The Week So Far

I arrived at Heartland Monday afternoon about 4:30 and spent an enjoyable hour with Mom before heading to Meadowlark and unloading my car. She had her hair done earlier in the day and was looking quite nice. We sat in the hall by the window enjoying the warm sun and getting caught up. I reminded her I would be taking her to the Wound Clinic on Tuesday and Dr. Hale on Wednesday. We also discussed the plan to contact the facilities Darcy mentioned to see about moving on to the next phase of her recovery. It was late in the day so I didn't get much of an argument and encouraged her to think of assisted living as a short term stay, 2-3 months. She could think of reasons why not to go, it's not Meadowlark, and was unable to come up with anything positive to mention. She appears to be willing to try this option, though, so we will see what happens.

Tuesday morning I contacted Wynwood of Troy and scheduled an assessment appointment for Wednesday the 17th. I also called, and visited, Sunrise of Troy, and discussed an assessment with them after a brief tour of their facility.  We'll go there Thursday morning for a tour and assessment and then visit Priscilla. The weather has been so wonderful, it's a shame to stay inside all day.

After a nice lunch with Mom and Val we prepared to depart for the Wound Clinic. Cousin Tara & her daughter Andi (aka Dr. East) accompanied us on the journey to Beaumont. Val & Andi participated in the unveiling and assessment of the wound in Dr. Ordano's office while Tara and & visited in the waiting room. The staff at Heartland had commented that the wound is healing and looking pretty good. They didn't mention anything about the dead tissue around the wound resulting from Mom not getting out of her chair with any regularity and either standing or laying down to relieve the pressure. Dr. O did say the wound is healing, but is still considered a stage 4 wound. That being the case, twice daily dressing changes will continue until the wound reaches a point where a Vac-Pac can be used.

While her assessment for Wynnwood was taking place, I sat in the hall reading the Free Press. While paging through the paper I saw an obituary of someone I was sure Mom knew and noticed the memorial service was scheduled for 11:00 this morning at FCCRO. After the interview concluded I showed her the paper and she decided she wanted to go to the service. After she took care of her personal needs we made it to the church with about 10 minutes to spare. Following the services Mom enjoyed visiting with her many friends and admirers (surprise) and held court in the fellowship hall while eating a terrific church food funeral luncheon.

Seeing Mom sitting with her dear friends, watching her interact with people that came by to visit with her was such a treat. Her whole demeanor changed. There was a wonderful smile on the her face, she sat up straighter, was pleasant, caring and concerned to everyone who she saw. She looked and acted like she didn't have a care in the world. It was great.

We finally got out of church about 2 p.m. with enough time to get to Heartland so she could use the facilities, have her wound dressed, and get to her 3:00 appointment with the infectious disease doctor, Dr. Hale. Dr. Hale discontinued the IV antibiotics and the PICC line will be removed at Heartland this afternoon. We returned to Heartland, Mom needed to rest and I needed to get this post out. Sorry it's so long, but I wanted to get everything out before I forgot things. I'm sure there are some things I failed to mention, but will add to my next entry, if I remember. It'll be interesting to see how the visit to Sunrise goes on Thursday. They say they can accommodate a stage 4 wound; we just have to pay for the nurses to come in and deal with it.

That's it.