So obviously its been a while since I updated everyone on Grandma. A LOT has been going on, since weve finally gotten some help from home health and such, so I might forget some things, but I will do my best to remember all the important stuff. First a podiatrist came in to assess Grandma and prescribe home health for her. He was very nice and good at what he does, and he was able to cut Grandmas toenails and grind down the overgrowth so the infection doesnt get worse. Needless to say, her toes/nails look and feel a lot better! Next a home health nurse came. We did a lot of paperwork and she took Grandmas vitals and checked her out all over. The nurse was very good with Grandma, and she also was able to tell us about some programs we could apply for to get even more help for Grandma. Then a physical therapist came and did some exercises with her. Grandma was mostly cooperative with him, and he showed us some exercises to do every day with her, but we havent been very successful at getting her to do them (the therapist did say that might happen). A home health aide also came a couple of times and gave Grandma a bath. To be honest, I dont think this aide is the one for us since she doesnt seem to be very good with Grandma. She isnt incompetent, I think its just a personality clash or something. Ill be calling our social worker/home health company asap to see if we can get another person instead. Right now we are working on getting the paperwork done for Medicaid and the VA; we should be able to get more help for Grandma that way without having to pay out of pocket for it. Also we are getting the new patient paperwork done for the house-call doctor so Grandma can see him and he can get some important things going for her. Okay, so now Im going to talk about how Grandma has been doing this week. Its not going to be all fluff and happiness, because I dont want to lie to anyone about how she is feeling. Were trying to do everything we can to help her and trying to stay optimistic, but sometimes its more than a little discouraging. Positives: Thanksgiving was a success. We were able to get Grandma into her wheelchair so she could join everyone in the kitchen/living room. She had a great time and even ate several bites of food (mostly mashed potatoes and gravy). It seems like whenever she is in the wheelchair, Grandma perks up a little bit for a while. We cant leave her in the wheelchair for too long because she gets pretty tired, but its good for her to work her muscles by sitting up. Also, weve been able to get more protein/vitamins down her lately through her feeding tube without it bothering her stomach any more than food usually does. Grandma also gets to talk to either Melody or Monika every day (sometimes both), which she enjoys. She is hoping to talk to Jennifer and Ray soon as well. Not-so-positives: Grandma is always in pain. We give her Tylenol every few hours, but the nurse said she will talk to the doctor about possibly getting a stronger pain medication for her. She has been quite combative lately when we change her or move her to/from the wheelchair. She doesnt like to be moved or touched at all, and says that she is suffering constantly. Nearly every day since she got here, Grandma has said in one way or another that she wants to pass on or give up and die or something similar. I know thats not easy to read, and believe me, its not easy to hear every day, either. Sometimes she says she wants to be normal, like everyone else. Its really difficult to see her suffer and not be able to do much about it. As I write this, she is sleeping, and she has been talking in her sleep a lot today (Ive never seen/heard her do that so far). Thats not necessarily a negative, just something I thought Id include. Anyway, theres all that. When my mom gets home from work today we will be putting Grandma in the wheelchair and hopefully that will be a positive experience for her. Sorry this post is so long. I will try to be better at posting daily updates from now on to avoid long-windedness :-) Love you all! Talk at you later =-) Oh, and P.S. I will post some photos/videos from Thanksgiving later on today.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 21:51:16 +0000
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