Hi everyone -
Here are today's (4/26) updates on Laura's progress:
- She had another "lazy" day today. She slept well last night, but woke up at 5am when the nurses came in to draw blood, and then could not fall back asleep. (They did not attempt to tag her again with another wristband.
)
- She has had no headaches for three days now, and has stopped taking pain meds.
- She's had minimal/no change in the double vision.
- Her appetite continues to be very good. She had cream of wheat (with a spoon!), french toast, and bacon for breakfast this morning, watched a movie on tv, then took a two hour nap. Sounds like a perfect Sunday morning to me!
- Her roommate (who barely uttered a word and kept the curtain closed at all times) was discharged today, and she now has the room to herself. She's hoping that continues for the rest of her stay, but if not, she's keeping her fingers crossed for another silent roomie. I don't know what the odds of that are, but she certainly has had tremendous luck on the roommate front so far.
- She ate an uneventful lunch and then prepared to take a shower, which ended up being quite the event. She went back and forth to the bathroom several times because she kept forgetting things, and made herself nauseated in the process (good walking practice, though). She took some anti-nausea meds and went back to bed for a little while until they kicked in. Once she felt better, she took a
leisurely shower (like a half hour!), during which time no one bothered to check on her for being on the bathroom for so long. Apparently, just tagging her as a "fall risk" was sufficient, and no human interaction or follow up is required.
- After consuming all of the hot water on the unit, she spent a lot of time in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, drying and combing her hair, etc., all without supporting herself on the walker, sink, etc. I was excited (as was she) that she was able to maintain her balance for so long. A very good sign.
- Once she was done getting all gussied up, she decided to go... back to bed. Primping is tiring work, you know.
- She took her usual two walks today, both with the walker. She is determined to work on her balance to prove to the PT that she will be ready to be discharged soon. Maintaining her balance is crucial, as she will not have a 24/7 caregiver when she goes home. There will be portions of the day when she will be by herself and she needs the strength and balance to get around on her own when necessary.
- She is going to take another walk this evening when her boyfriend comes to visit. For that outing, she is planning on wearing her sneakers and is going to try to walk without any support at all (just have him next to her in case she needs help). She also is going to practice her PT exercises tonight.
- She will have a follow up with her doc and the PT tomorrow to gauge her progress. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, she is pretty confident that Wednesday will be discharge day.
- When I called, she was trying to eat spaghetti for dinner, which can be a challenge for anyone, but particularly daunting when half of your face is numb. She was attempting to cut it up in small pieces and then eat it with a spoon, but was having minimal success. I jokingly suggested that she suck up the individual noodles through a straw, which then, of course, caused us to have a big giggle fit. However, I still think the straw may have worked...
As always, thanks to all of you for your advice, comments, and support. Steve - to answer your question, I am not a writer, per se (I'm a copyeditor), but I do enjoy writing. I just wish I had more time to do it. Writing about Laura's progress has been very therapeutic for me and quite fun (now that she is doing so well). I am so glad people enjoy reading Laura's updates as much as I enjoy writing them.
Have a good night!
Barbara
