Oh how I wish I looked this cute when I wake up with major bed head. I didn't want to jinx this revelation by blogging about it but Oona's actually been napping in her room the past month or so. You have no clue how much easier this makes my life and how desperately I need my life to be a bit easier lately. My Grandmother fell and broke her hip last Tuesday, that's why I haven't blogged in so long. My Mom got in Friday and things have been a bit of a blur the past week. I spent 6 hours at the ER with my Grandma until they finally got her up to the floor for surgeries. She was such a dear telling me how she raved to everyone in the ambulance about the manicure I gave her, I started doing her nails every Sunday when I'd go to see her without Oona. She did real well with the surgery, unfortunately they sent her to a rehabilitative hospital this weekend that's the best in terms of physical therapy but ill equipped to handle someone with my Grandmother's level of dementia. This weekend was extremely stressful for my Mom and me, much more so my Mom who spent all day at the rehab hospital on Sunday because the she couldn't trust the nurses to watch my Grandma. Just how bad was it? A few lows. On Sunday my Mom asked the nursing staff to get my Grandma out of her wheelchair after lunch and put her in her bed so she could nap, like she usually does, they refused. I told the nurse my Grandma was at risk for trying to get out of her bed due to her agitated state, from anxiety and dementia. They put in an order for a low bed which she didn't get for 15 hours. In the meantime they took no other precautions with her and she fell trying to get out of her bed within an hour of our leaving on Saturday. When we received the call that she had fallen I told my Mom to call her Doctor, who was out until Tuesday, and then forced her to speak with a doctor on call in order to up her dose of Ativan so she could calm down. The doctor refused saying it would make her more likely to try and get out of bed which is in no way true. We kept asking for additional Ativan, something to calm her down, saying that with all the stress and changes her usual dose (which is miniscule) would not be enough for her. Thirty hours after our multiple requests to calm her down they wound up giving her Haldol, which is way stronger than Ativan and usually used with acute psychosis or mania. Yesterday I went to the center with my Mom and gave a formal complaint basically reaming the nursing staff (they weren't all bad but three were particularly horrible) and the on-call doctor for their treatment of my Grandma.
The thing that is so maddening to me with the past week that my Grandma has been under medical care is the compartmentalization. My Grandma is not looked at as a whole person, 93 years old with senile dementia. It seems like the healthcare providers just focus on their part and no one is questioning, aside from me and my Mom, what's best overall for my Grandma. There was no caseworker that I know of who oversaw things at the hospital. We only met the caseworker at the rehabilitative hospital after I complained and said that she's to be transferred to a facility that can handle dementia patients and that she's not to receive any more Haldol in the interim. The whole week long episode makes me entertain the idea of going to nursing school, yet again, although I don't know that anger at a convoluted and impersonal system is the best reason. Plus I always worried that I'd be too emotional and nervous to be a good nurse but I do love reading about science and medicine. Oh well, it can be one of those never ending what if's. I also went to the dermatologist on Thursday for my annual mole and freckle check being extremely fair it seems like a good idea. I asked the doctor about Retin A because I'm obsessed with the toll age is taking on my skin and the doctor gave me a few samples along with a prescription. I followed the recommended dose, pea size, but actually forgot and put it on two days in a row instead of starting off every other day. Big mistake. I now resemble a genetically modified tomato crossed with a snake. I'm molting and very very red. I get especially red while exercising and the sweat stings my tomato skin. The price of vanity and I'm not looking at all pretty right now.
2 comments:
sorry to hear about your grandma and the skin things doesn't sound too fun.
before i got to the part about nursing school, i remembered that you were going for a while and was going to suggest it. you do have such a strong interest in science and medicine.
by the way, the flower pic. about is just gorgeous. i am so happy i moved to suburbia in the spring because the flowers, trees & all the spring goodness makes me so happy.
on the nap front, little m (not a good napper) had not napped in a week and let me tell you it has not been a pretty week. he's been terrible. he fell asleep in the highchair today during a time-out and i carried him up to his bed and thank god he took a nap because he needed one in the worst way. i don't know how i get through the day sometimes.
so sorry about your grandma...trying to figure out how to care for aging parents & grandparents is tough no matter the situation i think--and then dealing with all that bureaucracy and other crap just adds salt to the wound.
on bad days i have thought, "you know, i could really go for some botox right now." :) i think your approach sounds a bit more tame. hopefully by now you have healed a little and that you feel as good as you look!
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