Good luck, Barbara!

I talked with Mom again this afternoon. She got to 103 degrees in physical therapy this afternoon! But she came back to find that her roommate of a week, Barbara (see “Pictures from rehab”), had disappeared. Both Mom and Barbara suffered intestinal symptoms last night, and apparently the clinic wanted the two of them to each have their own bathrooms. Plus – in case infections had caused the problems – they wanted to separate them. In addition, both Mom and Barbara were to have their staples taken out yesterday. You’ll recall from the “Pictures from rehab” also that Mom had about 20 staples. Yesterday rehab staff removed all of them with a staple remover and no anesthetic (?!). But Barbara – who’s been in there for hip replacement – didn’t get hers out. She’s been experiencing some discomfort, and in fact this afternoon – when Mom was first trying to find out where she was – she was briefly back at the hospital for a sonogram (looking for a blood clot).

Mom had been used to a room to herself in the hospital, and many rehab clinic patients seemed to have rooms to herself. Plus Mom was using the bedside commode frequently at night and there was a minimum of privacy in these double rooms, with a paper thin curtain between the two sides of the room (if that). And it turns out the double rooms just weren’t that big – with not enough room for staff or Mom’s clothes or other stuff.

As you can imagine, Mom – who is used to living in a 4-bedroom house – usually by herself – wasn’t immediately thrilled about having a roommate. But Barbara was very nice – and initially was doing much better than Mom – and you might recall that I’d met Barbara’s daughter in the waiting room while both of our mothers were in surgery – Barbara, also with Dr. Fahey, immediately after Mom. Barbara’s family members visited her frequently at night. As I hoped when I left – when Mom was suddenly going from a family member around 10-14 hours a day to just 2-3 phone calls a day from Penny and me – and – as I surmised from Mom’s stray comments – Mom and Barbara became friends during their week together. For the first time since her surgery 13 days ago, Mom – who said she missed having Barbara around – she said she could hear Barbara in her room two doors down with her family members while we spoke – she said : At some point, you just want to go home. A week ago, when I left, Mom – even though she wished for more sleep and sometimes different food – couldn’t have imagined going home anytime. I take it that it’s a sign that she’s feeling better and doing better (plus feeling trapped/lonely) that she’s now looking forward to going home. Mom concedes she’s got a lot to do over the next week, and we want to wish her the best for that (she got a very nice card from my colleagues today). But we’re concerned about Barbara, and hope the staff figure out what’s wrong with her (and that both her and Mom’s intestinal symptoms dissipate).

(This evening Mom said she's stopped by to say hi to Barbara a couple of times - apparently using her walker - which is probably good exercise for Mom (and offers us a pleasant picture). Mom has also gotten up to 104 degrees (bending her knee).)