Bmweerman updates

[bmweerman]

I had stopped posting because Cameron was starting to be on the computer quite a bit and said he was now keeping you guys up to date. I've gotten a couple of inquiries so will give you more info than he's passing on. I post initially on my personal blog, then paste it here so it's easy to put it together for you:

 

Week 3 Friday

 

What a day! I had a really hard time getting to sleep last night and just couldn't get started this morning. I showed up at Cameron's room and he greeted me with "I can go home today!" It's been insane ever since.

 

Because there was a long waiting list to get into Kern Medical Center, he wouldn't be taken there until a bed became available, which could be days. He was going stir-crazy being in the hospital, and to be in there just to wait to go to another hospital was too much for him. He talked with his doctors this morning about going home and then doing the hospital thing next week. He wants so much to go home.

 

After checking his culture and finding it clear of the merca virus, his doctors gave the OK to discharge him. There were some conditions to the discharge. The case worker set up a home health nurse that will start coming by twice a day on Monday to make sure his neck is healing properly, he has an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon on Monday who will make the referral to the trauma surgeon, who will schedule the surgery. The doctors were very supportive of his decision as they felt it would be counter-productive to sit in the hospital, as well. The only medical care needed at the moment is of his neck from the trach. The nurse showed me how and so I can take care of that. Non-medically, he needs so much help with just moving around. Going from the bed to a wheel chair is a major maneuver and takes a lot out of him, and me. The physical therapist told him to try to do as much by himself as he can so his muscles can get back some of their strength while he's waiting to get the physical therapy started.

 

I'm not sure I'm up to this. It's hard on my back and there's no break except when he's asleep. It's going to be a long drive home. We're staying at the place I've been at, tonight (they have a handicapped equipped room), then leaving in the morning for home. I need a good night's sleep. We're planning to stop in Kingman, AZ for the night, then making the rest of the drive the following day. That would be ideal, but I don't know if he'll be able to sit in the truck for that long at a time. I guess we'll see.

 

I still don't know what's going on with the bike. I haven't heard from our agent, today got away from me so I didn't try calling her, either. We got an offer from someone in Albequergue who said he'd be glad to store it for us. So that is still up in the air. The main focus is getting Cameron home.

 

I need to get to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day. It'll be nice to see some of the scenery that I went through at night when I came here.

 

Week 3 Saturday

 

Well, it took some time to get on the road this morning. I had hoped for a better night's sleep than I got, but I guess I slept lighter because Cameron was in the room and I worried about him. It's like sleeping in the same room with your newborn, every sound they make wakes you up.

 

The Connelly House is run by volunteers and the guests are supposed to take care of stripping their beds and gathering dirty linens before they leave. I, also, ran the dishwasher, which is done by who ever finds it full or by the volunteer. Since they decided not to charge me for my stay, I felt inclined to clean things up a little before leaving. Like I said before, they're great people and their kindness has been immense.

 

It was a challenge to get him into the truck, thankfully, another guest was around-a young guy whose had bad leg injuries himself, he helped Cameron manuever himself with minimal stress. With that taken care of and the truck loaded with the "ghetto wheel chair" the hospital gave us. (It's an old one that doesn't have any foot platforms-just to get him short distances like to the car and such. It's slow moving, but works. The local Lincare didn't have one for rent that would fit, so the hospital gave this one to us to hold us over till we could rent one. They, also, loaded us up with plenty of pain meds.

 

So, after around 5+ hours on the road, we've stopped for the night in Kingman, AZ, a good halfway point. We'll finish the drive home tomorrow. We've still got a long road ahead of us. It'll be nice to be home.

 

Week 3 Sunday

 

Whew, what a drive! It was a tough 300+ miles, but we made it. So many parts of today's drive were along highways in dire need of repair and that made for a painfully bumpy ride at times. His chest is still so sore, as well as his shoulders and neck. It's tedious keeping the dressing clean and in place, from the tracheostomy. He still has pneumonia, but no longer the really nasty stuff. The pain meds wipe him out and sometimes he forgets about the hole in his throat and messes with the bandage. So, I guess you could say, it's been an interesting last couple of days.

 

A home-health nurse is supposed to come by tomorrow afternoon to check on the trache opening and his overall condition. That should be interesting as I've never dealt with someone coming to the house for care before-another learning experience.

 

I need to go rent a "real" wheelchair in the morning. The "ghetto" one has sort of served it's purpose, it got us home, allowing him to go from car to hotel room, car to home, etc. I'm thinking about checking into a shower chair or something like that, as well, so he can take a real shower. He managed to get one at the hospital before he left, but it would be nice to be able to do it on a regular basis instead of just sponge baths (though he may not mind it that way).

 

Now that I'm home, there's so much that has to be done. We left New Mexico without the bike, so that needs to be worked out. A couple of people who live in Albequerque, who belong to the BMW board that Cameron posts on, offered to help with moving and /or storing it for us until we can retrieve it. I still have to work things out with the insurance co. All the doctor visits need to be planned out (some appts. were made in advance, but I want to verify them, and another needs to be changed), bills need to be paid, etc. It's like time was running a different speed in New Mexico and all the while life went on here, without us. It's going to take a little while to get back in sync.

 

My hope for tonight is a good solid night's sleep, something I've been missing the past few days. Tomorrow's going to be busy!

 

Home and Tired

 

It's been a difficult couple of days since pulling into our driveway, on Sunday. Having not fully healed from my knee surgery, and with a back that's never been the same since spraining it some 20 years ago, traveling with someone with quite a bit of muscle atrophy is no picnic. By Monday night, I was totally exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. After a heated discussion of my fears and needs, we came to an understanding that I desperately needed more help. I can't physically do it on my own.

 

So, today, he has been doing more things on his own, and with that has come more strength. There has been great improvement in his ability to move from bed to wheelchair to couch, etc. (Yes, I picked up a real wheelchair today!) He kept surprising me by suddenly appearing in a different location or on the wheelchair, when I hadn't helped him get there. He's done all this, despite his severe pain in the process. I don't know if I should be proud of him, thank him for the help, or severely chastise him for overdoing it. The male ego is something that continues to evade my understanding.

 

I do feel better, though there have been moments when I just didn't feel like I could keep it up. It's hard to be on call 24/7 and to do it with compassion.

 

I left Cameron to his own devices, with a promise to "be good" while I was gone, so I could run some errands. It felt good to get away for a little while, but it was not a relaxing break. I was still doing things that needed doing and so wasn't able to separate from the situation. I think that once I get caught up on the stuff that has built up over the past 3 weeks, I will be better able to take some time for me. The unpaid bills, alone are a daunting task, and of course, laundry, and the things I just dropped as I departed to New Mexico after the first call.

 

I've stayed up tonight so I can have some time to myself. I need to get some rest, though. His next dose of pain meds. is in 3 hours and another one 4 hours after that. It's not as rough as having a new baby in the house, but that parallel does come to mind when that alarm clock goes off at 3:00am. So, good night, and I'll continue to keep you posted.

[Highway41]

Your quite a gal. Thanks for the updates. Bill

[GelStra]

Welcome home.

[Firefight911]

[TN_R_Girl]

Thanks for the updates!

 

This may sound weird, but I think I speak for everybody here when I say we're proud of you!

 

Keep taking one day at a time girl!

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

I think I speak for everybody here when I say we're proud of you!

ayup! +1 for me.

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

Now that you're all settled in back at home, what is it that we can do to help? Don't be shy.

[SNC 1923]

Now that you're all settled in back at home, what is it that we can do to help? Don't be shy.

 

+1.

 

Thanks for filling us in, Patti. I'm no more than 15 minutes away. Call. I'll be by next week for a visit if you and Cam are up for it. If you need help transporting to Kern or anything else, even just someone to visit while you go out, CALL.

 

[Eschelon1]

A++ Job!

 

[hANNAbONE]

+1++1