We were discharged from UW-Hospital after a 4-day stay yesterday afternoon. (While we were at the hospital we did dialysis two times in the hospital clinic where I was permitted to cannulate her needles and take her off the machine -- much thanks to the supportive professionals there.)
Sabine also received her weekly chemo infusion in her room after much discussion and delays.
Nevertheless, here is an update -- we are back home and I have positioned Sabine in her mom's house (where we dialyze) for mobility purposes. Our home has lots of steps from the driveway to our front door.
Now the program is about mobility and accessibility. She will mainly be in her mom's house except for two major transfers next week to the chemo clinic on Wednesday and Thursday. That will be a major undertaking as Sabine continues to experience "level 8" pain whenever she moves. Mr. Oxycotine is available and she has been advised to keep him in her system to mask the pain that will be part of her healing journey -- she is to MOVE as much as possible with weight on her pelvis. Hmmm - but that's what the professionals have prescribed.
While this is a set-back, I continue to reframe it as a blessing. She did not have to have surgery, she did not hit her head when she fell and could have gotten a brain bleed, and she did not fracture her "golden arm" (the one with the fistula for her dialysis).
Home health in nearby Dodgeville has already scheduled her for occupational and physical therapy on Monday and I am going to pick up her brother, Rainer, from the airport on Sunday. Rainer offered to come and help out as a member of the dual-care team: Sabine and her mother, Charlotte.
As many of you know, Charlotte, age 92, is experiencing a growing memory loss due to dementia. She doesn't know what happened, cannot remember the ambulance coming to the farm on Tuesday, nor any other events that have happened over 5 minutes ago.
However, her health is good and she maintains a positive attitude and is always ready to help when asked. But she can no longer live independently and depends on us for daily care.
I want to thank all of you who have offered to help out and brought meals for us. Your love and care is greatly appreciated. I promise that if we need help, we will ask. For example, friend Jeff, who lives nearby, helped out the other night when I stayed with Sabine at the hospital with feeding the donkeys (who greatly miss their daily interaction with Charlotte.
Peace. Healing. And a blessed New Year for all of us!
No comments:
Post a Comment