Update on Colleen

[mdlbear]

Yesterday (Monday) she fell trying to go from her walker to the bed -- got herself into an awkward position and seemed confused when I tried to tell her how to get out of it. Rather than simply having the EMTs put her back in bed we decided to use the opportunity to get her to the ER and have her looked at. Which turned out to have been the right thing to do.

She had been getting weaker and weaker over the last two weeks. They put her on oxygen and it seems to be helping, but she's still weak, still rather confused, still sleeping too much, and still having trouble breathing. She seems to have gotten markedly worse since this morning when I started writing this post. (Update at 5pm - using a mask instead of a nasal canula for O2 seems to have helped.)

In addition to her usual UTI there's a yeast infection and apparently some right-side heart damage. The weakness, shortness of breath, sleepiness, and swolen legs are at least consistent with partial heart failure, but I only had one conversation with the ER doctor, who seemed to know what was going on. The (female) NP who came in yesterday was helpful; the (male) one who's on this week isn't -- he seems detached and condescending (near as I can tell; I'm no good at reading people). He asked whether she'd been on dialysis -- she hasn't. we (V and I) couldn't pin him down on whether she should be getting it now.

The CT yesterday didn't show a fistula, though, and that's something, and she's getting a CT of her head (as I write, and I'm trying not to think of "you haul him home and you scan his head" from "Stuck Here") which hopefully won't show any signs of stroke. We'll see what that shows. Probably won't know anything until tomorrow.

She'll almost certainly end up back in rehab again after she's discharged. I'm very worried about the mental confusion and the weakness, although getting more oxygen into her seems to have helped.

I'm not getting a damned thing done on $GIG the last few days; that's probably not surprising but is a matter for concern.

Comments

[acelightning]

You're entirely welcome. My husband was afraid I ws going to die. But I insisted on getting out of bed, managed to pee on one of the young, helpful male student nurses, and started to get better. Tell Colleen the story of my medical misadventures (that began about this time last year), and tell her that I said she should get well so she can stay out of hospitals; because hospitals are full of SICK people. (And find out whether any of her doctors think medical cannabis would do her any good, for any of her conditions; my official prescription is for "treatment of anxiety". Research is indicating that it's useful for lots of ailments.)

And like the Mary Ellen Carter, we rise again!