Another Saturday night with Lawrence

As I type Mom is watching the Lawrence Welk show, her favorite, on the PBS station (it's like a time warp to the mid 1970s). She's resting okay; her right ribs are still tender, and we learned just a few minutes ago that although an x-ray was ordered, it hasn't occurred yet. Cathy, her nurse, said the mobile x-ray unit has quite a backlog so it might be a while before it happens. I didn't notice any redness or bruising, which might be present if a rib were fractured. She winces whenever she has to move, but so far hasn't asked for any pain meds.

I haven't seen the wound, but Cathy, who changed the dressing twice today, said it was fairly deep and she was surprised that it got to that state. It made me wonder if we should have been more attentive to it when she was at Heartland. They were treating it, but obviously whatever they were doing wasn't effective. So here we are.

I arrived around 10:30 this morning. One of the first things she said to me (other than where's Dave) was that she still couldn't figure out why she was in the hospital. I explained to her what I knew, and she asked why her procedure couldn't have been done as an outpatient. Poor thing. At least she has a decent room this time. The south tower is like a Hilton. There are actually shelves for flowers (which reminds me, I should pick up something for her tomorrow), the rooms are bigger and the curtains between the beds provide more privacy, halls are carpeted to cut down on noise, and of course, she has the window and a lovely view of the atrium and the faux maple trees that are in a perpetual state of early fall.

She sat in the chair about an hour before and during lunch, then we got her back in bed for a nap. I left to have lunch with Dave, Byron, and Colleen, then ran some errands. By the time I returned she was finishing up dinner, and was happy when I reported that we had lunch together. But still a pretty sad gal. She's dismayed, confused, and frustrated that she's in the hospital. And since not many of her friends know she's here, she hasn't had any visitors and only one call that I know of. So if you're inclined to visit or call, please do; she definitely rises to the occasion when people other than us are around.

And where was Dave today? He had a much deserved day off. Not quite the same as being at home but I hope he enjoyed it.

Photo credit:
Beaumont Hospital South Tower atrium from HOK|ideas work,  http://tinyurl.com/y8p94bc