Update on Grace, Thursday, Aug 19

Thursday. Latest update 9:00 PM.

3:30 PM - I now have TWO visits to Grace to report about.

But in keeping with all good reporting, I'll give you the essence up front: Grace seems better today!

Okay, now for the details.

My schedule today was rather busy:

• Early morning: personal and business stuff
• 9:00 AM: See hospital admissions office to set up what they call a "C3" appointment
• 9:15 AM: Visit with Grace
• 10:00 AM: Teach a music lesson
• 11:15 AM: open
• 11:45 AM: Lunch appointment with a friend
• 1:30 PM: "C3" appointment in Grace's room at the hospital, more visit with Grace
• 2:10 PM: Help daughter-in-law Sarah load a lot of decorations from last Sunday's shower in her car

So you can see, this is the first chance I've had to get back here to post this.

When I arrived for my first visit with Grace today, about 9:15 AM, she was settled in her bed, looking comfortable, with the head of the bed raised and her eyes closed.

I came in and said quietly, "Good morning, Grace."

She opened her eyes and greeted me. I asked if she'd been asleep, and she said she was just dropping off. I asked how she was feeling, and she said she had a horrible nightmare.

She told me she dreamed she was in a history class, and I said, "Wow. That IS a nightmare!" and she gave a faint smile. Then she continued that she dreamed she was unable to breathe, and kept trying to inhale through her nose and couldn't.

We talked about that a while. It must have really gotten to her, because later on, I heard her telling two different people about it, and she also told me the doctor had visited and she told him about it.

I told her that I had set up an appointment with the hospital staff there in the room for later today at 1:30, and that I would be there and Jan would be there and Bill would be there, and she nodded her understanding of it.

Then she said she had a really bad tummyache. I asked if they had given her anything for it, and she said Prilosec. Huh? Doesn't that stuff take two to three DAYS to kick in? I'm wondering if they gave her something different and that name is just what stuck in her mind.

We talked a little bit about how Jan was feeling better today, and how I was so very busy today, then she said she would like to go to sleep. So at her request, I turned off the TV and turned off the overhead light. Then I prayed with her and for her, and left to teach the music lesson.

She was quite coherent throughout the visit, although it did seem like she was tired. Can't blame her for that.

Just before 1:30 this afternoon, Jan and I arrived in Grace's room, and a few minutes later, Bill arrived. The speech therapist was there, and was quizzing Grace on several things. "What day is this? What city are you in? Where do you live now? Who are these people in the room?" And so on. Then she asked about the pictures over by the sink, and Grace perked right up and gave many details about her great grandbabies.

Grace was a bit fuzzy on the immediate current events, but very sharp and accurate on things she's known for a long time.

Then the rest of the people arrived for the meeting, and we all got to meet the case manager (Apphia), the respiratory therapist, the speech therapist (again), the physical therapist, and the occupational therapist. They were all very nice, and seemed quite competent in their disciplines. Apphia told us the typical stay in this hospital was two to four weeks, but it could go shorter (probably not, for Grace) or longer, based on individual needs. She said this hospital was specifically for patients who needed an elevated level of nursing care and multiple therapies, and it's all covered by Medicare. Once Grace progresses to the point that she doesn't need all they provide, they will make arrangements for whatever the followon place will be for Grace, whether that's for her to come home or to go to a rehab facility like Methodist Rehab.

So as you can see, she's in good hands where she is, but her future is still uncertain as yet. It will all depend on how quickly she recovers and to what extent in a certain time.

Jan and Bill and I all agreed Grace seems the most alert and sharp today, at this visit, than she's been at any time since her surgery, and that's very encouraging.

We are seeing definite improvement.

It's not a lot of improvement each day, but it's some, and it's consistent.

Please continue to keep Grace in your prayers for a full and rapid recovery.

I'll post more after we visit her later today.

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9:00 PM - After diner tonight, Bill and Jan and I all went to visit Grace again.

When we got to her room, she got a big smile on her face. It was the most animated we've seen her so far.

Jan told a story about how a toilet at work exploded today from a broken water pipe, surprising and soaking one of the workers there. Grace got a big laugh out of that.

Then Jan told Grace that Sarah and Katie had come by our house today, to pick up the remaining decorations from last Sunday's baby shower. She said, "David was there, and he got a Katie hug, and I didn't get one!" And with that, Jan put on a pout, sticking her lower lip out in a parody of a six year old. This struck Grace as hugely funny, because when Jan was six years old, she used to actually do that, and Grace has teased her about it a few times since then. Grace had such a delighted smile on her face, it was like there was more light in the room.

We asked what she had for dinner. She said, "Country fried steak." Jan said, Mmmmmm and Grace made a face. I said, "Was it more like country fried shoe leather?" and Grace smiled wryly and said that was more like it. Jan told her we had some barbeque and maybe we should have brought her some of that. She agreed.

I know it sounds like she's more alert now, and it's true. She is. She's not back to 100% yet, because when we ask a question, she usually needs a second or two to process it before answering, but she's MUCH better now than yesterday even.

Bill told her that he heard tomorrow she will get to ride in a wheelchair, and she nodded, that's so. She'll be going down the hall to the exercise room. Although we have no idea what she'll do in that room.

We reminded her that Bill's son Keith is on the way, and that he would be there to see her some time after lunch tomorrow. She was very happy about that.

She mentioned her right heel was hurting, so we peeked under the covers and saw it wasn't touching anything. She had support under her leg, but nothing under the heel. When she mentioned it again, I figured maybe she needed something under it. On a shelf, I found a foam rubber triangular block, and very gently put that under her heel. "How's that? Any better"

She considered a moment. "Yes," she said. "I think it is."

I have no idea why it helped, but I'm glad it did.

Later on, she had to call the nurse for a pain pill.

She has this television controller on a cable, about the size of a shoe. On this device is a call button for the nurse, and the nurse answers via an intercom. This is great, because Grace can tell them what she needs on the intercom, so they can bring it on the first trip to the room, instead of having to come once to find out, then a second time to bring it.

Grace pushed the button, and within ten seconds, they answered. "May I help you?"

Grace said, "I need a BIG pain pill."

"Okay, we'll be right there."

And in less than five minutes, the nurse arrived with the pain pill.

I was impressed, because I've seen her call for some kind of assistance three times during my various visits, and each time, they have answered that quickly. This speaks very well about the hospital she's in. We've all heard horror stories about patients waiting forever for a nurse to answer a call. Seems like they don't have that problem here. Hooray!

Oh, and the nurse, whom we hadn't yet met, was another very pleasant and helpful person.

Jan combed out Grace's hair, and you could just see the pleasure on her face as she closed her eyes while her hair was being combed.

A bit later, she asked for a nail file, and when we couldn't find one of the kind she likes in her bag of stuff, I gave her my nail nippers, which has a metal file on it. I said, "Hey, it's not the elegant kind, but it's better than nothing!" She said, "Yes, better than nothing. Thank you." She used it to take care of whatever was needed with her nails, and did so with good dexterity. It was good to see her with this level of control over her fine motor skills, and with the desire to take care of herself this way.

All this is yet more indication that she's making great strides of improvement, for which we are immensely thankful.

We could actually sense that she was getting tired, as her attention began to wander, so we tucked her in, tuned in the TV to one of her favorite programs, and told her we'd see her tomorrow.

On the way home, we compared notes, and it seems Grace didn't ask any of us about Snick today. We hope that also marks progress.

Let's all continue with our prayers for her.

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