Tuesday Update

June 24, 2008

by Judy

Today was a day to renew ourselves by taking a short break from hospital visits. Judy returned to Purdue and talked with 45 middle-school 4-Hers in two sessions about Living with Parents. Although the issues that teens face when living with parents are different from what Carl and Doreen's children are facing now, there are important overlapping themes of learning to understand and respect each other's needs and perspectives. Carl took a day to visit with many friends at Timbercrest. He estimated that two dozen people stopped to ask about his and Doreen's well-being at dinner. There are many friends who will welcome them when and if they can make that move! Thanks to all of you who made him feel so welcome.

Reports from nurses and phone calls with Doreen indicate that there is not much change from the last few days. She is not eating very well, and she goes from being very lucid and aware to showing some confusion about where she is and what is appropriate in that setting. She has requested items from her bag or her room, and she sometimes forgets she is in a hospital rather than in someone's home.

We think that the doctor did not visit Doreen today, and there is no surgery nor CT scan scheduled for tomorrow, although that may change. It is likely that the doctors and nurses need to observe her longer now that the drain has been clamped off to determine the next steps. The lack of having any scheduled procedures does mean, though, that her condition did not deteriorate enough to mean that something needed to be done immediately.

Some notes that were not in the last posting: Yesterday Doreen helped to complete a complete crossword puzzle. She provided all the answers after Judy read the clues. Although she did not look at the puzzle, she knew all the answers. Now we need to get her to look at the puzzle itself! It also is important to note how she is trying to understand and get some control of her care. When Dr. Kachmann visited on Monday, Doreen asked, "If I didn't have a stroke, what did I have? Was it an aneuriysm?" She had heard much of the discussion about her condition, but she is trying to work through more of the details. It also is telling to consider how she answered one of the questions from the cognitive assessment. The item was "What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a doctor?" The advantages she listed were that you could care for your family members and could understand your own health well. The disadvantage was the hours.