I made it late to my appointment at my old Tallahassee doctor's practice. Licensed practical nurse Deborah looked at my foot and told me several new things: I could have plantar fasciaitis, which Stephanie has in her feet: I should definitely quit wearing my new sneakers which may be contributing to the pain; and if I do have Wharton's neuroma, surgery may be needed, and that's something I want to try to avoid. We also chit-chatting about each other's respective families.
Back at the hospital Mom did not have a very good morning/early afternoon. She was just really tired. They started doing a more elaborate blood pressure test, taking it while she lay down, after she sat up, and after she stood up for five minutes. One of her blood pressures has been as low as the low 50s. They also took a blood sample to analyze (her blood counts continue to rise, which is good). She was just kind of listless, and when she starts snoring in the middle of things she reminds of my Grandma (particularly my Grandma in the nursing home, which is kind of creepy). For the first time seriously, I considered the possibility that the surgery might just have taken too much out of her.
Mom did OK walking all the way out of the hospital room slightly into the hall (something she'd worked on with Meaghan, the wekeend physical therapist), but weekday PT Carol complained when Mom's knee only bent 65% (it started out after the surgery at 45% and the goal was that Mom be at 90% before leaving the hospital - which was supposed to be Sunday - but ultimately 120%).
Mom was originally supposed to leave the hospital by Sunday, but confusion about where she would go and how she would pay for it slowed this. By this afternoon (Monday), her generally weak condition was also slowing it. At this point we believe she will leaving Tuesday afternoon - cutting it close with my departure Wednesday afternoon - but even this is iffy and it's remotely possible that I will have to change my flight. I also talked with Penny about the remote chance of her coming up earlier, since I continue not to love the thought of Mom spending almost an entire 1-2 weeks in a rehab clinic with none of us around. I believe it's been useful to have me around so that I can run interference with the hospital staff, do little things for her, and help motivate and monitor her care. In less than 24 hours I won't have very much time to develop a rapport with the clinic staff - all the more so because if the clinic - whichever clinic - is like the hospital - not only will they have 2-3 different shifts of staff per day but also 2-3 different whole sets of staffs per week.
The hospital staff also belatedly (but for the second time) took Mom's catheter out today, which means that every 1-2 hours she needs help usually from two different people to get up out of bed and onto the bedside commode. I'm sure she fears tonight when I'm not here and the staff can't always respond quickly to calls on the call button - especially since she's used to going to the bathroom several times a night at home.
Action continued on the rehab front. Health South is definitely out insurance-wise, and TMH as far as we know is still full. Dr. Fahey recommended against the other clinic I'd looked at, and I dropped by a new clinic he suggested. But, it turns out that Mom's not in a great position becuase she's still working and the state employees' Blue Cross coverage is inferior to Medicare. If Mom had retired, Medicare might covered both Health South and Centre Point, but, with Medicare secondary, it's not clear how much it will pick up. Blue Cross might cover Centre Point, but - since they're not in Blue Cross's network (because of Blue Cross's compensation rates) - Mom might have to make several thousands dollars in de facto copayments. Insurance coverage and Dr. Fahey's opinion of two other nursing home/rehab clinics - with more working-class clienteles (I also visited them) - is unclear.
Late Monday one of our pastors, Emory, came by and recommended a seventh clinic, Miracle Hill, a new center that a black church in town started - in Frenchtown, and I may visit that one Tuesday morning. So far I've visited six facilities (mainly after hours - two I visited today I got to talk with the actual admissions people - the marketing people).
Throughout Sunday my foot didn't bother me, but today I have suffered two less severe attacks.
Back at the hospital Mom did not have a very good morning/early afternoon. She was just really tired. They started doing a more elaborate blood pressure test, taking it while she lay down, after she sat up, and after she stood up for five minutes. One of her blood pressures has been as low as the low 50s. They also took a blood sample to analyze (her blood counts continue to rise, which is good). She was just kind of listless, and when she starts snoring in the middle of things she reminds of my Grandma (particularly my Grandma in the nursing home, which is kind of creepy). For the first time seriously, I considered the possibility that the surgery might just have taken too much out of her.
Mom did OK walking all the way out of the hospital room slightly into the hall (something she'd worked on with Meaghan, the wekeend physical therapist), but weekday PT Carol complained when Mom's knee only bent 65% (it started out after the surgery at 45% and the goal was that Mom be at 90% before leaving the hospital - which was supposed to be Sunday - but ultimately 120%).
Mom was originally supposed to leave the hospital by Sunday, but confusion about where she would go and how she would pay for it slowed this. By this afternoon (Monday), her generally weak condition was also slowing it. At this point we believe she will leaving Tuesday afternoon - cutting it close with my departure Wednesday afternoon - but even this is iffy and it's remotely possible that I will have to change my flight. I also talked with Penny about the remote chance of her coming up earlier, since I continue not to love the thought of Mom spending almost an entire 1-2 weeks in a rehab clinic with none of us around. I believe it's been useful to have me around so that I can run interference with the hospital staff, do little things for her, and help motivate and monitor her care. In less than 24 hours I won't have very much time to develop a rapport with the clinic staff - all the more so because if the clinic - whichever clinic - is like the hospital - not only will they have 2-3 different shifts of staff per day but also 2-3 different whole sets of staffs per week.
The hospital staff also belatedly (but for the second time) took Mom's catheter out today, which means that every 1-2 hours she needs help usually from two different people to get up out of bed and onto the bedside commode. I'm sure she fears tonight when I'm not here and the staff can't always respond quickly to calls on the call button - especially since she's used to going to the bathroom several times a night at home.
Action continued on the rehab front. Health South is definitely out insurance-wise, and TMH as far as we know is still full. Dr. Fahey recommended against the other clinic I'd looked at, and I dropped by a new clinic he suggested. But, it turns out that Mom's not in a great position becuase she's still working and the state employees' Blue Cross coverage is inferior to Medicare. If Mom had retired, Medicare might covered both Health South and Centre Point, but, with Medicare secondary, it's not clear how much it will pick up. Blue Cross might cover Centre Point, but - since they're not in Blue Cross's network (because of Blue Cross's compensation rates) - Mom might have to make several thousands dollars in de facto copayments. Insurance coverage and Dr. Fahey's opinion of two other nursing home/rehab clinics - with more working-class clienteles (I also visited them) - is unclear.
Late Monday one of our pastors, Emory, came by and recommended a seventh clinic, Miracle Hill, a new center that a black church in town started - in Frenchtown, and I may visit that one Tuesday morning. So far I've visited six facilities (mainly after hours - two I visited today I got to talk with the actual admissions people - the marketing people).
Throughout Sunday my foot didn't bother me, but today I have suffered two less severe attacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment