May 30th Update

Hi Everybody,I just got home tonight from spending some time with Mom in New Harbor. She had been doing pretty well until I came!! I think I must be a jinx. Let's see - where to begin?? Before I do begin, however, you should know that I talked with her and she is doing much, much, better!! Now you can read the details. When I got there on Monday, she was having some pain in her right shoulder, around her scapula and below it. Tuesday the pain was pretty severe, so we went to see an orthopedic doc in Damariscotta. After a lot of poking and prodding, Dr. Zaiti thought she may have a bruised rib or two due to her position on the operating table. He thought her muscles were in spasm and gave her a shot of cortizone. That took some of the pain away the next day, but by late morning, mom's face was red - very red, her eyes were burning and she had a severe headache. Phone call to Zaiti confirmed what we were thinking - a reaction to the cortizone that could last for 3 days or more. Discouragement!!! We decided to hang very low on Wed. and see if there was any improvement Thursday morning. There was - both the symptoms of the cortizone reaction lessened and the shoulder/scapula pain had decreased considerably. We decided to go ahead to Portland for her appointment with the cardiologist, Dr. Wight (Who by the way is handsome, kind, gentle and informative). Anyways, he is very pleased with how her heart is working and reminded mom that this journey is 12-16 weeks long and that though her progress is very slow - 3 steps forward and 2 back- she IS making progress. He did hear some fluid noise in her lower left lung (the same one that was drained 2 1/2 weeks ago), but he didn't think it was much. He did order a chest x-ray and a routine echo-cardiogram. Mom's blood pressure was very high but again, the doc didn't say much about that. He did say that he would expect mom to be tired, weak, have shortness of breath, have good days and bad days - pretty much everything that mom is experiencing. Hearing him say those things was somewhat reassuring to both mom and me. Bottom line with Dr. Wight is that he thinks mom's progress is fine! Friday home health came and Mom's blood pressure was very high again,(very unusual - her BP has been excellent for the last 2 months) so we talked with Dr. Wight and he prescribed an additional blood pressure med to bring it down. Another call to Dr. Zaiti to find out if cortizone can also elevate one's blood pressure - YES it can! Meanwhile mom's pain in her shoulder/scapula is almost gone, her flushing is not so bad, but she still felt a bit shaky. Today, Saturday, mom was feeling much better. She finally had a good night's sleep, and was pretty much pain-free and flush-free. Knowing that she was better and that home health was coming late afternoon to check her BP, I left at 2:00 with a bet about her BP. I bet her that it would go down to maybe 155/85. She bet 140/80. It had been 185/100 yesterday and the day before. Well, I'm glad to say she won the bet! In fact she was right on - 140/80. Now of course we don't want it to go too low, so home health is coming again tomorrow and Monday and they will get in touch with the cardiologist if necessary. Whew! Oh yeah - we had the chest xray on Friday afternoon. Fluid did show up in the lower left lung and I got the technician to show me the xray and give me a bit of scoop. She obliged and said that it was just a bit of fluid. So I called Dr. Wight to see if he could look at it that afternoon and call us back. I really didn't think he would but at 5:30 he called and said that the fluid was a tiny amount and that we didn't have to worry about it at all. YA-HOO! No trip to Portland for draining! Mom was so relieved!! So, she is still weak and shaky but I think the cortizone reaction is almost done. It did it's job at least with regard to the pain. She does not have to go anywhere next week except to Miles Hospital on Thursday for the echocardiogram - (Aunti Jo is going to take her) so she should be able to rest and take it easy this week coming. Susan is headed there for Friday - Sunday and Wendy and Martha are taking the two weekends after that. If you have any questions, just reply to this and I'll get back to you. Do I dare say, that she is finished with the bumps in the road and it will be smooth cruising now!Love, Beth xxoo

Update of May 17th from Beth

I talked with Mom tonight and she is feeling like she has turned a corner. She feels so much better with all that fluid gone. She is stronger and can do many more things herself. Just wanted you all to know.Beth x

May 13 Update from Beth

Mom had the fluid drained from her lungs today. She said it was a bit painful but not so bad. They took out 1 1/2 liters and 100cc of fluid! The chest x-ray that was taken after the procedure was clean and clear. They got home around 4p.m. and Mom went right to bed. She has already noticed a difference in her breathing. Phew!! Let's hope this is the last problem she encounters for the rest of her recovery. Beth xxoo

May 12 Update from Beth

Mom had her follow-up appointment in Portland on Monday with the surgeon. As I mentioned on the last blog entry (maineupdate.blogspot.com), Mom has been having shortness of breath and getting really tuckered out just walking and getting in and out of bed. Well, there is a reason for this. They discovered that Mom has about a liter of fluid in her lungs. Dr. W said that one in ten surgery patients get this because the body can't get rid of the fluid fast enough. So Mom and Martha are headed to Portland again on Wednesday. They will drain the fluid right in the office. It's about a 30 minute procedure. Then she will go get a chest x-ray. The wounds on her surgery leg are healing nicely and the rash from the antibiotic reaction is gone. She is still not up to having visitors. We are hoping that after the fluid is drained she will feel like a new woman! Martha leaves on Thursday and Brad and Sharon come on the same day until Sunday, the 17th. Then I think Auntie Jo and /or Earl will cover until Martha comes back on the 20th. Then I'll be coming up for a week starting on May 23rd. That's it for now. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.Love, Beth xxoo

May 9 Update from Beth

just got done chatting with my sister, Martha who is at Mom's along with my sister-in-law, Sharon. Martha reports that mom is doing well. The rash from the antibiotic is gone, her surgery leg wounds are healing very well, she's walking a bit more, and even went outside to catch a few rays yesterday. Today they took her up to the hospital in Damariscotta for a chest xray that was ordered by her surgeon. Mom, Martha and maybe Auntie Jo are headed to Portland to meet with the surgeon, Dr. Weldner for Mom's follow-up visit this Monday. The xray was needed for that appointment. Mom still has quite a bit of shortness of breath when she does any kind of moving about. That remains uncomfortable but they will get some info about that from Dr. Weldner. We have quite a list of questions for him!!It sounds like things are going smoother than last week! Ya-hoo!

April 30th update from Beth

Hi all,I got mom home on Sunday late afternoon. We had a rough couple of days with fluid build-up. The doc at the hospital changed mom's diuretic on the day she left and it was not a good change. We have that under control and mom is feeling better but still not great. She is laying low, not ready for visitors or even phone calls, but Wendy and I are around if you want to call in the evenings after 8:30 for any reason. I am heading home on Saturday and Susan and Wendy will hold down the fort together. It has been very helpful to have two of us here at the house. We will continue to do that for at least another week. Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, cards, etc. We so appreciate it. It's wonderful knowing Mom has such a caring community of people out there. I'll probably report again from Vermont next week. Beth xxoo

Going Home-- Sunday

Hi All,
Mom is going home today!! The paperwork is almost finished and I'm guessing we will be on the road by noon. Mom has requested fish chowder, crusty bread, salad and Ring Dings for supper. Wendy will get all those goodies for us when she comes through today. I will transport Mom and stay until at least Tuesday to see the transition through, debrief Wendy, talk with Home Health, etc. While Mom has no dietary restrictions now, she does have other restrictions:
o no driving for at least 3 weeks
o no lifting for 8 weeks (it takes this long for the sternum to heal)
o no bending at the waist
o no visitors for 2 weeks
We will take good care of her. The hospital sends home a nice chart that helps the caregivers and the patient know what to do and what to expect. One of us kids will be staying with Mom for at least 2 weeks - Drs. orders.We have coverage lined up through May 17th and if needed we will go longer! I do not have access to email in New Harbor, but I will be talking to Wendy daily and can report from Vermont on any news. It won't be daily - maybe every three days or so.
Beth xxoo