Bill Prinzmetal
Friday was a very good day for Bill and a not so good. I arrived about 10:00. Bill looked better than when I visited last (about 2 weeks ago). He looked like he put on some weight and just looked better.
Bill was napping when I arrived. We visited some and his speech was much improved. He read some of the cards on the wall. He has some ice and swallowed without me saying anything. We did some of the exercises on the wall. Then it seemed like a train on activity started.
First the speech therapist came. She worked on swallowing and gave 3 ½ teaspoons of applesauce! He swallowed. She told me that he has 1 teaspoon yesterday. She had him say ahhhhh and he was much louder than before.
The nurse came in and said it was time for the cardio-chair. After 20 minutes Bill indicated he was in pain (uncomfortable?) and I rang the nurse. It took me about 10 minutes to get her. I ended standing at the door and asking loudly. She adjusted the chair and after about ~10 more minutes, Bill indicated he had enough. It seemed like it took me forever to get someone to get Bill back in bed. He may have been in the chair for 45 minutes; that was too long. It clearly sapped his energy. I felt pretty powerless.
In the early afternoon, his original rheumatologist came in (I forgot his name). He was shaken at seeing Bill in his condition. He had not seen Bill since before hospitalization. He clearly had recently read Bill’s chart. The doctor was moved. He told Bill if he (the doctor) had done a better job, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. He promised to visit Bill every day (weekday). The doctor noticed that Bill’s feet were really cold and he ordered socks put on.
Bill’s feet hurt and I spend about an hour rubbing them. Bill fell asleep, and I left around 3:15.
It would be good to do more of the exercises on the wall, leg moves etc., and he likes to do them.
I somehow kept on thinking about this picture (above), so I looked it up in a scrapbook when I got home. I think it was about 1975. Josh wanted to be in the 4th of July Parade in Claremont, but he couldn’t pedal his bike in anything but flat or downhill. So Bill went along and pushed him the whole way.
Bill, You gave Abigail a much needed break and it sounds as if, with the exception of the problematic nursing care yesterday, you provided a terrific day of progress for him. I wonder if people know you have to fly down from the Bay area to visit him and have done so several times. You are his brother in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned that Abigail will burn out. She's finding she just can't sleep at the hospital any more with all the interruptions, with lights turned on and with audible, sometimes long conversations going on.
It is surprising that his original rheumatologist, the one who gave him such hope before the congestive heart failure, had not seen him over these 6 weeks! This is a gap in the Kaiser system. At least at last he is on the case and genuinely concerned. Has the primary care physician (at Sunset) been to see him?
Re your photo: I sure remember that 4th of July; -- the Claremont parade always starts with tons of kids riding their bikes down Indian Hill Blvd. and many parents do what mustachioed Bill was doing that day, hovering over their youngest riders. This town was a great place for Abigail and Josh to grow up in.
Arlene