The morning started by greeting Lewy in his recliner. It was time for the morning pills. As I approached Daddy with the pills and milk, I again had a rush of unpleasantness up my nose. Oh no, not again! I had hoped for longer durations between the dumps. Lewy had only gone once the whole time he was in the hospital. He’s been here less than 18 hours and this is the second round.
Since we are talking about such nice things…Lewy has been constipated for a long time. Now it seems he has passed over into the final phase of stage 6 LBD, fecal incontinence.
That can only mean that stage 7 is near.
Hubbie and I rolled Lewy around and finally got him cleaned up. Then Hubbie was off to work.
The UPS dude came with the vacuum pumps, then the FedEx dude came with the box of drugs…I had no idea it was drugs. It came in an envelope…I didn’t even have to sign for them…
The hospice nurse called to schedule her arrival. This was great, because it allowed me to call my nephew and his wife (a nurse) to come over to help move Daddy from the chair to the bed. With that task completed, the nurse began to look Daddy over. We decided it might be best if they inserted a catheter…which they all call a Foley Unit…(What’s wrong with catheter? Is that old speak?) The nurse had a bit of a time with the insertion. The prostate was not cooperating.
So here I stand at the foot of my Dad’s bed, watching Nurse Goodbody hold his penis straight up and start shoving a tube down in it. All this exposure is really weird. I guess I’ll get over it, but it is ever so creepy to see that much of your father.
The wound nurse came and instructed Nurse Goodbody on the proper wound care procedures. They were both very nice and seemed to be really interested in taking care of Daddy. We discussed the stages of LBD a bit. They seemed to have a better handle on it than the hospital staff did, but didn’t act like they had seen it up close and personal yet. I guess we will all learn together…
About an hour after the nurses left, the social worker/ counselor arrived; A nice grey haired lady with a lot of spunk. We chatted for at least a couple of hours, maybe three. She explained how the hospice care would work, and how it is all covered by Medicare and it would cost nothing. This time, it was true, we no longer have to rent the wheelchair or the bed. And believe me, this is a much better bed…All his drugs are free, delivered to the house.
I can see why people are against a government run service…it works perfectly…who needs that?
The counselor assured me that once Daddy was in hospice care, he would not be removed. Again that bad government paid for service is set up to take care of a few who maybe don’t need it, rather than cut out someone who does, just to have tight rules….Yeah, this is horrible.
I now know that my dad will be taken care of. And I know that if I have to get away, they can take him for a week every 3 months to give me a break. This is all so perfectly wonderfully nice. What a relief.
There’s that sword again. The service and benefits are great but the beginning of the end is here.
2 comments:
kddove said...
i think foley unit sounds much less scary than catheter. especially if you've never heard the term.
oldfriend said...
I'm so glad that more of the routine and technical care will be delivered by professionals who are experienced and that YOU will get to be Daddys' girl...again.