Good Morning! Had a great day yesterday and a couple of talks with the therapists. Linda, the OT, had talked to Michele, the PT, and they think that Bill is ready to go home. He can use lots more therapy, but he is steady enough that he is going to start doing things on his own no matter how much they tell him not to. We talked about removing the mats and raising his bed and putting his wheelchair next to the bed. He transfers to the chair/toilet/chair/bed very well and that could remove the fall danger. When he has fallen it's because he tries to just walk to the bathroom and trips over the mat. She thought that might be 1 solution. I talked to Tammie the unit manager about that and she also thought that it could be done. But, a final decision hasn't been made so I don't know what they did after I left last night.

JoEllen said that he had an "Aha!" moment one day last week when his brain seemed to turn on as far as cognition goes. They've been giving him stories to work with, having to fill in blanks. He also re-took a test in OT for perception and whipped through it. The baseline test took him 2 days and he did poorly on it but she said he did great this time and only missed a couple. From the last eval JoEllen had done before her vacation, they had a discharge date for around the end of August. Now, they're talking more 2-3 weeks.

Bill showered himself yesterday. Lisa was in with him, but he did it all himself. He's also been shaving himself with his regular safety razor and hasn't cut himself. The tremors have eased a lot now so he's much steadier. He also learned a new "trick". Lisa heard the alarm sound on his wheelchair and then it stopped so she came to see what was going on. He was in the bathroom, on the toilet, with his had pushing down on the seat of the chair to put pressure on the alarm sensor! We're all surprised he didn't just disconnect it because he has watched me and the therapists turn it off and disconnect it every day.

I will have lots to do to get the condo ready. The side of the bed Bill sleeps on is the farthest from the bathroom and it's a tight squeeze for his walker so I need to see if the bedroom can be rearranged. It's an odd shape so I don't know it it can just be put on the opposite wall. There is also the TV cable to contend with. At least all the furniture is on sliders to make it easier to move! I also have to contact Mayo about his transplant meds. cardiac rehab, outpatient rehab, get some equipment ordered that he will need at home...my list keeps getting longer and longer. He also still has the feeding tube, nothing new on getting it removed, and the wound care, not to mention learning how to test blood sugar and give injections.

There has apparently been an abuse complaint made against the center. The state inspectors were there again yesterday and they were wanting to talk to patients and family members. We were asked if we would talk to them and agreed. The RN watched the dressing change for the wound and then asked some general questions about care. We were very honest with her. Since I've been there every day and since we don't just stay in his room, I've observed all the staff with patients and if there is any abuse, at least on Bill's unit, it's happening on the overnight shift. Bill has complained some about the night shift so that could be, but as far as day/afternoon shifts go, everyone is very good with the patients.

So, we had a very busy day yesterday. It remains to be seen what will happen today!