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Oh Dori,
God is there with you,know that,and hold unto his hand.He will give you strength,and healing for Mike.
Know that you are loved and take care of yourself.
I am reading and praying for you every day.
GOD BLESS YOU.

Our local discount stores sell very small white wire carts with little wheels (They do have to be assembled) The whole kit could be put on there and rolled out of the way when not in use.

As far as the mask leaks are concerned, I find it very strange that a nurse can't learn in 5 minutes all there is to know about a mask. I am currently working with my mother's caretakers and the "girls" are quite amazingly competent and most of them are NOT nurses but home aids and they manage to learn all sorts of stuff even though most of them speak broken English.

The aide came on today who was with us the first night and noticed the cpap was not there so when I told him our problem, he said he'd be right back and he came back with a removeable Command hook and some sort of elastic and we had Mike experiment with turning back and forth until we got the right height for the hook and plenty of play in the hose. I just called the night nurse and she said the mask seemed to be adjusted with no leaks and he was sleeping quietly so far. Keeping my fingers crossed. If his BP and other vitals remain steady I'm going to try and bring him home next week and get some home health aides,PT at home and our visiting nurse. I think he'll do better in his own environment providing he doesn't have any more of those "episodes", that's what's really frightening me.

Still praying for you both, Dori. It sounds like things may be getting better; I sure hope so.

redjoe wrote:Still praying for you both, Dori. It sounds like things may be getting better; I sure hope so.

Same here Dori -- I watch your thread daily for updates. You both remain in my thoughts and prayers.

The reason I mentioned the camera...
I took pix of...
wounds that were improperly packed
bandages that had been taped using regular tape instead of paper tape
the bed with a lower bed sign(Dad used to fall out and break things) only the bed was in the highest position
Mom in the hallway, midday, with not a stitch of clothing on
Any wounds, so I had a clear comparison of either improvement or decline

also got a few pix of staff sleeping at the desk in the middle of the day and staff eating off of residents trays at meal times.

I must say with the pix as backup, every issue was handled immediately by the administrators, and each parent ended up with excellent caring staff seeing to their needs. I always made it clear to the staff that I would like to be friendly with them, but my main goal was to get the best care for my parents that I was able to.

And cookies will help, I brought 2 dozen dunkin donuts to each nursing home every sunday. Mom was at hers for less than a year but Dad was at his for over 5 years. I also sent big trays of cookies every holiday.

Brenda

I have been following this thread Dori, and thinking of you and Mike all the time. It's good to get an update from you each evening.

I agree that he would probably do better at home but, like you, I would be concerned about the episodes that sent him to hospital in the first place. I was wondering - did they every find the cause of these episodes?

Dori, Mike is a lucky guy to have you. God bless.

Prayers for you both and much love xxx

Just a quick post to say the two of you are in our prayers. Take care!

Dori, how is Mike doing? How are you doing?

Prayers on the way............

Hawthorne wrote:I have been following this thread Dori, and thinking of you and Mike all the time. It's good to get an update from you each evening.

I agree that he would probably do better at home but, like you, I would be concerned about the episodes that sent him to hospital in the first place. I was wondering - did they every find the cause of these episodes?

Mike seems to be getting a bit stronger although he's only sleeping with his cpap a few hrs, I think it's the bed, blankets,the different setup,etc. Our Dr is making rounds today so I'll get to speak to him about this and other questions about the "episodes". Truthfully, I'm not sure they even know if it was the low BP which seems to be under control now with different meds, or the flareup of his Polymyalgia or the screwup with the prednisone. This rehab facility is really one of the best,excellent PT/OT, everyone's on the ball most of the time and we have a good wound care nurse there, so I've been able to "let go" a bit. I think I'll feel better when I have an idea when I can bring him home although I'm still torn about that. Thanks for all your good wishes and prayers, I hope you all know what it means to me.

I have been following your thread from the beginning silent prayers all along . A as retired nurse that worked in rehab and long term care I very happy to read this promising outcome. Your persistence has been an important part of Mikes recovery, you still need to care for yourself as well and take time for YOU . God Bless to the both of you

Another good day, Mike was pretty "perky" all day, he had company for a few hours and he was happy and seemed rested. The Dr was in today and pleased with his progress, said the episodes were probably a combination of the wrong BP meds for him and a flareup of Polymyalgia. Of course he wouldn't comment on the hospital nurses forgetting to give him his maintenance dose of prednisone which caused a real crash, and I didn't press the issue because it's in the past and I may need to fight future battles if necessary. I'm very sure it's been documented and procedures have been reviewed and the RNs reprimanded. He will be back on Thurs and try to arrange a discharge conference with me and the staff. So far so good although I was told to expect some possible backsliding which they'll be evaluating that. He's receiving very good care and the staff is really bonding with him.