by Judy
The primary accomplishment during these two days is that Doreen is eating better and is graduating to more normal foods rather than ground-up and pureed items. It has been a challenge to feed her things like vegetable soup while she is lying flat on her back, but we have figured it out! And we are figuring out what tasty things we should order for her meals.
The concern today that she was very lethargic and sleepy again (Friday). She showed no movement or response with her left hand, although she did move her left leg. She spent very little time with her eyes open. When the surgeon saw her in the late afternoon, he expressed dissatisfaction with her condition and suggested that he might need to take one more step. He is afraid that the brain has been unable to absorb the brain fluid (something that often happens with older people after they have had bleeding in the brain). His approach to treatment througout this time has been to do only as much as he knew was necessary at each point, but he feels it may be necessary to put in a stint to move excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain. This would entail inserting a tube in the brain that would drain into the abdominal cavity where the fluid would be absorbed nomally by the body. The neurosurgeon would do the work in the brain, and another surgeon would work on the abdomen. He anticipated that the surgery would take about an hour and a half. He talked about doing this on Monday, but said that he was on call this weekend, and may do it sooner if it looks warranted. We hate to see yet another surgery, but we appreciate the surgeon's step-by-step approach, and clearly we want to maximize the chances that Doreen will be able to recover most or all of her capacities.
We also spent some time today looking at options for Doreen after discharge from the hospital. Although the first choice is Timbercrest, they have told us that they are not able to accept someone with her current medical needs at this time. That situation may change by the time Doreen is discharged (earliest date--Monday, June 16), but we need to have another option in mind. Judy and Carl visited Peabody Retirement Community in North Manchester today, and found that it was a pleasant place with many options for care. Some representatives of Peabody were already planning to visit Ft. Wayne today, so they came by the hospital and talked with the staff and Doreen. By the end of the day, they let us know that they would be happy to admit her when she is discharged from the hospital. So Peabody will be Doreen's next residential location unless something changes with Timbercrest before that time. The Peabody arrangements would be seen as temporary in any case, with the hope that something would open up as soon as possible, perhaps for both Carl and Doreen to move in to Timbercrest as their new permanent home.
Carl is continually impressed by the loving care Doreen is getting in the Lutheran Hospital environment. It is expressed not only to us but also to others. Each time a person comes to room, he is careful to tell him or her about his satisfaction.
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