1-19-2022 Back at NHC

 (Tricia)

We received word that Linda would be discharged from Mo-Bap Monday evening. She arrived back at NHC back sometime after 6 p.m. on Monday.  Ed and I went over to Marilyn's for a brief visit, before heading to NHC to see how Linda was doing.

Not surprisingly, Linda was still in a lot of pain. Because she was still shaking off the effects of the anesthesia used during surgery, her memory and orientation were still very confused--she could not remember having had surgery or breaking her hip. And she was understandably upset that she is once again completely at the mercy of nurses and therapists to get up and down. 

When we arrived at her room last night, she was slumped over to the side in her wheelchair. We found out later that the physical therapists should have put her in bed that afternoon, but instead she was left sitting upright, even after being given pain medication that made her very sleepy. This time, she said she was aware that she had broken her hip, but because she was falling asleep, she begged to be put in bed. With her hip still healing, Ed and I can no longer help her. We waited an hour and a half for nursing assistants to respond to our request to help her into bed. 

When the two nursing assistants finally arrived, they moved her without the sliding board required for an easier transition (again, we found out later), which left Linda screaming and crying in pain. When we got back into the room, they also had not put back on the foam support she must wear to keep her legs and hip straight when she is lying down. We had to call the nurse back in to help us put it on.

I know they are short-staffed right now because so many of the facility's workers have tested positive for COVID--one of our favorite nurses there has begged us to understand that they are all trying their best under very trying circumstances. Sometimes, they are down to 50 percent of their usual care team.  But it's still so frustrating to know that we cannot trust that they will give Linda the proper care, especially during these crucial initial days of healing. 

I will be there this afternoon to speak to the physical therapists and find out exactly what the standard protocol is for dealing with a resident recovering from hip surgery. (I have the instructions from the hospital, and from what I could tell last night, they were not followed.) After I speak to the PTs, I'll know exactly what to demand and from whom to demand it when important balls get dropped.

If I knew someplace else would be better, I would have Linda moved there in a heartbeat. If I thought we could safely care for her at our home, I would do the same. But with so much involved in her care, so much effort required for a move, no guarantee that a new facility would be any better, and no objective guidance available, it seems best to stay where we know the nurses and the system and try to make it work as best we can.