Carl was not feeling well today, so Judy went to
The hospital personnel started the tube feeding overnight. They are giving her something very similar to baby formula. They pour it in a bag that that infulses the formula through a tube that looks like an IV tube, but it connects to her stomach tube (also called
The best news of the day is that something seems to have stimulated Doreen’s appetite. Judy didn’t get the full story regarding the oatmeal that was requested yesterday, but Doreen did say that she got oatmeal either for supper or for breakfast. Judy tried to help Doreen eat her lunch, but she didn’t want much. Then she started talking about Chinese food. She seemed really hungry for that. The nurses checked with the kitchen, and they didn’t have anything like that available. Judy and Carl had been to a nearby Chinese restaurant the night before, though, so Judy suggested she make a run to get carry-out. Doreen then said that we should make a list. She came up with 5 dishes that we should get. Judy asked how many people we were feeding, and Doreen said she wasn’t sure. It ended up that Judy got 3 dishes, and Doreen wanted chopsticks, too. The bedside table was set up so that both of them could eat together, and Doreen probably had a half cup of food. She fed herself some of it with chopsticks (although she needed a little help)! When she was done, she said that she just didn’t want any more, but she also said it was very good. Some of the leftover food was put in the refrigerator for other meals or snacks. The daughter of another patient a few doors down had had the same experience with her mother, a woman who was not eating but who ended up eating 2/3rds of her daughter’s Italian carry-out meal. This trend doesn’t say much for the hospital food, but it provides a great strategy!
Doreen watched several events of the Olympics. Before Judy arrived, she was watching some of the equestrian events and was telling the hospital staff about how her father used to show Tennessee Walking Horses. She also watched some swimming, women’s saber fencing, and basketball. When she wasn’t watching TV or sleeping, she talked about needing a motorized wheelchair to attend the National Older Adult Conference; unfortunately, that conference occurs in two weeks, and she will clearly not be able to attend. Her response to hearing that she won’t be able to go was some frustration and also some puzzlement about the timing of everything. When Judy explained that Doreen really needed to work on sitting up to be able to do all the things she wants to do in a wheelchair, she said, “then I will work really hard on those exercises.”
After the dinner in the room, Doreen seemed to be exhausted. She fell deeply asleep. But after two days of her talking about food in a positive light, we are all encouraged and hope to see more steady changes. Once we stoke that engine again, though, we better watch out!
One final note—we heard from Timbercrest that Carl may move in on Tuesday after his doctor’s appointment. It will be great for him to be in a place of his own where he doesn’t feel that he is in someone else’s way—even though we have been welcomed with very open arms and treated like family. The hospitality has been genuine and humbling. We feel we have made new friends and have gained new family members. But it has always felt temporary. This move will allow Carl to begin to feel that he is home. And we look forward to continuing the strong new (and on-going) relationships as we move to another stage!
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