Wow. That was one lengthy discharge. The doctor didn't come to see mom until almost 4:30. He wrote her discharge orders, but, once he left, mom and I realized we really knew nothing about her care once she was home. No one had talked to us about how to change her dressing, how she should go about showering, and no one had ever even looked at mom's incision on her knee.
So... by the time we got all of those things addressed, we didn't leave the hospital until almost 7:00. (I even had to stop the nurse who was ready to take mom out the door in the wheelchair, to tell her mom's IV was still in!) It was quite a debacle, really, but we are both glad she's home. We're very sick of hospitals at this point, although we have become quite adept at navigating them.
Feel free to call mom at her house or on her cell. I'm here until Monday, then mom's step-sister, Linda, will be here all next week.
If you're interested in helping out by providing a meal/meals to mom, please e-mail me at jenluttrell@yahoo.com. Mom would never ask for help, but I think she's going to need it, as she can't move her shoulder for 6 weeks.
Thanks, Everyone!
love,
jennifer
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Meal Sign-Up
Hi All.
Mom is expected to come home from the hospital tomorrow. She's still in a lot of pain, but everything looks good as far as follow-up from her doctor goes.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, I've put together a calendar for friends, who are interested, to sign up to drop off meals to Mom. This is where I think she'll need to most help, since she won't be able to drive or use her left arm for six weeks. Help with occasional meals for the next 8 weeks would be great.
If you are interested, add your name and "lunch" or "dinner" to the day, which you choose on the calendar. To get to the calendar, follow this link:
http://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=e7_2_CN3t8FMRLFUWYfJJw
Thanks for your continued support during Mom's recovery.
love,
jennifer
Mom is expected to come home from the hospital tomorrow. She's still in a lot of pain, but everything looks good as far as follow-up from her doctor goes.
As I mentioned in earlier posts, I've put together a calendar for friends, who are interested, to sign up to drop off meals to Mom. This is where I think she'll need to most help, since she won't be able to drive or use her left arm for six weeks. Help with occasional meals for the next 8 weeks would be great.
If you are interested, add your name and "lunch" or "dinner" to the day, which you choose on the calendar. To get to the calendar, follow this link:
http://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=e7_2_CN3t8FMRLFUWYfJJw
Thanks for your continued support during Mom's recovery.
love,
jennifer
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A Real Pain in the... Shoulder
Well, Mom woke up at around 3AM in excruciating pain. It took a truck load of morphine to get on top of it, but today, she has seemed comfortable, although still quite in-and-out of sleep from the morphine.
I took advantage of her sleepiness and came back to her house to clean for a couple of hours. My friend, Nicole, helped me, which certainly made it all go by more quickly and cheerfully. Now, just a few more things to tackle at the house before she comes home, which won't be until Friday.
Thatcher has been depressed, so he's going to stay with Fred and his dog, Squeeky, tonight and tomorrow night. That way, he won't obsess on "where's mom?" all day and night. And, I can cheer up some people, but I don't really know how to work with Thatcher through his sadness...
I'll post again later or tomorrow.
love,
jennifer
I took advantage of her sleepiness and came back to her house to clean for a couple of hours. My friend, Nicole, helped me, which certainly made it all go by more quickly and cheerfully. Now, just a few more things to tackle at the house before she comes home, which won't be until Friday.
Thatcher has been depressed, so he's going to stay with Fred and his dog, Squeeky, tonight and tomorrow night. That way, he won't obsess on "where's mom?" all day and night. And, I can cheer up some people, but I don't really know how to work with Thatcher through his sadness...
I'll post again later or tomorrow.
love,
jennifer
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Mom's Contact Info
Hi All. Here's Mom's contact info while she's in the hospital. She should be up for visitors starting tomorrow. Feel free to call or drop by to see her.
Bone & Joint Hospital
1111 N Dewey Ave
Room 328
Oklahoma City, OK 73103-2609
(405) 272-9671 (Room 328)
Bone & Joint Hospital
1111 N Dewey Ave
Room 328
Oklahoma City, OK 73103-2609
(405) 272-9671 (Room 328)
Mom's Out of Surgery
Mom's out of surgery. The doctor said he gave her the best shoulder he could, and that it thinks the recovery will be fine. It wasn't the positive "everything went great!" kind of report, but, given the extent of Mom's injuries, there was only so much he could do.
He ran into some dead bone around the shoulder so had to do some grafting (from cadavers) to hold the prosthesis in place. He suspects the dead bone came as a result of her blood flow being cut off due to the injuries. He also said she had soft tissue and muscles in very poor condition (most likely from lack of use for 10 months). He did muscle and soft tissue repair as well.
The knee portion of the surgery was a cinch. Took only about 5 minutes to remove the wire.
Mom will be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday. She'll need to be in a sling, unable to move the shoulder at all, for 6 weeks. Yikes. Then, she'll begin PT.
I'm planning on sending out an e-mail to ask for friends to help out with meals for her for a while. It's been hard enough for her to make her meals prior to this surgery (having to hold a cane to steady herself), but now it will be quite difficult. If you are interested in helping out in this way, please let me know and I'll add you to the e-mail.
Thanks, All, for your thoughts, prayers and support.
Know that my mind is tired and my recollection somewhat foggy. If some of my report doesn't make sense, that's why and I'll clear up any confusion later.
love,
jennifer
He ran into some dead bone around the shoulder so had to do some grafting (from cadavers) to hold the prosthesis in place. He suspects the dead bone came as a result of her blood flow being cut off due to the injuries. He also said she had soft tissue and muscles in very poor condition (most likely from lack of use for 10 months). He did muscle and soft tissue repair as well.
The knee portion of the surgery was a cinch. Took only about 5 minutes to remove the wire.
Mom will be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday. She'll need to be in a sling, unable to move the shoulder at all, for 6 weeks. Yikes. Then, she'll begin PT.
I'm planning on sending out an e-mail to ask for friends to help out with meals for her for a while. It's been hard enough for her to make her meals prior to this surgery (having to hold a cane to steady herself), but now it will be quite difficult. If you are interested in helping out in this way, please let me know and I'll add you to the e-mail.
Thanks, All, for your thoughts, prayers and support.
Know that my mind is tired and my recollection somewhat foggy. If some of my report doesn't make sense, that's why and I'll clear up any confusion later.
love,
jennifer
In Surgery...
Well, Mom is in surgery. They took her in about an hour ago. I must say seeing her wheeled off into the operating room was a bit of an ugly flashback for me. But, at least this time, she's conscious and going in for a routine procedure... not a life saving one.
I should hear something when they are mid-way through and then again when she is out of surgery. When they fix her surgery, they'll also go into her left knee and remove a wire that is working its way out. (Yes, they had wired her crushed knee back together after the wreck, using the wire like thread.)
I'll keep everyone posted as the day progresses.
Thanks for all of your support.
love,
jennifer
I should hear something when they are mid-way through and then again when she is out of surgery. When they fix her surgery, they'll also go into her left knee and remove a wire that is working its way out. (Yes, they had wired her crushed knee back together after the wreck, using the wire like thread.)
I'll keep everyone posted as the day progresses.
Thanks for all of your support.
love,
jennifer
Monday, July 27, 2009
One last surgery
Hi Everyone. It seems like it's an appropriate time to blog again, if only for a little while.
The last few months, Mom has been recovering quite well, but, alas, there is one more surgery before she can continue her recovery. Tomorrow morning, Mom will have a full shoulder replacement of her left shoulder. The shoulder had been fractured in the wreck, but the fracture wasn't discovered until a couple months after. At that point, doctors thought it was healing well on its own, however, grueling PT and subsequent scans revealed that the shoulder is pretty much... well, f*cked. Sorry, but it is.
I am in town for a week to help mom out during/post surgery. We will be at the hospital (Bone & Joint in OKC) bright and early tomorrow - admitting at 7:00, surgery at 9:00AM.
I'll be sure to update the blog when Mom gets out of surgery. It's just the easiest and most efficient way of letting everyone know what's going on. Geoff isn't here this time to help make all the calls... and for good reason - he and Heather are expecting their first child 8/17! So, Mom has lots to look forward to and needs a new shoulder so she can play with her new little grand baby. :)
Please keep us in your thoughts, prayers, send positive energy, healing light or whatever works for you. We're all anxious. It's not fun to relive what happened last September, but we are also very ready to have the surgeries be a thing of the past, so Mom can move forward in her recovery.
Much love and appreciation.
jennifer
The last few months, Mom has been recovering quite well, but, alas, there is one more surgery before she can continue her recovery. Tomorrow morning, Mom will have a full shoulder replacement of her left shoulder. The shoulder had been fractured in the wreck, but the fracture wasn't discovered until a couple months after. At that point, doctors thought it was healing well on its own, however, grueling PT and subsequent scans revealed that the shoulder is pretty much... well, f*cked. Sorry, but it is.
I am in town for a week to help mom out during/post surgery. We will be at the hospital (Bone & Joint in OKC) bright and early tomorrow - admitting at 7:00, surgery at 9:00AM.
I'll be sure to update the blog when Mom gets out of surgery. It's just the easiest and most efficient way of letting everyone know what's going on. Geoff isn't here this time to help make all the calls... and for good reason - he and Heather are expecting their first child 8/17! So, Mom has lots to look forward to and needs a new shoulder so she can play with her new little grand baby. :)
Please keep us in your thoughts, prayers, send positive energy, healing light or whatever works for you. We're all anxious. It's not fun to relive what happened last September, but we are also very ready to have the surgeries be a thing of the past, so Mom can move forward in her recovery.
Much love and appreciation.
jennifer
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