Because I had witnessed the timing of what occurred after David’s surgery, I had strong expectations of a similar flow for mine. He had surgery on Friday, Intensive Care on Saturday, regular ward room on Sunday. He was then discharged to home on Sunday evening, where Christina already was with their new baby. I got very, very, very attached to doing the same thing so that I could see the girls at home and not in the hospital. I kept saying the words over and over that I was committed to this outcome but not attached. Inside it wasn’t so! Keep in mind that steroids can do some pretty irrational things to your thought processes.
Midday on Sunday Dr. Sloan came to my room for a chat with Susanne and me. We discussed the outcome of the surgery, with which he was very pleased, and I asked about when I was to be discharged. I still needed a walker to get slowly about, but I made it clear I would really like to go home that day. He began to say that discharge that evening was fine, but then Susanne asked him about Craig’s difficulty walking. Dr. Sloan had me get up and walk. When he saw my dragging right foot, he changed course and said it was better for my long-term recovery if they discharged me to an intensive in-patient rehabilitation facility program. I was very upset at having to stay there any longer, but I calmed down and agreed to go along with his recommendation.
When I saw him after surgery for my follow-up visit, I complimented him highly for his ability to so deftly bring a steroid-pumped bull around who was attached to being discharged on Sunday. It would have been a disaster. Although I was fine Sunday evening with the girls and enjoyed Monday afternoon with them and Karida when they returned with David, I was very tired, dehydrated, and eating very little. All night Sunday and Monday I and the nurses were working on major gastro-intestinal issues--I was not sure what was going north and what was going south in my body! I’ll spare you the details (although they were very significant to me at the time!). Between the weakness and exhaustion and the effects of the steroids, if I had been home, Susanne would likely have had to return me to the hospital.
Leah was still in town on Tuesday, and she and our friend Elinore Evans did Jin Shin Jitysu acupressure on me to then ready me for discharge. The staff told me that if I kept breakfast and lunch down, they would let me go. I was successful, and at 4 p.m., the ambulance came and got me.
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The rest of the story…
I was concerned watching Craig set up expectations that his experience would be like his son David’s, when they were quite different in temperament, age, life circumstances, and medical condition. I was glad to see him able to shift into acceptance when it became clear their paths were going to be different.
On Sunday evening, Karida charmed the nurses on the floor as she and I walked around and gave Craig time with his children. The ward clerk gave her stickers and bracelets and provided us with a cherry Popsicle to share in the lounge area. On Monday, we kidnapped Craig off the floor in a wheelchair and had a wonderful time in the gardens. The doctor had approved him going around the hospital, but hadn’t written it in the chart, so the nurses were giving us a hard time about going down to the garden and cafeteria.
It was great having Michelle and Leah in town to help…they divided up my to-do list and got lots done. Michelle was all set to assist me with all the electronic banking and billpaying…unfortunately that Monday morning didn’t work out as planned. I talked to Craig early in the morning, who was babbling incoherently about north, south, and praising God things went south instead of north. I called the nurse who didn’t inspire me with confidence that anyone was paying attention. So, I went to the hospital instead. He’d had breakfast by the time I got there and was able to explain better that he was talking about his digestive system!
Once Dr. Sloan adamantly declared that Craig would be best off in in-patient rehab, I then coordinated it with the social worker for the unit. Once the social worker was clear that the rehab was important, then he was able to work with the insurance company to approve the transfer. I’d gotten used to escaping to the waiting area for a nap while Craig rested in the afternoon. That got missed while we waited on the ambulance. When we got to rehab, they fed Craig dinner. I didn’t then eat or rest until after 8 p.m. And then tried to send emails… Some went out smoothly and some didn’t! Very long and tiring day…
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