prayers for my mom

[Prairie Gal]

Ohiocat, do they let your mother chew gum?  I remember reading about a study that showed post-surgical patients got their gut "up and running" a bit faster if they did.  It's a thought...

[Ohiocat]

they just started to allow her to have ice chips  but I think that is all.

[Ohiocat]

Good news- Mom finally passed some gas - so now they are going to take the tube out of her nose and then start her on a liquid diet maybe tomorrow.   No word as to when she might leave the the ICU for a regular room yet.

But this is a real sign of improvement.

[lynnmarie219]

Wonderful news! 

These are all small steps to recovery! I'll keep hoping for more small steps each day! That's the way to do it!

[Meld256]

Ohiocat,

I hope your Mom is still improving! Keep us updated when you can, ok? Prayers continuing to come your way...

Melinda

[Ohiocat]

They had delayed taking the tube out - but now it really has been removed.  Mom is now a liquid diet - soon to be a soft diet.

They have been giving her physical theropy as well as getting her up to walk.  There has been some talk about having her move out of ICU to a regular hospital room (not sure if that will get done soon).

And the real nice part is that I don't need to "yell" at my Dad any more.  He has his hearing aids back and they are working again.   Making communication a bit easier!

It is going to be a very long process getting Mom back on her feet and back home.

[shevonne]

Im glad to hear things are looking better!

[Katybarstool]

Ohio, that's good news. Seems our prayers have been answered.

Kathyx

[irish]

Ohio, Glad to hear that things seem to be progressing steadily and positively. Just a little note!!!As scary as all this has been for you, I remember being in nurses training many, many, many years ago and the elderly did not do well with surgery. They did not live through surgery much of the time and if they did the recovery period was really hard.

Thanks to all the new anesthesia drugs and surgical techniques the elderly do so much better post operatively these days. The fact does remain though that the anesthesia and pain medications are metabolized and excreted much slower as we age---thus some hallucinations and interesting conversations at times. Sounds like she is doing well. Also sounds like your dad is pretty active and helpful. Great thing for you Mom to have him. Irish

[Ohiocat]

As of late morning today,  Mom has now been moved into a regular hospital room. 

Getting to the room, was quite a deal.  They took her up to the room to discover that the bed was not made.  Then after a bit, they made the bed and then determined that the bed was really broken.  So that they had to go and get another bed for her.   Turns out she was out in the hallway for about an hour, before the bed situation got resolved.

Then they served her lunch in the new room.   Meanwhile there were two other people in her room (the lady who was ill and her husband).  So while mom had her food there, they were there talking about how the lady was bleeding and how lady was going to have colonoscopy to try and track down the bleeding.  Of course all of this additional noise and talk, upset Mom and she found it very difficult to eat.

Then also from what I understand, they were playing the TV sound very loud.  The TV in the room, has the sound coming out of the remote that controls the TV.  But my impression is that the sound was quite loud.  Then mom also said that their telephone sounded like an alarm clock. 

Then to top things off, Mom was cold and ask for extra blankets.  And initially they just did not bring her any.  Once they moved the lady out of the room (for her procedure), Dad went hunting for blankets and was able to find some.  To say the least, all of the stuff was placing Mom on edge and she just wants to go home!

They are now feeding her real food.  Her dinner had just arrived when I was talking to Dad and it sound like she had some kind of beef tips, and pasta with vegetables and a few other items I can't think of right now.   At least she was having some peace and relative calm to eat since her roommate is getting her colonosopy done at the moment.  They figure her roommate (and her husband) will be gone for at least an hour.

No idea yet how long it will take for her to be able to head home.  She needs to be well enough to take care of herself.  They are still doing some physical therapy and having her walk. 

[SeaBreeze2]

Hi Ohiocat...
I'm happy to hear that your mom is doing better.
As far as the room goes, consider asking for a private room...
It never hurts to ask...

[Prairie Gal]

Ohiocat, I've heard from several friends that hospitals are the worst places in which to get any rest.  If somebody wasn't trundling a noisy cart in the hallway right outside your room, a nurse was waking you up to take a sleeping pill -- true story!  There's nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed, either, so I hope your mother can soon go home to get some much-needed rest.

[Ohiocat]

Talked with Mom today.  She sounds lots better. 
 
She also thinks she have figured out why she has been getting these painful stomach craps.   It seems to be happening everytime they give her a IV of antibiotics.  She is due to get it again at 6:00 PM but she is going to refuse it this time.
 
Also she is hoping to talk to the one doctor to let him know that everytime she gets this set of antibiotics that it makes her stomach cramp.
 
Both her and Dad are hoping that Mom might be release tomorrow.  But the surgeran is going to have to check in before she will able to be released.
 
But Mom is walking well now.   (As long as she has not recently been given the IV.)  Even the people who have been "walking" her, say she does not really need anyone to walk her now.
 
The church dropped by some flowers, which I guess include a few roses and is very pretty.  And Mom's spirits seem very high especially after she has figured out what is causing her so much pain (and she plans on stopping it but stopping the IV).   Mom has reactions to some many things, I am not surprise that she has found another drug she can not tolerate.
 
Thats all for this update.

[Bucky]

Ohiocat - so good to hear that your Mom is coming along so well.  I know this is a relief to you and your Dad.

I hope she gets to come home this week as she will feel so much better being back home in her own surroundings.

Hopefully, she is eating well too - that could cause her stomach to be upset if she's taking medicine on an empty stomach.

Have a great week . . . things are looking up for your family.   

Bucky

[Scottietottie]

Hi Ohiocat 

Obviously I don't know what antibiotics your Mom is on but I do know that Erithromycin can cause awful stomach cramps - and indeed vomitting.

I could never take it in tablet form when I was young because it made me feel so bad and I'd throw up too. I always tyold people I was allergic to it.

When my daughter was six she nearly developed scepticemia because of a splinter of wood in one toe that she neglected to mention to us. When we spotten a 'poison line' heading up her leg we got the doctor who called an ambulance. When she got to the hospital she was given penicillin. By the following morning she was covered in a rash and they decided it was a penicillin allergy so they decided to give her intravenous erithromycin.

This gave her stomach cramps and made her throw up. I pointed this out to the nurses and to the doctors and I was told that it was a side effect and not an allergy. It was pretty darn horrible whatever it was!

I hope your Mom feels better soon.

Take care - Scottie