Update on Mother

Mother was in extreme pain both Wednesday and Thursday. I texted my brother about her pain on both days. Mom did walk Wednesday; but, she could only do so much. Mike called Mom Wednesday while she was in the middle of therapy it to try to encourage her; but, he found that she was just in too much pain. From then on, he tried getting a hold of her doctor here at Rehab but that doctor never returned calls. So, she was fired late Thursday and another doctor at the facility hired.

It also was discovered by my brother Thursday night (and by me Friday morning) that Mother could not move her left leg much. She was having trouble with that knee.

I have to say that I like the change of doctors. The first doctor seemed apathetic. This new doctor seems proactive. He looked over her charts Friday and wanted to know why she was in too much pain. A nurse came in and asked for Mom’s latest MRI on her back (wanted a signature authorizing them to receive the documentation). I thank God my brother showed up soon after because Mom was out of it and I couldn’t sign anything – it was perfect timing.

The new doctor noticed upon receiving the MRI results that she not only had an old fracture but a newer fracture. He wondered why they didn’t do some kind of technique where they inject something into the spine to support the fractured vertebrae – it would certainly elevate the pain. This was the first my brother ever heard such a thing.

So, after a consultation with various people, including Mother’s primary doctor who basically said “yes, that should have been done last week”, it was decided that Mom would have the procedure done at St. Luke’s. She is going to see a doctor this coming Tuesday and it'll be decided what exactly will be done and when.

My understanding is that they have to bring her down from the pain meds she’s currently taking before doing the procedure on her. I am praying that they'll do this and that it works. If it does, it should provide immediate relief.

The new doctor also ordered X-rays on her left hip and knee. The guy doing the X-rays is killing himself. He doesn’t walk away from the mobile machine – just snaps it there while standing nearby. Mom couldn’t hold her knee up at a certain height by herself. So, he held it up steady for her along with the “film” against her knee and snapped the X-ray – a slow death for sure. But, he sure was a nice old man. As for the X-rays, we won’t find out anything until Monday.

Mom did do some therapy Friday. It went so much better because my brother had a talk with them. They didn’t push her as hard and had her do mostly leg exercises in bed. She even got up and sat in the wheelchair for a bit at their suggestion. She did not do any walking because of that knee. And, she did get a new different kind of pain patch that is time release and will last approximately three days.

Dan noticed what I’ve noticed all along – Mother is terrified of the idea of walking. She’s afraid of falling. Combine that with the fact she’s been having extreme pain recently, it’s no wonder why her hand and arm trembles violently upon the idea/suggestion of doing such a thing (standing or walking).

Oh yeah, did I mention that Dan came in Thursday night? He had Friday off because he was on call the previous weekend. I’m thrilled to have him for three days even though we’re with Mother a lot.