Is it July Already? -- An Update

Greetings FoMmies,

I regret to inform you that we've had a few setbacks.

We thought that Mom would be home by now, but that hasn't happened.  When Mom was admitted, she was told that she'd probably by in for "a couple of days."  On Thursday they were ready to discharge her, but that didn't happen.  They also told her she'd be going home Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Needless to say, she was getting pretty antsy to leave the hospital.

Yesterday, after being disappointed (again) about the fact that she wasn't going home, I started to work with the medical team to attempt to arrange a transfer to Prentice Women's Hospital, a considerably nicer facility.  This process started at approximately 7:00 a.m. and we probably consulted about a half-a-dozen doctors and an equal number of nurses/social workers/others.  At 5:00 p.m. we were told that 3 beds opened up, that she was #1 on the list and that we were just waiting for the rooms to be cleaned.  I offered to clean the rooms myself -- after all, Mom was asking me when the transfer was going to go through approximately every 30 minutes or so.  They didn't take me up on my offer and around 9:00 p.m. Mom was told that there would be no more transfers for the evening.

Suffice it to say, Mom was not pleased.  Mom rightly felt that she had been lied to.  However, we continued to work at getting a transfer and at 9:40 p.m., we got the good news -- Mom was going to get a room at Prentice.  I hugged the nurse and the doctor who relayed the information (and would have kissed them both, but thought better of it) and we went to tell Mom, who expressed a great deal of relief.  Just after 10:15 p.m., they came to transport Mom to her new room and she, and her entourage of 7, were on our way.

The new room at Prentice is significantly nicer, but Mom wants to go home.  She will have a tube inserted in her belly so that she can drain the fluid that's been collecting without having to go to the hospital.  We hope that she'll be able to be discharged tomorrow.  However, we're not really sure whether we'll be able to care for her at home, even if we get the assistance of a full-time (24/7) home healthcare aide.  All the same, a hospital bed will be delivered to Mom's home in just a few minutes.  We want to be ready, no matter the direction we choose to go.

As you might well imagine, we are running on fumes here, but we have more support that can be imagined.  Mom's friends have come from far and wide (WI, OH, IN, AZ, NV, FL, etc.) and they have been tremendous in providing us with help and moral support.  

Special thanks to the FoMmie Nation for all of your support and prayers that you have provided to us.  Please keep Mom in your prayers and know that she loves all of you so very much.  As much as this is a difficult time for our family, we take solace in knowing that Mom has so many people that care for her so much.  We are humbled by your outpouring of love and affection.

Be well...

Faithfully,

Corey