Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday March 20:

• When Joyce arrived, Grandma was sleepy as usual but alert.
• The nurse said that a new CAT scan had been done and was good, showing healing in her brain.  Medically she's considered stable.  This is good.
• The nurse also told Joyce that Grandma's discharge was planned for that day!
• Joyce met with the doctors on duty, Dr. Atkins, who said she felt really good about Grandma's condition.
• Physical therapy came by in the afternoon to work with Grandma.
• Joyce and Grandpa met with the hospital liaison for the Heritage Harbor rehab facility, citing some concerns raised by some other woman Grandpa had spoken with at the neighborhood health group, regarding the staff. Apparently there were some complaints with customer service and patients having trouble with the nurses.  
• This woman assured Joyce those problems had been addressed, but I guess they had some misgivings so Joyce talked to the health group woman who indicated that the "culture" at a different facility (Fairfield in Crownsville, MD) was much better and that were it her own mother she would have chosen that one instead. 
• Ultimately they decided to go with Heritage Harbor since it would work out better for Grandpa (so close for him, walking distance) and if things didn't work out we could see about having Grandma transferred to Fairfield (except this place would require some driving and it's better if Grandpa does not have to drive as much).
• Joyce had to leave in the afternoon, but the ambulance took Grandma over to the Heritage Harbor facility soon after that.
• Joyce did add that at some point in the afternoon, before the move, Grandma "was awake as could be. Her eyes got big and she started asking questions and then singing, etc. It was funny. Mom was great." [-- so cute; wish I could have been there! -CHA]
• While Grandma was in a room with another patient for the night, she will ultimately be in a private room at this place, which is terrific.

Thursday March 21:

• My mom/Rosemary went out with Grandpa today.
• She indicated that the upstairs rooms of this place (where Grandma was for the night) are a bit noisy, which she thought might have been taxing to Grandma's brain, but when asked Grandma said she did not feel tired.
• Mom said Grandma was semi-alert today and knows where she is, but had some common troubles when fatigued like having difficulty forming words and relating correct information. "Nothing terribly out of line, but she could not remember her age and other number associations. She could read the clock. She told us the time."
• Mom said Grandma also "slept what appeared to be deeply, but she was paying attention at other times. Sometimes you think she is completely conked out breathing deeply, but she will wake up in an instant and laugh at something said."
• Today the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy nurses came in to do an assessment of what Grandma could do in terms of range of motion and strength.
• Grandma was put in a wheelchair for awhile today too, which is the first time in two weeks that Grandma was upright in a straight chair. (The chair she was in at the hospital is more like a recliner.)
• The Speech and Swallowing therapist also came by to have Grandma do some exercises with her mouth and tongue.  She did really well, but Grandma was too tired to do some good swallowing, so they were not able to give her pudding. Maybe tomorrow.
• Mom made sure to order an air flow mattress for Grandma's bed.  This mattress adjusts its puffiness from time to time kind of like an electronically-pumped air mattress that adjusts its pressure every few minutes.  This will help keep Grandma from getting sores from laying relatively still in bed for long periods of time until she is able to really move around on her own better when she gets uncomfortable.
• In the afternoon my mom and Grandpa went to check out the other facility, Fairfield Nursing Center, in Crownsville, MD, just to have a look around.  "That was a really nice facility, very open and a good layout, wide halls, sinks right next to the doors in every room . . . This is a great facility but this would be a hard drive for daddy." [Maybe about 15-20 minutes? -CHA]
• They went back to the Heritage Harbor place to see Grandma again and spoke with the Director (Andrea something) and a woman in charge of floor operations about some concerns about Grandma's care and the staff there.
• They also met with the doctor (Dr. Chopra), who will come in three times a week at this place.
• He indicated that Grandma's white blood cell count is high again. Usually this indicates a possible infection somewhere (white blood cells fight off infection).  I'm not really sure what to make of this, since Dr. Woods at the hospital said Grandma would not be moved to the rehab facility until she was cleared of any infections...
• The doctor said they would start Grandma on a different antibiotic since whatever she received at the hospital was not effective apparently.  This is a common next step, we'll see how that goes.  They are also going to do some tests in the morning. If they can't clear the infection or determine the cause, Grandma will have to go back to the hospital.
• Grandma was partly sleeping during most of the later part of my mom's visit, but she was alert and responsive while Mom and Grandpa talked with the Director of the facility.

So that's all I have today.

Hopefully now that Grandma is in rehab and her care will be more focused on improving her strength and abilities we will continue to see more and more progress.  Keep up the prayers and positive thinking! <3