Tuesday, July 28, 2015

New Room, Tasks, Date, Diagnosis

Don continues to improve his strength and abilities in rehab. A few milestones have been reached during the past few days. After starting to walk using a walker, he goes a little farther with it each time, he stands up and moves from the bed to wheelchair easier, and has learned to step up on a 2” platform, then a 4” one. Below left: up and smiling, right: down is a little trickier.

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One of the best events happened on Saturday – he was moved to a private room. His former roommate has Parkinson’s and keeps making loud noises, barking like a dog and hollering loudly during the night. He also had ‘accidents’ during the night and techs would come in and turn all the lights on to clean him up. Needless to say, Don had trouble getting his rest! Also the room was pretty tight for nurses, techs and therapists, with two each of beds, wheelchairs, potty chairs, tables, nightstands and guest chairs. We talked with Dr. Catherine Aspinwall, and she made it happen! Don now has room 3920 all to himself, and the former roommate also has plenty of room with only one bed, etc. His wife is still friendly with us and everyone is happier. We’re forever grateful to Dr. Aspinwall!

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All of this positive progress was tempered by the news from Dr. Sturgeon, Nephrologist. She confirmed that Don’s renal failure is chronic and he will need to continue dialysis the rest of his life. But we are investigating options for allowing us to continue to travel when he is otherwise able to do so. We can plan ahead and go to different locations for dialysis – every city of any reasonable size (maybe 50,000+ population) is likely to have a dialysis center. We can also look into home dialysis if he qualifies, with supplies sent to us wherever we are. This probably means we won’t be leaving the lower 48 because travel through Canada or Mexico would be way too complicated. But we’re up to the challenge to figure it out, and look forward to new adventures in the future.

Meanwhile, I have decided to postpone the procedure I need on my legs. I have chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) or 'leaky valves' in my leg veins, causing blood to pool in my calves and ankles, swelling and sometimes painful, and could cause a blood clot. The procedure the endovascular doctor is going to perform will use heat to cauterize the veins that are affected, so blood will get re-routed to other veins. I've been wearing compression stockings for 3 months to satisfy Medicare for coverage on the procedure. It has been approved, but I don’t want to complicate our lives further just now, and I’m okay wearing the stockings.

Finally, we were given a more definite date for Don’s discharge: August 11. We’re hoping for not only more strength in his core and leg muscles, but also improvement in his upper body strength by then. That date is 2 weeks away, and a lot can happen during that time. It will also be 10 weeks after surgery, so his wounds will be well-healed by then. Onward and upward!

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10 comments:

  1. Don's progress is really great. Maybe it might be better if you go ahead and schedule your surgery in the future, and you can always postpone it if you have to. I have a friend that has been all summer getting something scheduled.

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    1. Good idea, Jan, but I really can't predict when would be a good time yet.

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  2. What a trooper! Keep up the good work, Don. And, Sharon, you're a natural care-giver. Hope you can get everybody mended up and back on the road again soon. Thanks for the updates!

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  3. So pleased Don is improving steadily. Sorry about the renal failure. My uncle and aunt chose to do dialysis at home since they were three hours from the hospital and at least an hour from any facility that could do dialysis. Neither of them were medically trained, but handled his dialysis for ten years so he could live a fairly normal life. The great thing about dialysis is that you can eat whatever you want during dialysis. It is like it doesn't count. Do your research. There are lots of possibilities out there.
    As far as your chronic venous insufficiency, we have so much experience with that. My Mom was diagnosed with Melroy's Disease in her 80s and we were dealing with leaking on a daily basis. The stockings help so much and we went through therapy with "boots" that moved fluid from her feet up to her hips with air compression. Our son Randy has been going through the venous closures for several months and recently had an out-patient procedure placing shunts in deep veins in both legs. We are still learning how to deal with all of this. They know so much more now than they knew when my Mom was going through all this. This chronic condition runs in my family and I struggle with swelling in my legs.
    So--all that said--hang on and take all of this one day at a time! The important point is things are looking up. Keep your eyes on the prize--Don and you home together enjoying life! Hugs to both of you!

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    1. Thanks for the perspective from your family's experiences, Leslie. Definitely practicing the one day at a time philosophy and keeping our eyes on the prize! Love the reminders - Hugs to you and W.C.

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  4. Good news and bad news. Recovery is never a straight upward line. Sound like you have options with the dialysis. Live Strong!!!!!

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  5. Wow!! It was just 6 months ago we were parked next to you folks at the Tampa Show. We are so happy Don is recovering so well. We are in a similar situation. While staying at the SKP park in Alabama, Kathy had emergency surgery for a complication from Gastric Bypass surgery in February. They removed 95% of her small intestine. Now she is on IV nutrition 12 hours a day, but she is on the mend as well. We are in a similar travel situation as she needs weekly blood tests and weekly deliveries of her nutrition supplies, but we will see . God bless you both.

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    1. Yes, a lot has changed since we saw you two in Tampa! We heard about Kathy's emergency, and it's good to know she's on the mend. We all have to face whatever is thrown at us and make the most of the situation, don't we? We keep you both in our prayers for better days ahead.

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  6. Isn't it nice with the motorhome you could move around and be close to Don. Maybe you will still be able to move to places with dialysis. Who knows what the future may hold. Glad to see that smile on Don's face. Sharon, don't forget to take care of yourself too. Prayers for both of you.Thanks for the reminder to enjoy each day.

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