Katkeeper update

[BigV]

documenting, sharing... is it working for you? I know that sounds cliche, but I think you know what I mean. We care for you and for those you care for. If this documenting / sharing is helping you, continue. If it's a drag for you, don't. We don't need to add to your burdens. (not all martyr-y, I'm just sayin.)

[Undertoad]

Well it's a story and I guess the whole story should be told, even if the most dramatic bits are done now.

I feel like this is a part of life and others of y'all may have to go through it at some point, or might someday know somebody going through it, so having heard all about it on the Cellar might be good.

[limey]

Atrial fibrillation in and of itself is a manageable condition. My mum and my brother both lived with it for many years, managing it with medication. How it impacts on the other issues here, I cannot say. Continuing to send you and KatKeeper every good wish!

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Well it's a story and I guess the whole story should be told, even if the most dramatic bits are done now.

I feel like this is a part of life and others of y'all may have to go through it at some point, or might someday know somebody going through it, so having heard all about it on the Cellar might be good.

Funnily enough that's exactly what I thought after reading your previous post. If any of my nearest and dearest have to go through somethinglike this (and lets face it it grows more likely with each passing year!) I would find this thread really helpful and reassuring.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Well it's a story and I guess the whole story should be told, even if the most dramatic bits are done now.

Yes, but the happy parts are just starting, where we can share the joy of rehab progress, and her going on to cure cancer, discover a non-polluting renewable energy, and bring world peace.

[Undertoad]

Round three of a-fib at 3:30 am and improper responsiveness from the rehab place nurses. Rousted me at 4am. Decided to go to the hospital ER at 8am. Admitted by 3pm and IV'd with the right doses to keep her heart straight. She'll probably go back to rehab tomorrow or Sunday.

I worked an 11 hour day today.

[monster]

frustrating times. hope she improves quickly and gets back to rehab and then back home

[limey]

^^ WSS ^^

[wolf]

At least the rehab is properly responsive to the issue. Good on them!

[Undertoad]

Not really. This was supposed to be a cardiac rehab facility but they don't have EKG on premises, can't do IVs, not sure I get it.

[classicman]

regarding rehab: WTH?

Hoping for the best for your mom.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Not really. This was supposed to be a cardiac rehab facility but they don't have EKG on premises, can't do IVs, not sure I get it.

Rehab is for when you don't need that stuff.

I can almost assure you that they have one of those machines that goe ping on the premises, but that doesn't mean they have someone handy that knows how to use them. Heck, even the nuthouse had one of those, and I suspect they have one somewhere in the back room at the rehab. But anyway, if something's a-lookin' and a-soundin' funky, they have 911 on speed dial, and they're close by to Bryn Mawr Hospital, which does have a pretty good ER. So do the other ones nearby, for that matter.

[Undertoad]

lost in the telling is that she didn't go to burn mawr rehab although now she might. She went to a smaller place. But her am phlebotomist at the hospital just said that rehab has a poor infection rate which is a bad idea for heart patients. Wtf

[classicman]

ughhhhh

[Undertoad]

We finally found out:

Acute care: 3-4 hours/day
Sub-acute: 2-3 hours/day
Skilled nursing: 1/2 hours/day

~~~

That's why a cardiac patient doesn't get into Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr is acute-only.

Mom certainly didn't need anything but skilled nursing -- except that it needed to be actually skilled, in which severe a-fib should be recognized as a problem, monitored as closely as possible, and referred to the hospital immediately and perhaps not left up to the patient's decisions.

But at the shitty rehab, none of that was really available -- and thus...

It was eventually the patient who decided that she should be taken to Pottstown Memorial's ER. By ambulance, so that she could remain on oxygen. Once at Pottstown she was evaluated as truly at risk, and far enough from surgery that she could get blood thinning meds, which reduced her stroke risk by half [citation needed]. She was admitted and then told she had to stay for 3 days.

That allowed J the time to germinate the idea that mom didn't have to go back to the shitty rehab facility, and that the local retirement community/assisted living facility Shannondell had attached to it a skilled nursing facility. And although it was said to be hard to get a bed there, they had one available -- which mom was slotted for.

What a difference! Shannondell's private rooms have wall to wall carpeting, walk-in showers with benches... everything is clean and smells ok! Her nurse met us right at the door with a wheelchair and told us jokes as he explained that every day would get better. The next day's menu was taken and it was top-notch: pan-seared duck breast and green bean casserole. Within two hours of admission another nurse was fighting to transfer the meds that the Pottstown doc hadn't put on her list.

And then she went into AF again, and this time she had the right meds to keep it in check. The S-dell staff was authoritative: you'll stay here, now that you have the right meds, and our doc has read all fifty pages of your history and will see you on rounds. And she did stay; and today, out of AF, she did the physical therapy she needs.

I suspect Shannondell's facility is more for its permanent residents, which I think number about 3000. But they've overbuilt it (which is a great idea) and allow laypeople to get in, in order to keep the facility running at max.

However it occurred, Mom is now at an elite facility with excellent elite staff. If we had known what rehab is, that it was inevitable, and that it differed greatly from place to place, we would have visited these places beforehand. As it was we were offered a list of places to choose from with no notion of which one was better and how.