Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Tomorrow is the BIG day......

No, I'm not going home :( it's my first case management meeting. This is where everyone (except for myself and my family) get together and talk about my progress, or lack there of, my plan of care and about how long I can expect to be here. I'm a little irked about how they do that here. As a patient I, as well as my family should be VERY involved in determining what my plan of care is, what the goal for my treatment is and involved in open dialogue about my progress and how much progress I can expect to make. This meeting shouldn't consist of only the medical staff. Perhaps it's simply the nurse in me that has always felt patients do better when they are more involved during the decision making process for their care whenever possible. Not to mention the family members that are responsible for them when they are discharged. So, tomorrow aught to be interesting, because if I disagree with the plan of care, I'm going to tell them. Today was exhausting. I had a total of 6 sessions of PT and OT. Speech didn't happen (I don't know why they didn't come get me). I managed to squeeze a much needed nap in this afternoon. Seems that every day they change my PT goal a little bit. Originally they really were on board with me trying to use the walker with a brace and not using any adaptive equipment when I transferred from the chair to bed, chair, etc. Now, they have me using a transfer board and using the walker less. Maybe it's because we're waiting on the brace(s) for the walker and they just feel that with my left upper body strength not always so great that using the transfer board is safer. Just wish folks would explain it to me. After all. I haven't lost my mind....yet. Father Paul came by this evening and brought Chinese and Communion. A wonderful combination! He also came carrying a curling iron that a girlfriend thought I could use. God Bless them both! One thing about being in the hospital and rehab is that you begin to look like you feel. Tired, frustrated, overwhelmed and every other not so positive emotion that exists. Communion, Spiritual recharging and a curling iron will go a long way to making me feel better about myself for a bit!

3 comments:

JC said...

You wouldn't believe what my hair looked like when I got out of rehab. A total disaster.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, what can I say. Keep smiling even when you feel like screaming on the inside. I lost my sight, they thought it was an aneurysm, it's a symptom of ms. My pupils are still not right. I'm 45yrs jobless, homeless and had to move back in with my parents thanks to my wonderful husband. Yes this SUCKS! I'm still trying to figure out this blogging stuff. Talk to you later
Maria Montana

awb said...

Good luck, I hope you get the results you want. Naps are always good, during PT they are even better.

Andy