November 29

Been pretty busy this Thanksgiving weekend--but Barbara came down to help out. THANK YOU!

Thanksgiving day we had Granny at home all day. But before we could leave the Rehab center, they wanted to give her some physical therapy workout--well, great. Get her more tired before we go. Fine. Barbara had stayed at the house and was fixing the turkey and dressing and sweet potatoes. I had made some pumpkin pie a day or two ago (without crust so was more like a custard) so we still had some left. In the afternoon we played some dominoes--here you see what is left of some pie with the dominoes on the table.

Friday Granny had more therapy work to do and she was also tired, so Barbara and I took some time to do some shopping--fabric store, of course. Saturday we had Granny home all day again. We just stayed at home and tried to relax. Had leftover turkey, what else? This time, Barbara had turned it into a casserole with veggies added.

Today we were sure Granny would have a busy schedule at the center, but when we got there at 8am, they were just about finished so we brought her back home until after lunch. We played cards before lunch. In the morning Barbara had decorated Granny's portion of the room a bit so she has a section to stick up any Christmas cards or cheery items for the holidays.

Barbara's flight back home left at 4pm, and then I went home to eat supper. I will be over again to see Granny before she goes to bed. I won't get to see her much this week as I have to work every day.

November 25 - early

Still have not gotten a progress report on Granny from the Rehab center. Apparently I have to make an appointment with the administrative nurse to stay late in order to meet with me. Due to the holiday week, there are fewer people available to discuss things with. The evening nurse did say she would leave them a note to call me today, however, after work I will be at the airport picking up Barbara so can't meet with them in person. Barbara is coming to help me this weekend--I'm hoping she'll do some cooking!

Last night the evening nurse said she didn't like the way Granny's lungs were sounding--she has developed a very bad cough and although she is still recovering her voice after the respirator, it has turned very deep and raspy. They had blood work & an xray done last night--negative for pneumonia. SO...still don't know why she's developed this--may be a bronchitis or sinus infection-type issue. Hopefully it will not prevent Granny from coming home during the daytime over the holiday & weekend. It has gotten much colder after a front came through yesterday, and nobody wants Granny to get exposed to chills.

Will be seeing Granny with Barbara much later tonight and hopefully we can have a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at home together. Hope everyone else has a Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22

Granny was very unhappy yesterday--apparently the weekend staff leave a lot to be desired. She was moved sometime during the night into another room--picked her up bag and baggage and stuck her at the end of the hall in Rm 212. (Surprise when I walked in the next day about 10am to see she had turned into a man!) They have their reasons for moving people, I'm sure--just the way they do it might not be easy to take. But, she never got her shower although was promised multiple times in the morning--about 1pm they said they would get to it about 4pm and Granny fell asleep and I took off. Was back about 4:30pm--still no shower so by then Granny didn't want one. 5:30 came and went; 6:30 and no SUPPER! Hello? I had to go hunt down someone--oops--they had forgotten to bring her supper. So, they tried to make up for it with 2 servings of ice cream and 3 different cups of juice. I told Mom I would take her home Sunday for lunch and bring her back just before supper. She was happy with that!


Also received a special delivery from Jamie, Lizzy, and 'Lil Red....these are pictures of her purusing the beautiful artwork--thank you Jamie, Lizzy and Jared!








SO...currently have Granny at home--first thing she did was use her bathroom, and has been sleeping in her chair, with Nico watching over her. I'm now in the process of getting a few chores done around the house--shew! I think Granny will be coming home every weekend during the day from now on. This week, of course, is Thanksgiving so she will be home more over the holidays. She still has to spend the night there, though, and take her medication and physical therapy work. I don't want her home alone yet--she is too prone to falling.

November 21

It's the weekend! Now is the time I have to try and catch up with all I've been postponing since November the 6th....ugh. Haven't been over to see Granny yet today, but will be soon--inbetween grocery shopping and Walmart. Luckily, it's an overcast, somewhat rainy day and therefore I have an excuse not to work on raking leaves which are an incredible mess, and only in OUR yard, I might add.

The really exciting news is that Granny was home last night for a quick visit! I was able to bring Granny home for supper last night--my restriction was she had to be back to the rehab center before midnight (the medicare curfew). But the nurse wanted her back before 9pm because she had some medicine she needed to take. Fine with me! We had some vegetable soup I had made for supper (and no--it wasn't poisonous just because I was the one who cooked it). Granny got to sit in her recliner and watch Biggest Loser tv program that I had recorder for her. Also got to use her OWN bathroom--she shares one with 3 other residents at the center. And read some of the mail that has been piling up. But by 8pm, she was more than ready to go back to the center and get some sleep. It was only about 2-1/2 hours, but it was really good to see her home.

Nico was so surprised to see her, too--although she told me later that Granny smelled really different from wherever she's been. Nico was very courteous and tried to stay out of the way of the wheelchair and walker, but also very happy to help her finish up the soup she was too full to finish.

November 18

Granny's first day in rehab seemed to go okay. She had some therapy doing some leg exercises. She said she was eating more. They still want her to call for assistance before going anywhere by herself like the bathroom, or walking around her room. This is to make sure she doesn't lose her balance and fall.

I was there for the evening meal briefly before I left to bring her some more clothes and another blanket that she wanted, etc. I left Granny sitting on the side of her bed eating, and she was still there when I got back but dinner was finished. However, she WAS looking pretty tired by then. Then the occupational therapist came in and had Granny do some arm exercises with a 1lb weight. After that was done, Granny was ready for bed and went to brush her teeth and get back in bed--yikes--it was only 7pm! But I was good with that because I was ready to get home and try to relax some myself.

Now tomorrow, she will have a little bit more exercise as she gets used to using her muscles more and more. The occupational therapist had already said that Granny was in the top category for what she needs to accomplish so it won't be long before she's ready to come home. As I understand it, they evaluate the patients once a week for overall progress. And I think the last week or so, they have the patients work with their own equipment (like Granny has her own walker/cane) and they also review possible obstacles that exist in the home that we have to look out for or fix.

Tomorrow, I have to work a little later in the evening, so probably won't post anything on the blog. But all is well, and Granny is definitely getting better now. Woo Hoo!

November 17

Ok--Granny has been relocated to the Lakewood Nursing & Rehab Center, 2323 McCain Blvd, North Little Rock, AR 72116. The phone # to the Rehab Center is (501) 791-2323, however, Granny does not have a phone in her room so don't call her yet. I have the option to sign up for cable TV and phone service, but Granny wasn't ready to do that yet--not sure how long she will be there, and didn't want a lot of stuff if she wasn't going to be there long.

The Center provided transportation for Granny from the hospital about 2pm. Granny had been sitting up in a chair since 10:15am. The Physical Therapist who came in at 9:30am wanted Granny to walk around, but since her blood pressure went from 103 to under 70 when she stood up, she decided not to walk her anywhere. So, Granny had been sitting in the chair--unable to take any naps--until about 3:30pm after checking into the rehab center. She was totally exhausted. I left for 30minutes to get her some things from home and when I got back, she had taken a little nap and was being initially evaluated by the physical therapist onsite. She looked 100% better after that little nap, and the therapist said she was doing extremely well for just getting out of the hospital.

With a few items from home and a different setting, I think Granny is going to do well at the rehab center and will be coming home pretty quick. She had a real good attitude when I left her this evening. Get this--her meal had a corn dog in it, and she actually said it tasted good. Is that amazing, or what?

The rehab center is litterally 2 blocks from the house--I can pop back and forth within 2 minutes if she needs anything. I can go see her any time--24 hours a day. SO...it's looking good so far. Tomorrow she will have her first therapy session. I'm currently working on some laundry for her and will be going back to work tomorrow.

Candice & Jared sent Granny a card--here's a picture of her looking at it in the hospital this morning. I think she enjoyed it, don't you?

November 16

Recovery is a slow, painful process. Granny is still struggling with a lack of appetite, shortness of breath, periodic dizziness, some depression and overall weakness. But for the first time at this evening's meal, she actually said some of the food tasted good! (I wanted it in writing, but she just stuck her tongue out at me.) She definitely wants out of the hospital, though, which is a good sign.

The next step we are looking at is getting Granny into a rehab center to have professionals work with her on the level she needs to get her up to snuf so she can come home. The rehab program in the hospital has been determined unsuitable for her. That program entails 3 hours of physical therapy, and Granny gets too winded just walking (with help) from the bed to the bathroom. What this means is, Granny will be transferred to a rehab center close to home (depending on room availability--either 2 blocks from home, or a few miles north of here). She will live there with people around to monitor and watch her progression, take her to doctor appointments if needed, provide meals, assistance with dressing, washing, etc. As I understand it, there would be 2 paitents in a room and is half-way between a hospital room and a hotel. Anyways, they really push the patients to get well--to be able to clothe themselves, bathe themselves, walk without assistance, etc--everything they need to be able to live at home. The time frame needed for the rehab duration depends on the individual patient's progress. So don't really have a clue how long Granny would be in rehab, but probably could be several weeks.

If all goes well Granny will be transferred tomorrow, and I will be there to follow all of that and help get Granny settled. I will keep you posted. Hopefully the transition will flow smoothly and I will be back to work on Wednesday (I need the rest!).