I know how Cynthia must feel. I was hospitalized back in November in Delaware and when I finally got them to let me out at 11:00 am by 1:00 pm we were on the road out of town to get back home to Alabama. Robert
Day 41, Cynthia will have to stay one more day, they were trying to change the tracheotomy device this afternoon and ran into a problem. It took two doctors and six nurses a hour to change it, so that is why it will be one more day. We were all ready to leave until this happened, Cynthia even put on her street clothes. Needless to say Cynthia is not happy and the same here. Hopefully she will go home tomorrow morning. Joe
It started snowing heavy in Tulsa at 2:00am, supposed to get around a inch then turn to rain after about two or three hours. The temperature is 38° so it will not stick around for very long. Joe
Day 42, Here we go again, Cynthia will not get to go home today. We are waiting for two doctors and a pulmonary technician to give us the last lesson on tracheotomy care at home. It was 2:30pm when I left for home to feed the dogs and nobody has shown up yet. There isn't enough time to get all of that done before 5:00pm when the medical supply company closes. We have to have a home nurse to setup the equipment after the supplies are delivered. All of that has to happen before Cynthia can go home. Wore me out just thinking about it. LOL Joe
I have dealt with this myself Joe. And as has been said before, it can be frustrating. It is a process, for me, I made sure handrails were installed (front/rear doors, toilet extension seat, shower handrails) remove any tripping hazard like rugs and so forth. It will make your and her, life easier.
Day 43, Tom, we have a handicap accessible apartment with bars in the bathtub and near the toilet, so we are setup for her return. Cynthia may be in the hospital for awhile, the doctor said she has a blockage in her throat from being intubated three times with the ventilator tube in her mouth. Needless to say we are very disappointed with the news. Joe
I’m very sorry to hear this Joe. I was and still am pulling for you two to get home!!! I’m hoping it is just a small setback! Take care buddy! Dale
Thank you guys for your thoughts and prayers. They are going to put a camera in her throat to see the blockage sometime in the near future. There are a couple of things they can do to help with the blockage, one is a stint to open the block. Joe
Day 44, Cynthia is going to have the camera done tomorrow. She is very mad because it seems like they are dragging their feet. They should have known about the blockage before now, it's because they are responsible for the blockage when they intubated her three times. Joe
Certainly can't blame her. Better to get it right before she goes home though. Help her focus that energy someplace helpful so it doesn't get her down.
Day 45, Cynthia is having the pre-op done right now for the camera to look at the blockage. Will post the results as soon as possible. Joe
Day 46, Cynthia had the camera procedure done yesterday afternoon and we probably won't get the results until Monday. The doctors usually don't come by on Sunday. In the meantime we are watching TV waiting for something to happen. Edit: A doctor came by about 1:00pm and said that his directive is get Cynthia home. Maybe things will pick up now. Joe
Day 47, The results of the camera procedure shows Cynthia has almost complete blockage above the tracheotomy device. It only affects her breathing she has no problems eating. They are going to do another camera procedure and change the tracheotomy device to a smaller size sometime in the next couple of days. Joe
The doctor came by and said they would not have to do another camera procedure. The blockage isn't as bad as what they thought at first. That's great news, maybe we can go home real soon. I've been spending the night with Cynthia for several days, our dogs don't like it much but they are doing well considering. Joe