Dad Out of Hospital, Into Rehab

Above is Dad on Monday having lunch....

 

Here is dad today (Friday) eating lunch...what a change!  

So, what was his problem?  After I posted what I posted last Friday, I learned that he had Sepsis R/T UTI. In layman's terms, Sepsis is a serious problem where an infection has gone seriously out of whack. The "R/T" means "related to", and I think we all know what a UTI is.  By Sunday the nurse told me that he was no longer considered Septic, that they hit the infection with the proper antibiotic, and his kidney levels were back near normal.  By Tuesday the doctor said that the UTI was totally under control and that Friday would be the last of the antibiotic (all given through intravenously).  However, dad was still suffering from lack of strength, and he was showing signs of delirium.  Delirium is when one has confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment.  For instance, on Wednesday dad tosses off his covers and announces, "I need to get up."  I wondered if he meant that he needed to use the toilet, but he said "No, I just need to get out of bed."  Then he asks, "Where am I?"  I told him the hospital, and since he was so lucid at that moment, I told him all that I could think of about his condition.  He goes, "Oh, ya...I remember now."  The nurse comes in shortly after and I tell her, and dad looks at her and says, "It is like I awoke from a amnesia dream..."

Now in the above picture, we "WISH" he was always that happy and full of energy as the picture portrays.  But he still falls asleep fairly quickly, and he talks in his sleep way more than normal.  He still has his moments of confusion.  It hurts his back every time he has to get up, roll over on his side, even just moving the head of the bed up or down.  The last two days his appetite has returned (as much as a 91 year old has an appetite), and today the doctor decided it was time to send him off to skilled nursing for rehab therapy.  

At 5 pm, he was moved back to the same rehab facility that he was in back at the end of May and through mid-June.  The above picture was taken around 6:30.  The move tired him out, and in rehab you don't have a room to yourself, but the guy he shares his room with seems to be very alert and quiet.  We hope that he will regain his strength so that he can return to the Assisted Living facility where they live...time will tell. 

Back in the Hospital Again...

Yep, third time in 5 months dad has found himself in the hospital.  Yesterday another UTI hit hard.  Got him to the very crowded ER, and as soon as he could get to a bed (3-4 hours after we arrived), they had him on a antibiotic via an IV.  This pic is from this morning...doing much better.

Although it took awhile to get into a bed, they had already taken a chest x-ray, blood, EKG before he got a bed, and urine sample immediately after he got into bed AND the IV and antibiotic started simultaneously.  Results came back quick and it was a bad UTI.  

Today the white blood cells are nearly back to normal, and kidneys functioning better, and he is starting to get back to his 91 year-old normal condition.  Hope he will be out tomorrow, but it might be Monday...

New Assisted Living Facility for Mom and Dad

At Sister's House, Citrus Heights, CA

When we arrived in California back in May, Mom and Dad had already been looking at The Terraces Assisted Living Facility in Roseville.  The Brookdale Facility was ‘OK’, although there were a few issues that all of us were not very happy about.  And it was very unfortunate that when dad went into the hospital the last time, that when the emergency cord was pulled, no one showed up so Patti called 911 herself.  Amazingly the fire department showed up, hauled dad off to the hospital WITHOUT any staff member at Brookdale even knowing about it.  We never did get a good reason for that.  However, the MAIN REASON Mom and Dad decided to move was that it is closer to where Sandy and where Patti live.  For Patti it shortens her drive by nearly 5 miles, and Sandy by 2.5 miles.  That is a 33% reduction in travel for both of them, and due to the traffic congestion getting to Orangevale, it is even more of a time savings than that for both of them.  There are also a few other considerations that make this a better facility for Mom and Dad.  No one knew that on the day the move was to take place, Dad would be released from the Hospital.  No one said that life was going to easy, and Marcia and I did not arrive until the next day from Oregon so we were of no help whatsoever.

When you walk into the front door of The Terraces, you are greeted by this wonderful entryway.  There are chairs off to the right of the stairs, there is a welcome desk which always has someone there during normal hours (like 8-6), and the people…both staff and residents, have been very, very nice.

Above is a picture of the front left of the facility.  That wooden walkway leads up to a side door, which is locked, there is no key hole, but it leads very close to Mom and Dad’s apartment.  Although it is not good to arrive this way, it is good for exiting…so I typically park in a dirt area near here, enter through the front door, exit through this side door later.

At Brookdale they had a two bedroom apartment, and the kitchen was a bit larger.  The Terraces, as did Brookdale, provides three meals a day, and you can also get snacks if needed, so the small refrigerator, microwave, and limited cabinet space will be adequate for their needs.  The living room and the bedroom is larger, and there is a large walk in storage closet next to the bathroom, so the space meets their needs.  There is also a larger patio which overlooks Cirby Creek, and Mom loves to sit out there...I wish I had taken a picture of the patio.

Dad has been doing pretty good since he got out of the hospital 10 days ago.  On Sunday we had a BBQ at Arny and Sandy’s house, and Dad was able to handle the nearly 3 hours from when I picked them up to when I got them back.  Any type of move, especially at their age, is not easy…even when Patti and Sandy handled the majority of the move.  Heck, the only thing Arny and I moved into the apartment was this brown reclining love seat that Sandy found a few days ago...we both got hurt doing it.  Nothing major, let’s just say Arny’s fall was much harder than my fall, and my fall was much more entertaining, and thank goodness neither took place at The Terraces.

Had we not came back to Sacramento early, today would have been the day that we left Huntley Park…instead we left 12 days ago.  Oh, I miss this view, one of my favorite views that I enjoyed every day.  I loved taking the camping chair out and just sit there watching.  If I was inside the motorhome at my chair, this is what I would see out my side window too.

Even when the peace and quiet was momentarily disturbed by the Jet Boats going by…

…the boats were offset by the abundance of birds and wildlife which I enjoyed watching…including this group of Snow Geese which showed up the day before we left.

   

And I certainly enjoyed watching the many Osprey, and the one Bald Eagle (pictures above are only of Osprey) which were constantly on the lookout for fish.

 

And when fish was caught, they flew off to their nest to share with the little ones.

And when fish was caught, they flew off to their nest to share with the little ones.

The Osprey seem to be EVERYWHERE along the Oregon Coast.  These two above lived near the Public Library, where I would go and download movies onto our Kindles a few times per week.  One of those times I took the camera and got these shots above.  I never did spot the nest, but I am sure it is nearby. 

We try to be away from Florida during the summer and during Hurricane Season.  We have been watching Dorian for the past week.  Although we are thankful that it is not passing over Tampa as earlier paths showed a week ago, we are also thinking of those people in the Bahamas who lost everything.  We don’t know how many lost their lives, I am sure the number will be pretty big for such small islands, but we are thankful that the track will take it out to sea away from the large population along the east coast.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are struggling through this.  We also realize that Hurricane Season still has two more months to go…we will be watching...