Today is the day.
Dad had his endo/colonoscopy yesterday. They located no active bleeding. The did locate an ulcer which they did a biopsy on to look for h pylori. It can cause the lining of the stomach to expose a blood vessel but they saw no active bleeding from blood vessels nor the ulcer. They are treating the ulcer. We are hoping that resolves the stomach pains, the blood in his stool, and his hemoglobin levels which have gone up since he is now eating, drinking, and off IV fluids. His foley catheter was removed and he is voiding on his own.
My siblings wanted to relocate his skilled nursing to 65 miles away. Now that his catheter is out, he is eating/drinking, and his hemoglobin levels are rising on his own I think we need to discuss skilled nursing and PT/OT in home. He said he doesn’t want to be a burden but driving 130 miles a day is more of a burden, costlier, tiring, and he wants to be home. I will discuss with hospitalist and case manager at the hospital with my folks if home care is an option. My siblings are going to go ballistic but I don’t care. I can monitor his vitals at home, work with OT/PT, arrange labs to be done, have a NP, skilled nurse, and wound care RN do home visits a few times a week. We can get a hospital bed, bedside commode, and bathe him until he can walk to the shower. People get better faster at home and one good thing about COVID is that it has made home healthcare services more accessible. Transport and set up are what we need to address as well. I don’t think the costs compared to gas costs will any higher plus Mom and I will have more energy. My body is killing me from sitting around the nursing home and hospital. No sleep for days and eating crap food is wearing on me. I miss Kronos but I’m here for this and will get my folks back to being self sustaining. ❤️
That’s it for now. Send lots of love to a budding caregiver as I wage the battle to get Dad home because he’s pretty depressed right now as he struggles to maintain his pride and dignity through all this. This is much different than the struggle of near death after an accident. When your body is fighting against you to survive and thrive it’s disheartening and depressing. The man is my rock and I will fight tooth and nail for his autonomy in an environment where he can heal and thrive. ❤️❤️❤️