Tuesday, August 23, 2022

8:26 PM

Hello, thank you for joining us!

 Larry needed blood added to his dialysis because his hemoglobin was low. Larry gave blood regularly for years and this is the first time in his life he has needed the gift of someone else's blood. Thank you to all who donate their blood to help others in need.  It was the second round of dialysis using the newly inserted catheter in his chest on the right side.

He winced, expressing pain. I asked where it hurt and he moved his hand to touch the area of the chest catheter.

   Today, he was alert in a way that he was very aware of every 'thing' that is attached to him. There are 6 permanently placed for now. He is also grimacing while he tries to find a comfortable position for the back of his head, (which is missing the piece of bone). He pulled the feeding tube out of his nose this morning and of course they had to re-insert it. They put it in the opposite nostril, so that was a new irritation for him.

  The coughing was non-stop. It's so harsh, as his stomach & chest heave, trying to get rid of that stuff, but never does. 15 seconds of heaving & choking then 15 minutes of quiet, then over & over & over again. I try to help him to close his mouth, as it is wide (and I mean wide) open all the time. I never thought I'd be happy to see a fly, but one flew into the room. When I told him, he shut his mouth. But that didn't last long. I spent the day massaging his jaw/scratching his beard (which he loves), trying relax his jaw so he can close his mouth. Not much success. It's unfortunate, as he coughs much less when he breathes through his nose.

 So, so far, I've only reported on his dialysis, coughing and awareness of discomfort! What about the stroke? Are the effects of that, improving? Well, almost not! The stroke doctor that introduced herself when Larry was in ICU last week & asked if he could stand or eat, popped in today. She is concerned that the longer he goes without physio, the less chance he has of walking. (Actually, she said it more negatively then that!) The physio stopped by today to work with him, but couldn't because of dialysis. When she introduced herself to Larry, he waved at her. She told him she'd be back tomorrow, so he better be ready for some hard work. He shook his head "Yes!" He has his own special wheel chair reserved for him to do the rehab & also to get a change of scenery for a few hours, out of his bed.

  I stayed much later than usual, as Larry was still struggling with the cough, although a bit less since suctioning. I just felt that his night would be similar to this day, which was so very distressing, with no peace for more than a couple of minutes at a time.   Larry is actually getting a medication to help with the cough, so I hope that he will settle down. Erin & John came, followed by Jason.

  Larry reached for the nose feed tube a few times, so I had to let the night shift nurses know that he would need his hands restrained. He hates that! I hate that!

 I spend each day, living in the day! Most definitely the 'what ifs' or 'maybes' come to my mind, especially when a doctor speculates on the negative side. So today, those things appeared to be quite possible and took a chunk out of my…. most positive picture.

 So thank you for loving us & praying for us. God bless you!