The nice thing about visiting Walt at 7 AM is that there is lots of parking and a short wait for the elevators. Today I was ready for a good mental workout with Walt--he would be fresh and rested. I had brought a deck of cards to find out what he and I remember about card games. But it turns out that Walt was awake most of the night working out on the side bars of bed. By the time I arrived he was zonked.I was glad to see that Walt was not wearing a restraining vest nor were his arms restrained. He had only his mitts. He also had his day shift "watcher" at bedside, a pleasant woman named Dana.
The update from the nurse was good. At some point during the night they helped Walt stand by the bed--one person on each side. He really needs that kind of exercise because his once powerful legs have suffered from over two months of bed confinement. As many of you know, the trach is out, he gets to eat a little by mouth and drink some liquids from a glass. The nurse gave several examples of Walt's cognitive abilities slowly improving. For example, the previous evening the nurse promised to take off Walt's mitts after the nurse completed some duties elsewhere on the floor. When he came back about 20 minutes later Walt reminded him of his promise. These are small steps but they ease my mind about his recovery.
When the nurse was leaving at the end of his shift he said goodbye to Walt. Walt stirred ever so slightly, instinctively tugging at his mitts and moving his arms toward the bed's side bar to pull himself over--he won't quit even in his sleep.
gino
5 comments:
My Perfect Husband, it took me a moment to recognize the photo from the Frankenstein movie - that's great. I laughed so loud I scared the cat Winifred. It was good to hear about Walt's continuing progress too. I wish I could get up there more often. You are a good friend and Walt is lucky to have you.
Kathy (wife of Gino)
thanks Kathy for identifying the picture. I thought it must have been Walt in a blonde wig in a play! A veeeery scary thought! Great post Gino. Even when nothing much is happening you make it informative and entertaining,
Cheers Corinne
Friday morning (May 18) update:
Dana, the night shift watcher said Walt had slept most of the night. It must have been due to that Thursday biking he was doing. I saw the bike pedal setup--pretty cool to be able to pedal while sitting in a chair. It's perfect.
Walt was free of any restraints and free of mitts when I visited. Dana (I hope I have her name right) is really nice and works at keeping Walt safe and comfortable.
Walt woke about 30 minutes after I got there. I got him a cup of water and he drank it on his own--holding the cup and slowly bringing it to his mouth. When he spilled a little his day watcher, Natalie, brought him a towel, something that he thanked her for.
Some highlights:
Walt said that he wanted to use the can. I then noticed that his butt catheter had been removed. I don't know how Walt feels about it but I was greatly relieved to see that thing gone. His other catheter is still in. Anyway, when the watcher heard Walt say he wanted to use the can, I have never seen the staff move so quickly. Two nurses came in and were preparing for the bowel movement thing with great haste. It turns out he wanted to whizz. We told him the catheter takes care of that. He didn't seem to sure about that.
Let me add that his day shift watcher, Natalie, is also very nice and willing to help.
I showed Walt some hand tools: he recognized cutters, dykes and a c-clamp. He held them all. This demonstrated better recogniztion than last week.
I showed photos of family and friends. He enjoyed them (again) and said, "That was nice" (brightly). He wasn't interested in the movie posters today.
Walt filled out a form that I created. I told him it was for the hospital. He takes that kind of request quite seriously and filled in fields for name, date of birth, phone number (couldn't remember) and address (couldn't remember). I could recognize only his name. When he could not remember his phone or address he asked me for them and insisted on attempting to write--all very promising.
I asked Walt about work. He said that he didn't work. I don't know if he meant he remembered he was retired or that he was in the hospital and couldn't work. I told him I was looking for work and he gave me his building number.
I shook his hand when I left. I think that little formalities like that are meaningful to him.
The picture is from Young Frankenstein, a movie that Walt and I saw together in 1974. The photo is supposed to represent my trip to the hospital yesterday when Walt was sleeping and I was standing by the bed. Jeez.
You don't look so hot in a blonde wig either!
Thanks Gino, I may have a serious Freudian thing going on, but being able to take a crap on one's own is, to me, a very very very important thing. And if it were up to me, it would be a momentous milestone in a patient's recovery.
Also, I wonder if they'd consider decatheterizing his urinary tract if he would agree to pee into a portable urinal - that way the kidney dr's could keep track of the output.
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