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fimbrethilFrom Velma at Making Light on October 13, 2008, 9:20 am:
Updates:
1) He is improving enough that he may be shifted to the Stroke Unit within a day or two.
2) To clarify: even though he's asking "Where?" he may actually be looking for another word, so asking "Do you know where you are?" or "Where am I?" is the best way to start.
Last night, while he had the BPAP machine on, he ran his hand over my face, then pulled me over so that I put my head (lightly!) on his chest while he stroked the back of my head, then made a face at me for needing a haircut. (I wound up kneeling on that folding hospital chair, so that he could hold me, for about forty minutes, and my back would like a word with me about it, and not a friendly one. But I don't care.)
From Bill Tipper at Making Light October 13, 2008, 5:17 pm:
Just spoke to Velma and she wanted me to pass this very good news on: Scraps continues to improve and the doctors have told Velma that he’s "out of danger." (those were the words she used on the phone) She expects that he’ll be able to be moved out of the ICU to the stroke unit within a couple of days (I know she said that in the comment above, but it's good to hear it confirmed.)
She wants potential visitors to know that’s he’s responded very well to people singing to him, and today was serenaded with the hymn “How Can I Keep From Singing,” and Elvis Costello’s “Everyday I Write the Book.” Start warming up your vocal cords, people!
On a related note, we’re assembling a schedule of folks who could spell Velma and sit and talk with Scraps – this will allow her to make arrangements at work and do some important things she can’t accomplish at Scraps’s bedside. I’ve only got a few names at present – so if you’re in the NYC area, and have a schedule flexible enough to spend ½ a day at Methodist in Brooklyn (it’s close to the 7th avenue stop on the F train), starting next week particularly, Velma (and of course Scraps) could really use the help. Weekdays are good, but weekends too.
From Velma October 14, 2008, 1:30 am:
Someone has been cranky tonight: refusing to wear the albuterol nebulizer (though he did allow the nurse to hold it to his face for a minute or two at a time, probably totalling five to seven minutes); refusing to wear his hospital gown; and refusing to wear the BPAP mask.
The aforementioned cranky person is also managing the occasional softer consonant, like "d" or "j" (the word "jeezus" has appeared frequently. He's also now getting some of his meds through the feeding tube, rather than in IV form, and the ultrasound showed no blood clot in his right arm: the swelling is just from being immobile and being used to hold a number of IVs.
He is also continuing to eat small amounts of the pureed foods. The shaped carrots and pureed seafood are as scary as the meatloaf. (The carrots and corn look to be the same stuff, just dyed and shaped in different colors, as do the meatloaf and the seafood. When the instant mashed potatoes are the most natural looking food, it's scary.) They brought him vanilla pudding today, and I made them take it back.
Tomorrow (well, today, after I sleep, and visit Soren), I speak with the social person who actually handles the grants and finances for patients without insurance. And then I go into my office for a few hours.
Thank you all, so much, again.
And from Velma again October 14, 2008 8:31 am:
The night shift has loved the earrings (I assume there are some left for the day shift, but I didn't put them away)> Elise, they think you're amazing. The night shift has been very patient with Soren; the day shift nurses, too, but it's much busier in the ICU during daylight, what with more visitors, more doctors, flocks of student doctors, more testing, and the like.
(I was very pleased that the night nurse and the night respiratory therapist let Soren not wear the nebulizer and BPAP, rather than restraining him and running to complete their rounds.)
I'm off to the hospital, then my office, then the social work office. Buzz, buzz, whee!
Updates:
1) He is improving enough that he may be shifted to the Stroke Unit within a day or two.
2) To clarify: even though he's asking "Where?" he may actually be looking for another word, so asking "Do you know where you are?" or "Where am I?" is the best way to start.
Last night, while he had the BPAP machine on, he ran his hand over my face, then pulled me over so that I put my head (lightly!) on his chest while he stroked the back of my head, then made a face at me for needing a haircut. (I wound up kneeling on that folding hospital chair, so that he could hold me, for about forty minutes, and my back would like a word with me about it, and not a friendly one. But I don't care.)
From Bill Tipper at Making Light October 13, 2008, 5:17 pm:
Just spoke to Velma and she wanted me to pass this very good news on: Scraps continues to improve and the doctors have told Velma that he’s "out of danger." (those were the words she used on the phone) She expects that he’ll be able to be moved out of the ICU to the stroke unit within a couple of days (I know she said that in the comment above, but it's good to hear it confirmed.)
She wants potential visitors to know that’s he’s responded very well to people singing to him, and today was serenaded with the hymn “How Can I Keep From Singing,” and Elvis Costello’s “Everyday I Write the Book.” Start warming up your vocal cords, people!
On a related note, we’re assembling a schedule of folks who could spell Velma and sit and talk with Scraps – this will allow her to make arrangements at work and do some important things she can’t accomplish at Scraps’s bedside. I’ve only got a few names at present – so if you’re in the NYC area, and have a schedule flexible enough to spend ½ a day at Methodist in Brooklyn (it’s close to the 7th avenue stop on the F train), starting next week particularly, Velma (and of course Scraps) could really use the help. Weekdays are good, but weekends too.
From Velma October 14, 2008, 1:30 am:
Someone has been cranky tonight: refusing to wear the albuterol nebulizer (though he did allow the nurse to hold it to his face for a minute or two at a time, probably totalling five to seven minutes); refusing to wear his hospital gown; and refusing to wear the BPAP mask.
The aforementioned cranky person is also managing the occasional softer consonant, like "d" or "j" (the word "jeezus" has appeared frequently. He's also now getting some of his meds through the feeding tube, rather than in IV form, and the ultrasound showed no blood clot in his right arm: the swelling is just from being immobile and being used to hold a number of IVs.
He is also continuing to eat small amounts of the pureed foods. The shaped carrots and pureed seafood are as scary as the meatloaf. (The carrots and corn look to be the same stuff, just dyed and shaped in different colors, as do the meatloaf and the seafood. When the instant mashed potatoes are the most natural looking food, it's scary.) They brought him vanilla pudding today, and I made them take it back.
Tomorrow (well, today, after I sleep, and visit Soren), I speak with the social person who actually handles the grants and finances for patients without insurance. And then I go into my office for a few hours.
Thank you all, so much, again.
And from Velma again October 14, 2008 8:31 am:
The night shift has loved the earrings (I assume there are some left for the day shift, but I didn't put them away)> Elise, they think you're amazing. The night shift has been very patient with Soren; the day shift nurses, too, but it's much busier in the ICU during daylight, what with more visitors, more doctors, flocks of student doctors, more testing, and the like.
(I was very pleased that the night nurse and the night respiratory therapist let Soren not wear the nebulizer and BPAP, rather than restraining him and running to complete their rounds.)
I'm off to the hospital, then my office, then the social work office. Buzz, buzz, whee!
