I heard from my mom's social worker and he said that she will be coming home next Wed. FINALLY! She is doing very well in physical and occupational therapy. But we still can not forget that her heart is very weak. I believe that she had another minor heart attack the other morning. Of course she tells me "that night" how she was very sick to her stomach that morning and then got dizzy. She couldn't really eat the rest of the day and felt "wiped out". Now those are her heart attacks. Of course we aren't going to do anything more outside of medication. She has gone through enough for almost 83years old. My last day of work will be next Tuesday and I will then take the opportunity to stay home and take care of her. Going back to work part time will be a thought after the first of the year.

My mom's social worker also suggested Hospice. That kind of put a grim reality to this process. But a reality I am ready for, FINALLY! I have decorated my house with every decoration that I own and have told my kids that this may possibly be "gram's" last. So picture taking is a must!

I may also look into a hospital bed for her, since she has a hard time breathing while laying flat. I will check with her insurance company to see if that is possible. She will also come home with a wheel chair and walker in case she needs them. So now on to the next step!!

JoAnn a lift chair that helps her to stand will be very helpful as I know it was for my mother-in-law as she had trouble getting out of chairs for quite a while after her surgery.

Enjoy every moment with your mother.

UPDATE! My mom was admitted to Ellis yesterday since her incision from her bypass split open. It is the grossest thing I have ever seen. She went to Dr. Depan's office yesterday, since he was the one who did her bypass and he admitted her right away. She will be in the hospital for approx 1 week. They have her on antibiotics and they have put a wound vac on the opened incision to promote healing.

So now Kingsway and Depan are in this pi**ing match on who's fault it is. Depan WILL NOT release her to Kingsway again. He said that he will discharge her directly home with nurses and physical therapy. I happened to love Kingsway. They brought my mother to a level better than she was before her heart attack. I hope that we don't have to start all over again!

I have a CNA to spend the nights with her at the hospital. From 11pm to 7am. I am now in the process of looking for others who will take days for me. I am up there from 8am to 8pm. But I have to get my house and her room ready. So I would feel comfortable with someone there while I'm not. She is 82 and I don't want her getting confused again. And she still needs to walk so she doesn't lose the abilities she gained at Kingsway.

So here we go AGAIN! So keep us in your prayers since it isn't over yet!

JoAnn keep the faith and we'll keep your Mom in our prayers for a speedy recovery.

The doctor took the wound vac off my mom yesterday to evaluate her incision. He said that it is coming along very well. He put a new wound vac on and on Thursday he will take it off and she can come home. However, on Friday, a Visiting nurse will come in and put a portable wound vac on her. The nurses will come in every Monday, Wed., and Friday to change it. She will also have to see Dr. DePan once a week until he feels confident her incision is heeled.

But we now have a major "confusion" problem with my mom. I hope that it is temporary and she isn't "sundowning" permanently. She is in a total state of confusion starting at about 7pm. I was on the phone with her last night for 2 1/2hrs until the aid got there at 11pm.  The aid said that it took her 45minutes to get my mom re-oriented again. She was "out of control". I was concerned that if a nurse came in and saw the state she was in, that she would have ordered a sedative. And I was trying to hold my mother together by phone until the aid got there at 11pm.

And yet my mom called me this morning and she was her sweet usual self and apologized for her behavior last night. And although she new she was "a bad girl", she didn't remember every detail of her confusion.

Can I use the words "mentally exhausted" to describe myself these days?

JoAnn, I feel your pain. We went thru a similar situation with my mother-in-law and we were told that most of the confusion is due ti anesthesia, heart pump, medication, and just plain old stress and that in time she will improve. It's an individual thing some improve faster than others. You're doing all you can for your Mom and watch your health as you're going thru a tough time right now and the stress can make you ill. Your Mom will be in our prayers.

My mom's confusion is better as long as someone is with her. She is definetly fearful at night. So we have private nurses/aids there 24/7 until she is homebound tomorrow. Of course she was suppose to come home 2 other times and didn't so now I'll believe it when she is actually here!

Her supplies were delivered today. It is her wound vac with supplies to support it. If anyone wants a little medical education, here is the website with pictures and description of this device.http://www.kci1.com/867.asp
It's pretty neat.

KCI is where the supplies came from. They called me this morning and told me that her insurance had no deductible for these supplies and there also wasn't a limit on how long they would cover these supplies as needed. However they did say that she will be responsible for 25% of the cost of the wound vac. Retail is $130/day but the representative for KCI said that it will be cheaper than that through Senior Blue.

So today I'm preparing the house for her homecoming tomorrow. I went to BJ's and stocked up on food, fruit and juices that she would like. I will go see her this afternoon for just a couple of hours and then I will ATTEMPT to finish my Christmas shopping!

How is your mom doing JoAnn?

Rene thanks so much for asking. My mom is doing well. She is here at home with me now. In fact we are both here in the living room watching TV.(I waited a long time for this moment).

She still has her portable wound vac on her incision. A visiting nurse comes in every monday and friday to change the dressing. I take her to Dr. DePan every wed where he changes the dressing and assesses the incision. When we went this past wed, he said she would need about 2 more weeks on the wound vac. I think that will make a difference for her. She could then be more mobil. Right now someone has to carry her portable vac and carry her tubing if she needs or wants to move anywhere.

I don't know if she is going to be able to go back to her house to live independently. But we will see.

Do you want to hear another shocker? My brother who lives out of state, had emergency, triple by-pass surgery yesterday! Same as my mom! My sister-in-law says he is doing well. I just feel so bad for him since he was here watching my mom go through it. And we thought it was a nasty surgery then. His doctor said that my brother is alive today only because God didn't want him now. His main artery was almost totally blocked.

So I believe this is a blessed Christmas. I have my mom and my brother for which I am grateful!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

You truly understand the spirit of Christmas.  My best to you and your family.

Merry Christmas, and Welcome home, Joann's mom.  Hope the holiday fins you happy and feeing better.

I have been talking to my sister-in-law daily about my brother. In fact I called the hospital this morning and me and my mom got to speak to my brother for a few minutes. He sounded ok. But tonight when I talked to my sister-in-law, we realized that ALL hospitals are the same. My brother is finally out of intensive care and on a regular floor. She said that she will be staying up there around the clock. She said that while she was there, a nurse gave him his meds as it was the end of her shift. Well, when the next shift came in, they tried to give him the meds all over again. It was a good thing that my sister-in-law was there to tell them otherwise. He had his surgery Saturday and he is suppose to come home this Friday or Saturday. But they haven't even got him up to walk yet. He still has a chest tube in and is on Oxycoton for pain.(I don't know how to spell it) And those pills are brutal! She has to bathe him and brush his teeth. She said that they do nothing but give him his pill and take his vital signs. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my sister-in-law is also nurse. So the sooner he gets home the better.

My mom went to the doctors today and he said that when she goes again next week, he will take the wound vac off. Finally! So when we left the doctors, I took her to the mall to walk. We bring a wheel chair for her to push and use in case she gets tired. But she didn't. She did real well. We also stopped in the food court for coffee. Tomorrow physical therapy is coming to the house and Friday it will be occupational therapy. So she  is doing well, so far!

Hurray!

First my mom. She is doing fairly well. I took my mom to the mall Friday afternoon and I thought she would be able to walk a bit without a wheel chair, so I left it in the car. We didn't walk very far and she had to sit down. So I went and got the wheel chair and pushed her the rest of the way while I shopped for a birthday gift. A Visiting Nurse will come in tomorrow and change the the dressing on her wound vac. Then back to Dr.DePan Thurs. We are hoping that the vac will be removed. Can I tell you that the incision still looks nasty. Better, but nasty. So the last nurse said that once the vac comes off, than "I" can change her dressing from a wet to dry. (?) I said "I DON'T THINK SO"! I didn't go to school for nursing. She does get very very confused sometimes. I can't see her ever going back to being independent in her own home. So we'll see.

My brother came home yesterday.(Saturday). They got him up for the first time to walk on Friday. But I guess he did okay. But he did come home with a catheter. He can not urinate on his own. So the doctors just kind of brushed it off and when they sent him home, they just said to contact some urologist to check it out. He really wasn't physically ready to come home but the insurance company said he was. It just seems that in some instances, people are just sent home too soon.