Dutch Update: Sorry for the delay in letting you know Dutch's progress but it's been hectic and exhausting!
He came out of intensive care late Tuesday night. Wednesday they said he was to go to a rehab center as he needed help-not what we were hoping to hear-then about 3 hours later they said that was wrong and they were discharging him with in home care. That works better for us so I got him dressed and we waited. At 6:30 they said they couldn't get the final paperwork approved so they couldn't discharge him “safely” which meant another night in the hospital. I undressed him and we settled in for another night. I have to be honest; Dutch was not going to get better with all the stress they were causing him so I called for a patient advocate. The came right up and said they would take care of everything. Thanksgiving mid morning brought no progress so I made more phone calls. They finally coordinated home health care so I got him dressed again. The discharge finally came through at 3 pm. I was amazed at how well Dutch did getting into the truck. An hour and a half later found me pulling into our RV site at the Escapee Park in Casa Grande. Dutch & I got him out of the truck and he went up the RV steps on his butt and made it into the 5th wheel. By using his arms and sliding backwards he managed to get to the 2nd step at the bathroom entry once inside. That put us in position and between him, me and the walker he got to his feet and bunny hopped to the couch-his new home for 2 weeks! I settled him in and put on the “cold” pack machine on his operated ankle and compression pack on his good leg to help prevent clots. He only has to have it on every other hour during the day and off at night. He slept a lot and had no desire for food. I kept food light [a can of soup was not what we usually enjoy for Thanksgiving dinner] and had him drink as much as he could tolerate. Percocet helped him sleep fairly well during the night. I'll be sleeping in my recliner for the next 2 weeks so I can be there if he needs anything and to help get him to the portable potty now adorning our living room. He isn't allowed to tackle our bathroom at this time.
We are walking/hoping several times today and have cut way back on pain meds which means he is more alert-no glazed look anymore- which allows me to get a bit more food in him to keep up his strength. He really looks good and says he has little pain in his ankle. He had visitors this afternoon for about 10 minutes, friends who had picked up a few things at the market for me. I think the visit perked him up a bit more! He is housebound til Tuesday when we drive to Mesa to the surgeon.
That place is a bleepin` circus. The surgeon was perfect—the staff and in house physician were a joke. Every single time they brought him meds, I had to physically check them as they were either the wrong dosage or pill. I was fortunate to have his meds with me so I just had them watch me as I showed them the proper pill/pills and had them watch while Dutch took them. I had to ask why he didn't have any food and they said “Oh, you have to get a menu and order it yourself”. I found the “food” area at the nursing station that had coffee, ice cream, cereal, toast, etc and kept fixing him what he felt he could handle. The staff seemed to prefer spending their time in front of the computer-not just for us, I assure you. No instructions on what to bring for his discharge so I was fortunate that I had tossed in a pair of “jogging” pants for me in case I got cold or he wouldn't have had any pants that would fit over his bandages to go home in. Please don't ever go to Banner Desert Medical Center/Hospital in Mesa, AZ. You might not come out alive~
BUT---The main thing is he is home, not in real pain and has me “Nurse Ratchet” as he calls me to nurse him back to health. Hopefully in 3 to 5 months he will be walking, golfing, hiking and dancing like he used to do.
Thank all of you for your posts-I've read them all to Dutch-, e-mails and phone calls, they helped so much!!!!!!! Hugs, Di
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