Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rating the Hospitals

Thanks for all the love and support during this trying time with The Graminator. Honestly, if you had asked me on Monday I would have said the situation was very grim indeed but I am far more optimistic now. She was awake and alert and aware yesterday and is getting excellent care. Her blood pressure was really low and so they are giving her some IV fluids and tons of antibiotics for her pneumonia. She was confused (even without the Alzheimer's, four hospitals in three weeks can do that) but handled it pretty well except when she got sad when we left last night. She is even eating (although not very much, probably only a few hundred calories) but she's keeping it down so I have my fingers crossed that we are over that particular hurdle.

The hospital she is in now, Desert Springs, is very nice. She's in a private room (shh, don't tell her insurance company) on the third floor and she has a view of the Strip that any Vegas hotel would charge a whole lot extra for. They have a really nice gift shop where we found a lounge outfit for her that is so her style and they have See's candy. See's (for those of you on the East Coast) is a wonderful candy maker and my Gran has been known to eat a one pound box in two days. She wasn't very interested yesterday so I know she still isn't feeling well but I'll keep it close hoping to stimulate her appetite.

The cafeteria at the hospital looked slightly better than at Valley (that's definitely damning it with faint praise) but we didn't eat there because it is run by an apparent cousin of the Soup Nazi. We got there at 1:59 and they stop serving at 2:00. The food was still there, in warming trays, but the man behind the counter said "No more food" and started pulling the full trays of food out. That left our choices with a sad looking salad bar and some hot dogs on a rotating grill that had been rotating quite a while apparently. Fortunately this hospital is close to many restaurants so we went to a nearby Olive Garden for a soup, salad and bread stick lunch. It was nice to get away from the hospital and have a decent meal for a change.

We will head back to the hospital this afternoon when my mom gets off work (so I can drive her... yes, it's Driving Miss Stacie) and hope that the good news from yesterday still holds.

Thanks again for your patience and support, it is greatly appreciated. Synopsis soon!

3 comments:

Maura said...

I'm glad to hear she is feeling a bit better. And I am also glad to hear she is ensconsed in better accommodations. That can make a huge difference in and of itself.

I don't understand why hospital cafeterias are not a 24/7 operation. Besides the fact that stressed visitors and family members need to eat, what about the staff? People work there around the clock and many of them have wacky schedules. It would make sense to have decent on site food available to them. But I recognize one of my rants coming on so I'll stop now.

Anyway, I am very glad to hear that things are looking a little better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can take her home soon.

Megan Bernstein said...

I love FOOD!!!!!!!!!! Hospitals Suck ass!!!!

dyann hunter said...

I'm also glad things are looking better for the Graminator.

I'd love a room with a view like that! Luckily, I've never had to spend any time in a hospital (knock on wood) but, I always listen to how people rate them. Just in case, ya know.

Anyway, thanks to all for all your birthday wishes too. It was rather uneventful, but I'm glad. 30 was a killer. 31 is blending nicely :-)

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