No news

There is still nothing to report on a SNF. The possible opportunity we had this morning fell through. The Discharge Coordinator keeps calling me asking me to expand my net. I'm not comfortable with it any bigger than it already is!! My mom even suggested a place in the Memphis area, which did not accept Blue Cross insurance but the Discharge Coordinator is asking us to consider another place in the Memphis area that is available. Tom does not really want to go to Memphis but I'm going to suggest he sleep on it tonight. Maybe something here will open up tomorrow. In Memphis, my mom could help with visitation during the week, I can't imagine it would get approved by Blue Cross but stranger things have happened. We're going to keep praying for the right place for Tom. This whole thing has made for a frustrating afternoon but we'll get through it. Tom's attitude is still good. He walked twice as far today - tomorrow he may be out the door! He's making really good progress but it wears him out quickly. All the excess fluid doesn't help. Dr. Rutland keeps telling him it will get better when he gets moving more . . . I sure hope so. We continue to ask you to pray with us for the right place for Tom. Blessings

A possible move

One of the skilled nursing facilities is working on getting insurance approval to accept Tom. He could be moving as soon as today. It is, of course, the greatest distance from both work and home but we'll deal with it somehow. It is still possible for another facility to get a bed too but I'm guessing they will jump at the first one. Tom has a lot more swelling in his legs which makes me nervous. I won't even ask about it because I know I'll get the same story. I had hoped the blood he got yesterday would help. When I was here at lunch yesterday, I got detained helping PT get Tom out of the bed. He took about 4-5 steps forward and then backwards to the bed. He was very determined to get up and did a great job. It's really hard to watch him struggle. We take it for granted just getting up and walking. It seems so easy to do but hard for me to accept that he just can't do it. Tom's WBC is 14.6 today and his hematocrit is up to 29, both good. Would love to see the WBC at 10 but it's moving in that direction. More later.

Good afternoon

It's another beautiful day in Nashville. Had some rain last night, which we needed. Tom continues to do as well as he can - being in the hospital. His hematocrit was 24 this morning so he is getting some blood right now. His lunch has arrived but he seems to be having trouble staying awake long enough to eat it. PT came by just as they were hanging the blood. I don't think they will "make it" back, Tom said they will :-) They are still having trouble finding a SNF bed. Apparently they don't like the diagnosis of the leg infection and that is causing some problems. I asked Tom to see if they can just go ahead and give him some extra PT while he is here. He told me he is handling it. He continues to work on his upper body strength. He is doing the exercises they gave him to do in the bed, I wish he could do more with his legs. He simply needs to get up on his feet and start moving! I feel like the only person who is concerned about it! It is very frustrating. My sister is coming to Nashville today for a conference, I'm very excited about the opportunity to see her!

A mini report

I haven't posted until now because there was nothing to report. Tom's wound vac was changed without much incident today. He received some pain medicine about 30 minutes ahead of time which helped. Tom was told the wound looks good. There is still no SNF bed available so I guess he will stay here a little longer. Apparently the docs forgot to resume the PT order after last Friday's surgery so he didn't get any PT today. Hopefully they will be back on track tomorrow. That is the thing that hinders him the most right now. He has been working on his upper-body strength and it is a LOT better. Every thing else is holding steady and there is no "medical" reason for him to stay here. Please pray he will get to move so he can get more PT and get back on his feet again!

Happy Memorial Day

I think Tom was in this hospital last Memorial Day! Hope everyone remembers to thank God for all those who have served and given their lives for our freedom! Tom continues to do well. They did not change his wound vac today but had to re-tape it. It will be changed tomorrow. Dr. Rosen wants to change it himself. Tom's hematocrit is up two points so we're happy about that. Hopefully Tom will get moved out of here tomorrow - to somewhere that is convenient! He's getting stronger but has not been on his feet in several days. PT should be back at work tomorrow, probably about the same time he has the wound vac changed. I'll send an update tomorrow with any news.

A quiet Sunday

Tom has had a pretty relaxing Sunday. Dennis came by for a visit which was so nice. I feel less guilty about hanging around the house a little longer when Tom has had a guest. After Sunday School and Church, I headed back home to do a few things. I gave the dogs a bath and did some laundry. It felt good to accomplish something and was actually relaxing for me! Tom's red blood cell count has dropped a little. It is at 25, which tends to be the lower limit before they decide to give him more blood. If it drops in the morning, they will probably give him a couple of units. This is not abnormal, being that he had surgery this week and they draw blood every day. His compromised liver function does not allow him to replenish it as fast. Tom watched the Indy 500 and is waiting for the NASCAR race to start - that is what we will be doing this evening. That's ok, maybe I can take a nap! Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Tom needs more to do!

Tom, like my dad, is now reading every printed word of the newspaper. Only he keeps giving me whole sections (to keep) with places he wants to go, recipes he wants to make and houses he wants to buy! I am collecting a large stack of newspaper at home that will probably never be looked at again! He has become quite the conversationalist, which I will NOT complain about. I've missed that for a long time. Something I still can't figure out is why he needs to have three to five different things to drink on his tray all the time. It's the same way at home! I was up early to ride bikes this morning and managed to get a bunch of errands done on the way home. It feels so good to have accomplished so much. We saw a deer, a turkey and a really big snake (yuck). I'm glad we started early, it is very hot here today! Next week I am participating in a 44 mile ride. I decided I needed a "saddle" with a little more cushion so one of my errands was to the bike store! Tom met with the on-call doc for a while this morning. Tom told him he wanted to go to the NHC Cool Springs SNF so the doc said he'd do what he could to help - whatever that means. For the most part, Tom is just taking up space here waiting on a SNF bed to open up. He did not get physical therapy today which is a bummer. That's about all of the news I have. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.