5C's Que Pasa

9:25AM

~nothing to report since last night.  Dad on his way to see Mom.

I will be updating here throughout the day and will publish today’s post seperately.

1:30PM

~Dad says Mom is semi alert, not so groggy but is desperate to drink water.  The heart surgeon came in and said the heart is doing well but she has other issues and that all the Dr’s are putting their heads together and still trying to come up with a solution.  He did asked about a previous surgery……it seems that Mom had been operated for this hernia before but all they did was wrap it in gold mesh and push it in.  It has now fallen and is the cause of some of her problems.  Why they did this we don’t know, that surgeon has passed away but this one will look into it!  Perhaps the mesh is keeping the tube from being inserted, I have no idea at this time.  Of course all of this is as told to me by my Dad.

Tags: Family, medical

I spent close to 2 hours on the phone Wed. night discussing Mom and  way over 3 hours tonight ( Thursday pm).  Mom is doing really well in the the heart surgery department but now we are dealing with major complications related to pre surgery conditions.  All the issues of the last few days have finally been brought into the open and discussed between the medical profession and the family.  There have been issues with communication.

I could fly to Edmonton tomorrow but I would be out of reach from 11AM till 1AM the next day.  I am much better off to be here dealing with medical issues and family situations.  Even the family members that are at the hospital aren’t able to spend much time with Mom.  I can and am doing better from here.  Dad is beyond exhaustion and for now my sister Lise will become the family spokesperson with the hospital.  I am allowed to call in only in a crisis or for medical explanations.

Main problem….Mom is still not really waking up from the surgery, a week ago today.  Why?  Her system is extremely sluggish.  Yesterday, many attempts were made to put a feeding tube in place.  Totally non successful, mostly due to a huge hiatal hernia that has moved her stomach into her left chest cavity thus creating a major aspiration problem of fluid & food into her lungs.  Plus it was discovered yesterday that she has no gag reflex whatsoever and is unable to swallow.  So there is no way now to get certain meds into her ( those that cannot be given via IV ) nor any nutrition.

From a heart surgery point of view she is doing really well, it is just that her body is shutting down re other problems, mostly caused by the many medications she has been prescribed over the years. Tomorrow an attempt will be made to insert a feeding tube directly into her stomach. Plan B was not successful today so this will be the last resort.  She may never be able to eat or drink again.  She needs her meds and needs nutrition in order to wake up and to start functioning.  This is a very basic explanation of where she is at.  Hopefully over the next few months she can be retrained to swallow correctly.

Is this a better life or not?  She will now have the energy to walk and breathe and enjoy a full life but she will be unable to eat or drink.  Is that a life?

Much of the family concerns come from the fact that they were told she would feel 300% better 24 hours after surgery and be home within 2 weeks.  Now she is looking at many more weeks in hospital and possibly months.  She is alive but is she happy, is she content, is she accepting of her situation??  We don’t know yet!

So now we are taking it, hour by hour.  Our greatest fear is that when she leaves ICU she will become lost in the system. That is when I will step in.

You are not aware of all these posts about you Mom, but I do know that one day, you, the English teacher, will read them.  I am ready for your critique.  Love you!

2:45PM update from the hospital

Perhaps due to staff shortages and many emergencies, I am strictly no longer able to speak with ICU staff.  Only one spokesperson per family in order to minimize staff time on the phone and that is now my sister Lise so Dad can get a rest from the endless phone calls he is fielding.  In order to take some pressure off Lise I will be using this blog as an update site for a bit longer.  Dear regular readers I know that you are supporting me & my family, please bear with my using the blog for a few more days re updates.

Mom seemed to be more alert this morning but is very thirsty.  She was taken in about an hour ago for the procedure, it has failed so at the moment Dr’s are discussing options and the next step. Thank goodness she is in the best hospital in Alberta which is a teaching hospital.   Check back later……

3:15PM update

At this time the Dr. is going to leave the tiny tiny tube in that yesterday he told me is not at all stable.  They tried various ways & angles to get a tube into her “belly” as he likes to call it but her body won’t allow it.  The hernia is causing the majority of the problems.  They will try now feeding her thru this small tube and giving her some meds this way.  The Dr., as were my Dad & sister impressed at Mom’s alertness today.  Problem with this small tube is that it is apt to plus easily.  The current plan is to take it hour by hour.  She still has a feeding tube down her nose’ just in case’ and is unable to have nothing by mouth for at least 6 days including ice chips.

Next update about 9PM.

9:15PM

Per email from my sister Mom is sleeping and being fed via her nose tube  (20 cc’s pr hour)…..I have to give up….the Dr. said not possible as she would aspirate???????

Have received all your personal emails…gracias for thoughts and comments.  Good night all….

Tags: emergency, Family, health

YESTERDAY….

After two walks I decided I wanted to take a third walk, straight down the beach to Elsy’s for a marguerita!

I was able to twist a few arms to come along. A girl can't go drinking by herself!!

Stone Island was alive with many Nationals enjoying vacation time. This couple danced for a long time enjoying the sounds of one of the wandering mariachi groups.

I had bought a lovely Pashmina shawl from this lady last year, today she was promoting blouses and wool shawls. She told us she is 78 and has been selling on the beach for 35 years. She is a real sweetie with a mouth full of gold fillings. Gord decided not to take the shawl.

He did however covet this hat!! It is not for sale but belongs to a vendor selling sunglasses but the fellow was willing to strike a deal for a used hat for 200 pesos. We all said no, buy a new one Gord!! I am certain we will see someone knocking on Gord's door selling hats in the very near future.

My turn, I just had to get this sparkling bit of sun.

The kids were having a great day taking rides on this little guy.

Two delicious margueritas later it was time to head back for some reading in the sun.  So far a perfect day.

Then I started getting messages to check in with Dad.  Mom was not having a good day.  I had to call each sibling to try and put the story together.  My brother thought things were 50/50.  Plus they had changed rooms again, this time because of a staff shortage.  Mom is still in ICU and likely to be there for several more days.   After many calls back & forth to the hospital and to Dad re the legal issue of giving me information ( seems that they have lost the first set of permissions )I finally was put through to a Dr.  He started with the standard ‘she is doing as well as can be expected’ but I finally did get some solid information which even my family there had not received.  Mom was in very very bad shape when she had her surgery.  In addition to the complete valve replacement she also had a hole in a second valve which was repaired.  She is still groggy seven days post surgery not from drugs they are giving her but from her own body not wanting to wake up.  Her hands are shaking so badly that she needs to be fed and somehow aspirated fluid into her lungs.  There is a fear of pneumonia plus she has been intubated with a feeding tube as she has some swallowing problems which are being looked into.

So I am now satisfied that Mom is alright and have conveyed that to all of the family.  I tried to explain to Dad that it is a matter of asking the right questions at the hospital but it does help that I have nursing background.  However I do believe that the hospital should have explained in more detail what has been happening.

And that was ayer……yesterday!

Tags: emergency, Family, food, friends, Funny, pets, Stone Island

This morning Caeli decided to go visiting.  She greeted several of the RVers who were enjoying the morning sun.  Then I heard her being ushered out of the managers RV.  The door was open so Caeli had of course gone in.  Joyce says she was in the shower and heard someone crying, opened the door and there was our Caeli, whimpering at the shower door.  What a brat she is!  Sorry but I don’t have a photo of Joyce in the shower 🙂

Last banana boat ride of the day yesterday.

Tags: Funny, sunsets, The girls

…it has been quite the busy last week.  My party, the hampers, Mom, Christmas, etc.  Now it is time to settle down and get back to a good routine.

I need to get back to walking and my exercise program.

I was doing so good before Christmas, sigh...time to hit the beach!!

Casa Maria, our Mazatlan massage lady has been giving us some exercises to do. Colin has been faithful every single day. Not me, I confess!!

Caeli is just so very supportive!

I spent the entire day yesterday reading a book.  My brain was happy but not my body.  All I can say is I will try.

Even Peggy from RV2 is putting a huge amount of effort out. Her new dog Tucker is being re trained by a Mazatlan dog whisperer type. Tucker is doing so well.

Mom is still in ICU and is improving very very slowly.

Tags: exercise, Family, Tres Amigos RV Park