HOSPITAL / June 1st: Kathy had a restful night and Sunday Doctor Irani decided to move her from InterCare to a different part of the same department called Telemetry. If I understand it correctly, in a telemetry unit all the patients are monitored remotely in a separate room. A nurse on duty can see or hear when a patient is struggling.… Read more →
Tag: health care
InterCare and the Search for the Lost Cord
HOSPITAL / May 31st: On Saturday morning Kathy’s condition seemed to have stabilized. Doctor Irani had given up on the idea of the temporary NG tube to feed her. The nurses and personal care aides were great. Naturally you always want an instant response to buzzes and beeps in your room, but the hospital is like a city that keeps… Read more →
Breathing
HOSPITAL / May 28th: Wednesday and Thursday were whirlwind days at Baystate. Because it was cool out I brought Marty with me. I parked in garages both days so he was safe and I could go out and we would go for sniff and pee walks. Well I drank a coffee. Marty did his thing. I contacted our dog sitter Joanne and… Read more →
9-1-1
CAREGIVING: I’m writing this from Kathy’s hospital room. On Tuesday we got up as usual and Kathy was coughing and couldn’t really eat or drink much of anything. I had figured out that I could get her to take her meds by breaking them up into small pieces and putting them in a little applesauce. Unfortunately the combination of insufficient fluids,… Read more →
Memorial Day Parade in Hampden
LIFE: There are very few advantages to having a house a foot and a half from Main Street. In fact, according to a recent survey we did, our porch is not even on our property. The porch does give us a reviewing stand for the Town of Hampden Memorial Day Parade — our big event. The parade always departs the Catholic church parking… Read more →
Woody Guthrie at Greystone
MUSIC: This is an interesting short film about Woody Guthrie’s years with Huntington’s Disease, when he was a patient at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, New Jersey. He was picked up by the police and misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia. A similar diagnosis was given to Kathy’s mom in Florida, but at least in Woody’s case they figured out it was… Read more →
and Two Steps Back
CAREGIVING: It’s Friday night, and I finally can sit and try to get caught up a bit. Kathy is asleep — breathing well with the occasional cough. Marty is on his couch. I’m on mine. It is thundering out and pouring rain. One of the main reasons I feel a need to write this stuff down is that time flies – whether you… Read more →