Some of you may have noticed that this column disappeared several weeks ago.
That was on purpose as I was out searching for different things to do.
It all started on Sept 22. My family had all gone to bed, except my wife who had elected to watch a bit of late-night television. Around midnight (we think) she stood up from a recliner chair, lost her balance and fell onto her back.
She cried out for help for a couple hours until my daughter heard her, found her on the living room floor, and called 911. She was in a lot of pain that would be confirmed by an X-ray. She had a compression fracture of a vertebrae in her back. The injury started a seven week adventure.
The ambulance took her to the emergency room where she stayed for 36 hours. Here’s where the first Catch-22 surfaced. There’s a rule that she was ineligible to be admitted to the hospital, but was also ineligible to come home. She was destined to go to one of several rehab transitional care centers in the area.
The Catch 22? They don’t have the ability to administer morphine and it required a 72-hour wait between the fall and admission. Fortunately, that rule was waived during the pandemic. Which rehab facility to pick? You don’t get much of a vote. That’s negotiated by the ER room and the facilities. It depends on whether there is availability in the right part of the facility since they have different wings for different types of patients.
Off she went by ambulance to her new digs. Instead of morphine, the meds were tablets, primarily Norco. But another Catch 22 popped up. If the doctor prescribed a tablet every six hours, that doesn’t mean they will dispense it to you. You must ask each time. If it’s too soon the nurse will tell you, “I can bring that in another 30 minutes.” Meanwhile, it’s hard to watch as your loved one winces at even the slightest twist or as she tries to “scootch up” in the bed.
After a few days, the plot thickens again. My wife was doing well and was finally able to get out of bed but was told not to do so without a helper. She pressed the help button to go to the bathroom but got impatient waiting and went by herself. Bad idea. She fell in the bathroom, this time hitting her back on the toilet and cracking a rib.
So now she has both a cracked rib and a back fracture. She was not a happy camper, didn’t like the apparent turnover of the staff, the food, or the fact all the uniforms were the same. It would be much better if you could recognize nurses, food workers or helpers by their uniforms rather than a small nametag.
My daughters took tours of other rehab facilities and arranged a transfer. This time they took her in a medical transport vehicle instead of an ambulance. She was much happier at the new place and even had a nice aviary outside her window. The workers and nurses were more caring. Most of the time someone responded well to the help light. The only real problem was the loudly moaning patients or noisy staff and the failure to keep her room door closed, even though it had a large sign on it, “Please keep this door closed.”
Sometimes she had a private room, other times she had a roommate for a few days. I should have done a roommate study. One hated TV, so when my wife turned hers on, the roommate wouldn’t complain, she would just leave for the playroom or dining room. Another roommate was very hard of hearing, it was difficult for conversations. Yet another roommate always asked for the same when she heard us tell my wife we would bring a fresh peach or plum next visit.
I’ve left the food for last, because that’s what it deserved, last place. The best way I can describe it is that in just under seven weeks, my wife lost 20 pounds lying in a bed with no movement other than daily physical therapy. The food was probably the worst part of the experience. On the other hand, my wife thought the physical therapy and the therapists were awesome and helped a lot towards her recovery.
I do have some advice, be careful and be prepared. Does your house need a ramp to step onto the porch? Does your bathroom need grab bars on the toilet? Shower? Tub? Is there room for a walker or wheelchair to maneuver throughout your house?
I’m sure there will be more as we continue with home health visits and home physical therapy for a few weeks.