I wasn't expecting today to be great, but I expected it to be a little better than what it was. Jay and I stopped a Dunkin' and got coffee for us and a tea for dad. I dropped off a casserole that I made for dad and then the three of us went up to see mom. We were shocked (not in a good way) when we seen her today. For one, the way she was positioned, she didn't look comfortable at all. She was shaking and it just looked like she wasn't really doing well today. I asked the nurse what was going on with the way she looked because we were all concerned. The nurse explained that she was running a temp again and then proceeded to check her temp and it was 101.2. They ran tests on her to see what is going on - obviously she has an infection going on, but they just need to find out where and why.
I asked the nurse if she could reposition her in a better, more comfortable position because she did not look comfortable at all - her other vitals were a little elevated and her facial expressions told us that she was in a little bit of pain, so they gave her a small dose of pain meds. I also asked the nurse if they could suction her because she sounded very raspy when she was breathing. The nurse also brushed her teeth, cleaned up her face and put on some lip moisturizer as she has been sleeping with her mouth open a lot. Once they did all of this, her vitals became better, and she looked more comfortable. I wasn't happy that we had to tell the nurse what to do for her - this is the first nurse that we've had issues with. I told dad that if I see anything else I don't like going forward, I'm going to file a formal complaint because I will see to it that she is getting the best care possible - how we seen her today was completely unacceptable, especially when it comes to a patient being in the ICU. I mean, when we walked in to see her, the pillow wasn't even properly under her head at all...like, c'mon!
We reminded mom that she needs to keep fighting and how we are behind her 110%, that we need her and that she needs to continue to fight for herself and for us. We reminded her also of how much we love her.
We stayed until we felt she was more comfortable and made sure she had everything she needed before we left. She has been having issues with retaining spinal fluid and they have been doing spinal taps on her in attempt to drain it, but it hasn't been working. They told us that she will need to have a drain put in her lumbar area of her back to help her drain the fluid retention. She was just really out of it today. We were told many times that she would have good days and bad days but no matter how much they try to prepare you for those bad days in advance, they just really can't, and it really hurts to watch her go through those bad days. We headed back to town and ate lunch at a local Chinese buffet which was absolutely delicious. Afterwards, we went back to dad's house and hung out with him for a few hours, just venting our feelings to each other, worked through some mental conflicts that we have been having together as well as reminisced about the past.
Jason, dad and I will probably go back up to see her on Sunday. Jay and I are going grocery shopping tomorrow afternoon since the grocery stores shouldn't be busy on Black Friday. Saturday is our 12-year anniversary, so we are just going to spend some quality time together.
Other than that, when we got home, Jay hopped in the shower quick, I made us both some tea and now we are just in bed hanging out. I think I'm going to make some pepperoni and green beans for our meal this week. We're supposed to get some rain this weekend, so we won't be doing too much. I finally got my disability payment today too which was a relief. I feel better to be drawing somewhat of a check again. It's not as great as if I physically worked, but I rather get sixty percent of lost wages than nothing at all. Jason goes back Monday for about three weeks and then he will be off on Christmas break. They have decided to make materials come in and do inventory this year which has me aggravated because for months they were touting how it was only going to be team leads and supervisors! I'm just ready for Jason to be out of work so we can spend some quality time together. We also need to do some work around the house - I'm going to start the process while he is still working. We just want to go through the house, organize and get rid of things we don't use or need any more whether we decide to donate or trash them. We are trying to get our house more minimalistic and manageable, especially because we want to get the house ready to do some remodeling and get some new furniture.
I'll most likely skip posting tomorrow because I'm not doing anything too exciting anyway. To all of you who are crazy enough to go out in all that chaos tomorrow, have fun and be safe!
