Friday: Really tired this eve

Really tired this eve.  Didn't sleep too well last eve.

But this am at the hospital Redjeb at first was sort of out of it and half asleep.  Meds??
But then the PT guys arrived.  He really perked up again and they did the same thing as yesterday, trying to get him to stand up and sit down.  They have to prop him up.  He has lost a lot of muscle lying in bed all this time and he is very weak.  But he really gets into it with them (as best he can).  I wish they could come back twice a day.  I asked the surgeon I spoke to today if that would be possible.  He explained that it was a matter of staffing and he wasn't sure they could accomodate that.  He said he'd ask, but he was running off to surgery, so he probably won't remember.  Also, I think they are really doing assessment, not real PT.

I also had a long talk with a resident today, as a result of my heart to heart talk with the social worker yesterday.  He told me he would pass on my concerns to the head surgeon who would then speak to me.  When I found out who was the head guy this week, I made a face and told the resident I didn't like the guy. ..That he had been flippant with me when I met him when Redjeb first came in.  What I found interesting was when I finally got to speak to Dr. Flippant, he was really quite nice (for him).  I wondered if the resident had told him what I said.  Dr. F also mentioned that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, to which I added that this squeaky wheel was starting to crack.

But he told me that they had decided not to discharge Redjeb on Monday, but to wait a few days more. That is a relief to me as it gives me a bit more time to work on the nursing home situation and also the ever present insurance issues.  Redjeb has made a tiny bit of progress each day, but it is progress, so the doctor wants to see what happens in a few days.

Unfortunately Redjeb cannot speak, as he has the trach.  They had hoped to fit him with a speaking valve, but haven't been able to as he has a lot of gunk coming up from his lungs that were damaged in the accident.  I feel bad as he has been trying to talk but it is impossible to understand him.  And he cannot read nor write (for unknown reasons)...and can't hold a pen.  He and I always used to be in communication and this is so frustrating for him, I am sure, and for me.

My nephew Will worked along with me this morning, helping me with bill paying in my "real" life.  Yes, those bills do keep coming and appear unfortunately when people bring me the mail.  He was also helpful in trying to organize me.  But he has come to realize how overwhelming all this is. He said that I have had to absorb an enormous amount of information...and try to act on it. He went to bed this eve exhausted.  Now I shall.

Thanks to you folks who have been trying to help with the nursing home search.