Last night was business as usual for Anne and John, her PM nurse. He came in every couple of hours and moved the pillows, rolling her onto her other cheek, checking her pain levels and switching or adjusting various IVs. She's not laying fully on her side, just leaning more to one side or the other. Her stomach is extremely sore from the surgery and any movement, including putting the bed flat, causes a great deal of pain.
But the pain is fairly well managed and she generally reports 2-3 (out of ten) when asked. Unless, of course, they're moving her around or messing with her stomach. Then it goes to 11 pretty quickly.
Today was a busy day for everyone, both staff and us. The morning started as usual with a chest X-ray at 6:00 followed by various blood tests, shift change and a visit from Dr. Lim. After checking on Anne he recommended that she be moved to a regular room. (Yeah!)
So the call went out and more staff arrived to prepare her for movement to oncology. Once the guy with the gurney arrived everyone lifted Anne gently out of her bed and onto her new vehicle. After disconnecting any tubes they could and hooking up to portable oxygen, away we went. With the IV tree in one hand and guiding Anne with the other, this gentleman led me through the maze of the hospital to her new room.
Once we got her positioned into her new bed, I went to lunch so that the staff could get her settled in without me in the way. While Lady and I ate, Tara texted and wanted to know when I'd be heading back. I told her ten minutes and wrapped things up, leaving a sad puppy to "hold down the fort."
Shortly after we arrived, Justus called and said he was out front. I gave him direction and put my shoes on to go meet him. By the time I reached the nurse's station, he was arriving there. (Them long legs give him quite an advantage!)
Anne was very happy to see him and I took Tara to get some coffee while they talked. We sat by a large bay window and talked about how precious life was. We joked about childhood things and how proud I am of her and the way she not only mastered her demons, but beat them soundly into the ground. She's become so spiritual and empathetic that it drives her focus on healing and has made one of the best nurses in town.
Just before heading back, I stopped at the frozen yogurt shop and picked up a bowl of vanilla with fresh blueberries for Justus. When he saw that his eyes lit up! I had one yesterday and it's really delicious. Not only that, but it's low fat and no added sugar!
A few minutes later a nurse came in and needed to perform some procedures, so Justus said his good byes and took off. Tara and I helped roll Anne around and change the linens. Then they gave her a sponge bath and dressed her in a fresh gown.
After the procedure Josh called and I put him on speaker phone. Anne struggled out a few comments, but mostly listened, smiled and nodded. It was getting late and he had to work tonight, but before he went Tara came up with a good idea.
She suggested that the "long arm of the law" should reach out in the night and touch someone. That person would be Anne's RN, who was still waiting for the "boots" to prevent her from getting sores on her ankles while being laid up for so long. Josh said he'd really like to help with that and would also check on her pain level and whether she'd been moved. You should have seen that nurse's face when Tara told her that L.A.P.D. would be calling look in on Anne!
With that I kissed my precious love "Good night" and headed home. Lady was overly exuberant to see me and we ate dinner in silence, missing our loved one. Now that I'm caught up, I need to run the Red Bug for her before we hit the sack.
Good night and God bless you all,
Don and Anne
But the pain is fairly well managed and she generally reports 2-3 (out of ten) when asked. Unless, of course, they're moving her around or messing with her stomach. Then it goes to 11 pretty quickly.
Today was a busy day for everyone, both staff and us. The morning started as usual with a chest X-ray at 6:00 followed by various blood tests, shift change and a visit from Dr. Lim. After checking on Anne he recommended that she be moved to a regular room. (Yeah!)
So the call went out and more staff arrived to prepare her for movement to oncology. Once the guy with the gurney arrived everyone lifted Anne gently out of her bed and onto her new vehicle. After disconnecting any tubes they could and hooking up to portable oxygen, away we went. With the IV tree in one hand and guiding Anne with the other, this gentleman led me through the maze of the hospital to her new room.
Once we got her positioned into her new bed, I went to lunch so that the staff could get her settled in without me in the way. While Lady and I ate, Tara texted and wanted to know when I'd be heading back. I told her ten minutes and wrapped things up, leaving a sad puppy to "hold down the fort."
Shortly after we arrived, Justus called and said he was out front. I gave him direction and put my shoes on to go meet him. By the time I reached the nurse's station, he was arriving there. (Them long legs give him quite an advantage!)
Anne was very happy to see him and I took Tara to get some coffee while they talked. We sat by a large bay window and talked about how precious life was. We joked about childhood things and how proud I am of her and the way she not only mastered her demons, but beat them soundly into the ground. She's become so spiritual and empathetic that it drives her focus on healing and has made one of the best nurses in town.
Just before heading back, I stopped at the frozen yogurt shop and picked up a bowl of vanilla with fresh blueberries for Justus. When he saw that his eyes lit up! I had one yesterday and it's really delicious. Not only that, but it's low fat and no added sugar!
A few minutes later a nurse came in and needed to perform some procedures, so Justus said his good byes and took off. Tara and I helped roll Anne around and change the linens. Then they gave her a sponge bath and dressed her in a fresh gown.
After the procedure Josh called and I put him on speaker phone. Anne struggled out a few comments, but mostly listened, smiled and nodded. It was getting late and he had to work tonight, but before he went Tara came up with a good idea.
She suggested that the "long arm of the law" should reach out in the night and touch someone. That person would be Anne's RN, who was still waiting for the "boots" to prevent her from getting sores on her ankles while being laid up for so long. Josh said he'd really like to help with that and would also check on her pain level and whether she'd been moved. You should have seen that nurse's face when Tara told her that L.A.P.D. would be calling look in on Anne!
With that I kissed my precious love "Good night" and headed home. Lady was overly exuberant to see me and we ate dinner in silence, missing our loved one. Now that I'm caught up, I need to run the Red Bug for her before we hit the sack.
Good night and God bless you all,
Don and Anne
---
Love is the music of life;
Compassion is its melody.
- Don Peer ( o)==#
Love is the music of life;
Compassion is its melody.
- Don Peer ( o)==#
Posted via email from Don Peer
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