which he could not do as he didn’t have her number either. Finally after 20 minutes they told him that Dad was in hospital. I only wish they would put as much effort into patient care. Should I tell you the story of the staff member who was observed ( just 3 days before Dad got ill ) sneezing several times into her bare hands and then proceeded to continue setting cutlery on the diner table? Perhaps not.
He is not stable but I have reason to believe that he will be within a few days. I thank you all for your support. It really does make a difference. Didn’t get much done on the condo clear out today. However I not only got my beach walk in today but also got 90 minutes with a book. I missed out on the 30C temps yesterday but did get outside in the 29C/84.2F balmy day. The forecast is 28-30C for the next ten days.
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I am going to leave you with a bit of humor I found on my online news this morning.
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aww..prayers for your dad and the whole family. Hopefully he will start improving with the medications.
Thanks for commenting Mary, I really appreciate it. We all hope that the IV antibiotics will kick is ASAP. With his weak heart he is susceptible to a variety of problems yet he just keeps on going. I appreciate your prayers and support
I am so grateful that the nursing home my Mom was in was in a small town where she had always lived and they took such good care of her. I’m also blessed with a brother and sister who were more than willing to do more than their share. Prayers for your Dad.
Sandie….how wonderful that your Mom had that at the end and such a wonderful family to love her. Thanks for your prayers.
Ruth….thank you for your thoughts. I knew things could and would go awry while I was here but not quite this way.
So sorry to hear about another set back with your Dad. I sure hope things improve for him quickly. I know how hard it must be having to deal with this when you are so far away. Take care!
Ruth
I found my mumsie collasped on xmas day, almost five years ago, that was the start of seven weeks from hell for her and us. The indignities she suffered were awful. The medical staff as well as Peter and myself never seemed to be on the same page. I do remember one kindness from an ER doc that told us to go home about 7:00 pm and try to salvage what was left of xmas and let them do their job. The kids meanwhile had cooked the dinner so we had an evening. The next day was to become our new everyday filled with uncertainty. So Contessa remember all the good moments throughout his life, the hospital is a stage that sadly happens, there is so much love you have for your dad and he knows it. So keep on doing what your doing and take some moments for yourself, Colin and the pups. What will be is already written in the stars.
Shelagh
Thank you Shelagh for sharing this with me. It brought tears to my eyes. I forget the suffering that comes with the end and I have to remember that I can’t control everything much as I would like to.
George all I can say is that I hope that things improve also. Thanks.
Yes Kelly it is a strain, more than I could have imagined. I am tired of seeing Dad suffer but as Shelagh said “what will be is already written in the stars”.
Good luck and hope things do get better all the way around.
What strain for you Contessa. Hoping your Dad is able to ward off yet another set back.
I hope your Dad rallies soon and begins to feel better. He may be in isolation because he is so fragile right now. This is so hard on your whole family as well as your Dad. If he is able to recover quickly, maybe this would be the time to move him to the other facility.
Hola Longdog/Colleen, sadly I had to make a decision last week when that facility was offered, whether we would take it or not. The sibs who are there and would do the work said no. So we have to deal with Dad in the hospital and then going back to the original ‘old’ nursing home. Thanks for your comment.
Oh bless your sweet heart and your dad’s too. I know from experience how hard this is on everyone. I hold you, your dad, Colin, and family in my prayers and hope everyone is blessed with healing grace soon. This kind of stress is so difficult, yet the only way to get around it is to go through it. Praying it will resolve soon. Take the best of care of yourself.
Thank you for your comment Barbara. Prayers did resolve it soon.