Rehab - Week One

Sunday night and dad is enjoying Grilled Cheese on Wheat and Tomato Soup.  One glitch we had to face in the transfer from the hospital to rehab was a incorrect doctor's order for dad to be on a puree diet.  Now Friday, after having that huge plate of pasta served as his last meal at Sutter Roseville, (see last blog, second picture), he really did not want to eat anything Friday night, although they might have gotten him some Sherbet.  But Saturday and most of Sunday was a nightmare trying to get him some food that he would eat that didn't look like baby food.  We did finally get them to give him regular water without thickener in it...and Sandy brought a Pepsi in on Sunday along with some York mints.  Finally, around 4 pm, the Speech Therapist came by and approved the change to regular meals.  Now mind you, ALL of his pills were normal...not crushed or cut in half.  So when she talked to us she asked what he wanted for a meal Sunday night, and Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup was his pick.

Goal for the week was to get him stronger, get him to sit up as much as possible, and transfer him from bed to chair with dad doing more and more of the work each time.  Above he was arm peddling for 15 minutes each time, the second time with a higher resistance level.  And yes, that is mom sitting behind him in the first of the two pictures above.

Today he exercised with a weighted bar, and then stood up for a minute...the lower picture shows him as the minute expired and he was sitting back down.  He got into the wheelchair at 10:45, and his OT was done at 2:45 and he got back in bed.  At 5:00 the PT was going to get him back up for some leg peddling, and then he would have dinner before getting back in bed for the night.  Looking forward to that report when I get there tomorrow morning.

Today, before the OT exercises, Roger and Rochelle dropped by and stayed for a couple of hours.  Above they are pictured with mom, and below is dad looking at the group following the conversation.  Yes, dad is on oxygen, but the level is dropping and we hope he won't need it when we anticipate his departure in two weeks.  

Wow, do you see a resemblance there?  

 

On a side note, Roger and Rochelle have two homes, one in Alta up along I-80 towards Reno, and the other in Rachel Nevada.  If Rachel sounds familiar, it is because that is where the Storm Area 51 Festival was held a couple of weekends ago.  Roger said it was the largest crowd to ever be in Rachel at the same time, with well over a thousand people camping out in this community of 50+ people.  Roger and Rochelle have been friends with the owners of The Little A'Le'Inn where they can be found hanging out when they are in town...they live in Nevada more than California now.  Marcia and I visited Rachel back in 2014 before Roger and Rochelle owned property there, and that blog can be found here.

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. 

Dad's Back at Home

At Sister's House in Citrus Heights, CA

 

Wednesday was dad's last Physical Therapy at the Rehab Center (he will have some therapy at home for a few weeks)...I suggested that we get him in and out of the car, and he did great.  This picture, however, was taken today...it was not therapy, it was "HEADED FOR HOME" time.  Look at that smile!!!!

 

One nice benefit that they have is that they are in the far back of the complex...and I can pull the car up and one can walk right up this ramp, through the door, and their apartment is the very first one.  I gave dad the choice of walking up the ramp, or me getting his Hoveround and ride up the walk and into the apartment...he choose the walker.  With temps up in the 100's this week, I was very happy it was only in the 80's when he did this.  However, the slight incline did take a bit out of him.

Both mom and dad have Hoverounds similar to the one above...since they live so far away from the dinning hall, it gives them a way to get to their meals, and they can just pull right up to the table.  It also allows them to visit Walmart, CVS, etc., which are right across busy Greenback Lane, thankfully with street lights and nice crosswalks.

Quickly he was in his recliner, which is also a lift chair.  For his rapidly deteriorating back, dad does not take much pain relief outside of Tylenol.  His chair is his relief...if his back starts hurting, he adjusts it so it doesn't hurt anymore.  Getting up and out of chairs is very difficult, and the lift part of the chair provides way less pain for him to get up.  Unfortunately, the all of the therapist said that the lift chair also makes a person weak since the chair does all the work.  So what is better...to be on Opioids to relieve pain, or use a mechanical device to relieve pain...he has chosen the latter.

We hope that the home health starts up real quick.  For a few weeks he will have a nurse come by to monitor his health and take Prothrombin time (PT) Blood Test, which measures how long it takes blood to clot since he is on a blood thinner.  His "PT" level was out of whack (too high) when he entered the hospital, and also went out of whack (high again) at the Rehab Center.  We think it is all under control now.  This is something he has been on for about 10 years, and it has never got out of whack before, and was probably caused by a antibiotic he was taking.

Thank you all for your prayers and concerns...they have been highly appreciated.

Rehab Continues with Big Steps, and BIG ANNIVERSARY

At Sister's House in Citrus Heights

 

Who would have thought 71 years ago that mom and dad would spend their 71st anniversary in a Rehab Center?  Well, this couple spent their first fully married day, a Sunday, in a Dentist Office as Dad broke a tooth on their wedding day...the dentist pulled two teeth that Sunday, cost them around $25...nearly all the money they had at that point in their life...so this anniversary is not much different than their honeymoon, other than the lack of privacy. 

 

A week ago dad was taking four or five steps...yesterday he made it all the way from the rehab training room to his bedroom, thanks to these two guys (Andy the PT on left and Patrick the OT on right) and other trainers who are working with him.  Dad has been cycling with his arms, with his legs, lifting weights attached to his ankles, standing, sitting, standing, sitting and walking the halls.  Can't do it "alone" (without a trainer by his side) yet, but it is a good start and lots of progress. (Note, in picture above Andy is not holding him up, just there to catch him if his legs buckle.)  This past Tuesday when Andy (PT) asked him if wanted to try a walker, dad said ok....little did I know he was going to walk him out of the training room and down the hall.  Dad made it halfway to his room.  On Wednesday he made it to the nurses station.  Thursday his legs felt weak, so after exercises he called it a day...but yesterday he came back with a vengeance and walked all the way past the nurses station and into his room, walking real strong.  I follow with the wheelchair on these outings, and occasionally help a nurse or trainer get him into the right position in the bed (grab the pad under him and pull him forward to the headboard).  Not shown are the many nice nurses and aids at the center...most noteworthy is Tim and Galina, both born in Russia (or former Soviet Union lands), both who came to America within the last 15-20 years, both are fantastic nurses.  There are others too...all the people have been very nice.

My typical weekday right now is as follows:

• Wake up at 6:45 and let the dogs out...feed them at 7:30 with a little computer time in between.

• Breakfast or no breakfast and out the door around 9 or 9:30, getting breakfast on way if I did not eat before.  If you get to the rehab center after 10, it is hard to find parking. If mom wants to come early, I leave around 8:45 and go and get her. 

•  Stay with dad until PT is done, sometimes OT is before, sometimes after. 

• Typically mom wants to come in the afternoon, and I can go back to the motorhome for up to an hour before I get her...sometimes I go and get her after PT is done.  It is a long walk from the car to dad's room, so mom is riding Marcia's GoGo scooter.  After dropping her off I take care of shopping, or go back to the motorhome for awhile. 

• Between 4 and 6 mom is ready to go home, so I go back and take her home.  

• Sometimes I stop at Jimboys for taco salads (there don't have Jimboys in Florida, so we get our fill while here in Sacramento).  By 7:30 it is time to feed the dogs, have our dinner just before, after or during their dinner.

In all, it is only 40 miles a day that I am driving, plus a few more due to shopping.  In between there is time to visit with Marcia, Arny, Sandy, and last Saturday I watched Euleda while Sandy and Arny went out to dinner.  Where I typically go to sleep after midnight, I find myself falling asleep between 10 and midnight most nights now.  Yesterday I had time to cut Skruffy's hair, and Bubba is today...since it is Saturday, there is no PT, so I don't feel the need to be there.  So THAT is why my blog postings are few and far between, but on facebook I have posted a few pictures since most of the family is on facebook.  We are hoping for an exit date late next week...fingers crossed.

Checked Out & Checked In

At sister's house in Citrus Heights

Dad checked out of the hospital...feeling LOTS better than he did when he arrived Monday.  Pain is better than when we four went to dinner last Friday...but his strength is still a bit low.  Which is WHY ...

...he checked in at a physical therapy skilled nursing facility.  How long, we don't know...long enough to get his strength back.  This is the same facility mom was at with her hip surgery back in 2014.  Dad and I picked this place for her, and Sandy and Patti picked this place for dad this time.  They do have good reviews...but none of them match up to the quality of the hospital...Sutter Roseville is a real good, friendly hospital.

In the meantime...Patti broke her foot while down in the Santa Barbara area this past week.  I'm afraid to post pictures...she is now wearing a boot.