Okay, I promise that tomorrow I will post on something other that The Graminator, but here is a status update on her.
We finally got her transferred to a facility in Las Vegas. The drive to Henderson was awful and the facility there was sub par. Each room had a window air conditioner instead of central air and Gram's room was around 90 degrees most of the time. Some of the staff was really nice but most seemed just to do the barest minimum. And the food was pretty bad. So we worked and worked to get her transferred.
Finally she was set to go on Friday night to the Vegas Valley facility. Her transport was arranged, everything was all set to go. I left at six after being there with her all day and Will and Val stayed until almost seven (she was scheduled to be picked up at eight.) On Saturday I got up and went to the new facility and when I got there...she wasn't there.
I was furious. No one bothered to call us and let us know that she hadn't been transferred. Apparently they ordered some medical tests (no one can tell me what time these tests were ordered but they couldn't be doen before seven at night?) and they wouldn't transfer her while they were waiting for results. Now keep in mind that I was there all day and had spoken to the nurse practitioner at eleven a.m. and she never mentioned these tests. Augh!
Even if these tests were medically necessary and could not be done any other time or at any other facility, why didn't anyone bother to call us and tell us she wasn't being transferred? When I spoke to the weekend case manager he said he did call at eleven a.m. - great, dude, that was when I was at the VV facility frantically searching for my grandmother and it was only fifteen hours after she was scheduled to be transferred. Surely somewhere between eight p.m. on Friday and oh, say nine a.m. on Saturday someone could have wedged a phone call in!
So after a lengthy and somewhat heated discussion with the weekend case manager (who, in my opinion, treated us very badly and if I were a violent person I would have punched him in the nose, but Will and I were doing 'good cop, bad cop' and I was good cop) we got it all arranged again for her to be transferred on Saturday night. I stayed with her all day and Will and Val came after dinner and stayed with her through the transfer. Honestly, if they hadn't been there I'm not sure she would have been moved as scheduled (apparently some paperwork was missing even though we checked with the charge nurse three times to make sure everything was good to go). But Will handled everything and they got her settled in.
The new facility is nice, it has central air and her nurses and CNA's are really nice. We saw the PA on Sunday, her care is well coordinated and the food is better, she even gets choices. The downside is that all of this commotion has really affected her mentally. Her Alzheimer's is very manageable when she is at home in a routine. But when her routine is shaken up she gets very confused very easily and boy, has she been shaken up. She needs constant reminding that she is in the hospital and she isn't supposed to get out of bed. The hardest time for her is when she wakes up, like from a nap. She just can't tell dreams from reality upon first waking. She called me at eleven at night on Sunday. She was convinced that she was at the mechanics to pick up her car and they wouldn't let her pay for her car repairs and leave. It took me a while to calm her down and convince her she was at the hospital and that she needed to stay there. It took some doing though - at one point she was so mad at me for not understanding that she was at the mechanic's that she put the nurse on the phone to explain to me where she was...and she was sure not happy when the nurse agreed with me. Now she hasn't driven a car in more than five years and I'm not sure why she thought that the mechanic's place had beds and nurses (although after having seen my car repair bill at times, perhaps a bed and some medication wouldn't be a bad idea.) We have to constantly reassure her that she's in the hospital and she needs to stay in the hospital to get better. She wants to be home and I don't blame her. I know that the hospital is where she needs to be for her physical well being but mentally she'd do better at home. It's such a struggle. God Bless the staff who are looking out for her and the other patients.
Okay, I'll post something different tomorrow. But thanks to everyone for your thoughts an prayers, they mean the world to me!
1 comment:
Man, when it rains it pours, doesn't it? It is amazing how shabbily patients and their families are treated anymore. But I'm going to stop myself before I go on a full blown diatribe that won't do anything but raise my blood pressure, and probably yours, too.
The good news is she is at a better facility and that's what is most important. How long will she have to stay there? Hopefully she will settle in and develop a routine there which will help to ease her mental discomfort.
I am keeping the Graminator in my thoughts for a speedy recovery. And I hope that having her closer is helpful for your Mom.
So keep on hanging in there, Shae! Remember, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger (or just makes us eat a lot of ice cream...I could live with that).
Post a Comment