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Nov. 24th, 2003 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaLord, what a roller coaster we've been on for the last 24 hours.
Michael's dad had a rough time all day yesterday - he seemed to be in more pain, and more discouraged. They took his chest tube out in the morning, which was a painful procedure, and after that he just seemed worn out. The evening visit was when things got really bad, though.
He was nauseous at dinner time, and they gave him some Phenergan. Shortly afterward, he started saying things that didn't make any sense - sort of the way people sound when they talk in their sleep, muttering things with no connection to reality. He became agitated, nervously licking his lips and working his mouth, complaining about something we couldn't understand. Then he started seeing things. He pulled at his wires, urgently trying to tell us about something imaginary that needed to be fixed or changed. He could be reassured for a minute or two, but then he'd be off again. Eventually he started trying to get out of bed, and it was all we could do to keep him in it until the nurse got there.
He thought he was at home, and he was trying to get to the bathroom. The nurses got him up and onto a commode, and when they got him back to bed he was a lot calmer - but he still didn't know where he was. He reacted strongly to any noises out in the hallway, and given that it was shift change time there were a lot of them.
The nurses said his wife could spend the night, so we sent her out for a while to rest while we stayed by his side. It was much easier to calm and reassure him by this point. When his wife came back in, Michael and I went to get some dinner. By the time we returned, an hour later, he was calm and seemed to mostly know where he was.
This morning he was fine. He unfortunately remembers everything that happened last night - I'd been hoping he wouldn't - and is feeling kind of scared and, I think, ashamed about that. He's also tending towards post-surgical depression, and talking about dying. But he continues to progress well physically. While we were with him in the ICU this morning, he pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed with just a little help from Michael. At lunchtime, they moved him into a regular room. I think that will help a lot. They're talking about sending him home Wednesday if things continue to go well.
Last night was just awful. It's a real relief to find him so much better today. Michael's been a hero about all of this, but I know it's really been hard on him.
This afternoon we're going over to the Mid-South Blood Center to donate blood in Papa's name, given that he's now had two transfusions and may possibly need another. There's some sort of system where he gets credited for the blood we donate rather than having to pay for the blood he received, but I think we both see it as more of a moral obligation to give blood now.
We've also picked up a card for the ICU nurses. They've been uniformly wonderful, and I know that's made a huge difference.
Michael's dad had a rough time all day yesterday - he seemed to be in more pain, and more discouraged. They took his chest tube out in the morning, which was a painful procedure, and after that he just seemed worn out. The evening visit was when things got really bad, though.
He was nauseous at dinner time, and they gave him some Phenergan. Shortly afterward, he started saying things that didn't make any sense - sort of the way people sound when they talk in their sleep, muttering things with no connection to reality. He became agitated, nervously licking his lips and working his mouth, complaining about something we couldn't understand. Then he started seeing things. He pulled at his wires, urgently trying to tell us about something imaginary that needed to be fixed or changed. He could be reassured for a minute or two, but then he'd be off again. Eventually he started trying to get out of bed, and it was all we could do to keep him in it until the nurse got there.
He thought he was at home, and he was trying to get to the bathroom. The nurses got him up and onto a commode, and when they got him back to bed he was a lot calmer - but he still didn't know where he was. He reacted strongly to any noises out in the hallway, and given that it was shift change time there were a lot of them.
The nurses said his wife could spend the night, so we sent her out for a while to rest while we stayed by his side. It was much easier to calm and reassure him by this point. When his wife came back in, Michael and I went to get some dinner. By the time we returned, an hour later, he was calm and seemed to mostly know where he was.
This morning he was fine. He unfortunately remembers everything that happened last night - I'd been hoping he wouldn't - and is feeling kind of scared and, I think, ashamed about that. He's also tending towards post-surgical depression, and talking about dying. But he continues to progress well physically. While we were with him in the ICU this morning, he pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed with just a little help from Michael. At lunchtime, they moved him into a regular room. I think that will help a lot. They're talking about sending him home Wednesday if things continue to go well.
Last night was just awful. It's a real relief to find him so much better today. Michael's been a hero about all of this, but I know it's really been hard on him.
This afternoon we're going over to the Mid-South Blood Center to donate blood in Papa's name, given that he's now had two transfusions and may possibly need another. There's some sort of system where he gets credited for the blood we donate rather than having to pay for the blood he received, but I think we both see it as more of a moral obligation to give blood now.
We've also picked up a card for the ICU nurses. They've been uniformly wonderful, and I know that's made a huge difference.
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no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 12:36 pm (UTC)I hope that getting out of the hospital and back into real life will help him cheer up.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 12:40 pm (UTC)ahem.
anyhow. icu nurses get major stars in their crowns in heaven, by me.
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Date: 2003-11-24 12:48 pm (UTC)Thank you for the ongoing details. I think on you all lots.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 12:52 pm (UTC)I hope you can convince Misha's father that it is perfectly normal for people in ICU to get confused and even a little crazy, and that it's nothing to be ashamed of. I know you know that-- you're a psychologist after all -- but sometimes under stress it helps to be reminded of things. (I had that conversation with my Dad when I visited in July, and he asked me, absolutely seriously, why the hospital would be trying to induce paranoia in a 72-year-old man.)
You're in my thoughts, and I hope the situation continues to improve.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 01:11 pm (UTC)-J
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 01:32 pm (UTC)Giving blood is a mitzvah. Blessings on you both.
Re: post-op depression: would it make sense to start him on an SSRI or somesuch if it persists? Just something to keep in mind and ask his doctors about.
You're making a huge positive difference for Michael and his family. Go, you.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 02:01 pm (UTC)Best wishes to all of you.
This afternoon we're going over to the Mid-South Blood Center to donate blood in Papa's name, ... There's some sort of system where he gets credited for the blood we donate rather than having to pay for the blood he received
!!!!
I know this isn't the time or the place for ranting about the US healthcare system - and besides, I'd be preaching to the converted. I'm just very shocked. In a supportive way, you understand.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-25 11:02 am (UTC)Usually you (or, more commonly, your insurance company) get charged for the processing costs of the blood you receive. The blood donation centers don't collect any profit, but they charge enough to cover the cost of the technicians and tests and storage and so forth.
It should probably go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: blood isn't withheld from people who need it, regardless of their ability to pay.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 02:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 02:37 pm (UTC)I still remember, over twenty years later, the faces of every one of ICU nurses who took care of my son, and several of the names. I remember watching in awe as they fought like hell to save the patient two beds over, the charge nurse rattling off instructions and calling for a doctor, and never failing to say please and thankyou.
An ICU nurse in Spokane took pity on me while Mikhail's dad was recovering from his heart attack and gave me daily updates by phone, including calling me one day before he took off early from a shift since he didn't want me to have to call, wait to get cleared by another staffer and call back.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-24 05:07 pm (UTC)I'm sorry things have been so rough. *hugs* I'm glad Michael's dad is doing better today.
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Date: 2003-11-24 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-25 06:30 am (UTC)And hard on you, too. Good wishes sent your way.
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Date: 2003-11-25 10:04 am (UTC)During my mother's recent hospitalization, at one point she was on something (I forget what, but it's a relatively simple / common drug --- valium?) that sent her completely loony. She kept trying to pull out her wires, and thought my sister was the cat. Spent some time petting her. Freaked my sister out no end. Fortunately, my mother remembers nothing of the episode.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-25 11:33 am (UTC)Both of you and Misha's father are in my thoughts....
no subject
Date: 2003-11-25 07:51 pm (UTC)Meditatively:
*brib*
*brib*
*brib*