Yesterday started out with a bang, but before I get into that, let me finish up Monday. Dr. Yarnanov came in after I posted and said that they are mainly just monitoring his Prograf levels, that the lung doctors are the ones "driving the show". Somehow thhe translation from Russian got a little confused. He was also in his chair when I left and ended up doing 14 1/2 hours on CPAP!

And now, for yesterday. When I walked into Bill's room, his bed was raised, there were no linens on it, and he was just laying in the canvas sling they use to move him from the chair back to the bed. This is heavy, scratchy canvas! I knew exactly what had happened, and I was very put out with the staff. I told Emily later that I was so mad I was shaking! When Chris got Bill up for PT, he stripped the bed because there was some spilled formula where the tubing had dripped some. Not a big spot, but it had been there from the day before. (I think I eluded to the care being lax on the week-end). Same sheets as had been on. Chris does put the sling in the chair, covered with a protective pad in case of accidents and that way the nurses can move the patient back to bed since he's usually gone by the time they want to go back to bed.

Anyway, when I left Monday night, I told his nurse and PCA that he was ready to go back to bed and they said they were on their way down to his room (he's in the last one of the hall). So, I know what they did. They just put him back to bed, without making it up first. 

I immediately called the number on the board for the unit manager and left her a voicemail since it was only a little after 7:30 and then I waited. It was very interesting to watch. The respiratory tech came in to switch him to CPAP, the PCA for the day came in and did vitals, the nurse came in to give meds, and Speech Therapy came in for therapy and NONE of them said anything! Lisa, the therapist did lower the bed after she was done, but no-one else said anything!

Leslie, the manager,and Pam, one of the supervising nurses came down and I met them at the door and they were appalled! They were really concerned for what that fabric would do to fragile skin after a long period of time. I did not name any names of staff, but I did question why the night shift didn't do something about it. They said that it would be taken care of and within 10 minutes, Kiana the PCA we've had before and an older nurse I hadn't seen before, came in. The nurse tried to tell me that they don't put sheets on "those kinds of beds" because extra layers cause skin breakdowns easier. If you remember, they moved one of the beds that are used in ICU in so that the percussion function could be used. I told her that he had been there 3 weeks and there had been a sheet on the bed every single day and he did not stay on that sling all the time. So, grudgingly, they got the bed made and Bill repositioned and the sling removed. I don't think that nurse likes me very much. I also noticed a slight change in attitude with Kiana and Erin, the nurse, but you know what? I'm not there to win a popularity contest! "He's my husband, that's my job!" is my only concern! I was still just as nice and polite to them, thanking them when they did something and just being chatty as before. 

I did make sure that Bill was put back into his chair before I left (lesson learned) and I heard Erin ask Kiana if they were going to leave the sling and Kiana said no. She, at least Kiana, got the message!

I think I've said before, and those of you who know me know how much I hate confrontation, but I'm very proud of myself for the way I handled this. Usually when I get upset, I cry and then get more angry at myself for crying. You will be happy to know that there wasn't a single tear, I explained the situation very clearly and not meekly, but confidently. I doubt this happens again. As to the nurse with the attitude, she probably won't want Bill as a patient. I don't think any of them are used to family being there as much as I am, so some of their autonomy is taken away.

Bill did well moving from the bed to the chair again with Chris and then he did some pedaling exercises, 3 1 minute sessions. I didn't get up to look at this numbers, but there were no alarms and Chris said he did well, both with numbers and the exercise.

Stephanie did clarify the 48 hours, it is 48 continuous hours. They were just going to let him go as long as possible yesterday, so it will be interesting to see how long he made it. And Lisa said that as soon as they get to trach collar, she'll try a couple of more things and get the swallow study scheduled. Hopefully he'll be off by the end of the week.

So, that was our very exciting day. And now I must get ready for this exciting day...another day of driving in the rain. I asked God why I was being tested so much with driivng in rain and fog. His answer was more rain, so I guess I haven't passed the test yet. At least I can be thankful it's not as severe as Job's was!

Have a great day!