Last night however is a night my dad never wants to remember again! He had a terrible night, to say the least. I’m not totally sure of the timeline of events, but it all began at 10:00 pm. He took 2 Benadryl & 1 Xanax to help him sleep at 9:30. Within half an hour it took effect & caused Bob to experience great confusion. He said he woke up at 10:00 & thought he was in a basement somewhere. He tore off the bandage that covers where his chest tubes exit his abdomen & began to try to pull out the chest tubes. His nurse, Nikki, intervened at the right time & got in his face. She calmly but firmly explained to him that he was hallucinating, that he was a danger to himself & others & that she was not going to allow him to do that. She is a tiny woman, but she stood right in his face & didn’t back down. She called Connie & told her to come help get him under control. She also called security.
In his paranoid state, he was completely out of control. He was rebuking the devil, praying loudly, throwing things & tried to leave his room. Standing outside his room was a wall of 4 security guards that stopped him dead in his tracks! Then he looked over them & saw Connie standing in the background with a stern look on her face. Nikki, the security men & Connie were able to coax him into his bed, where they promptly restrained him by tying his arms to the side rails of the bed.
He fell asleep for about an hour & woke up panicked again. Nikki was able to calm him down again & he slept for a couple more hours. He woke up a 3rd time & was less confused. It dawned on him that all of the things that had occurred were not a dream as he had supposed, but they were real events! That horrified him! He felt so bad for Nikki! He was very embarrassed (although he’s been telling everyone who visited him today about this story) by his lack of control, but Nikki said following a major surgery where a patient has been under anesthesia for a long time, this type of episode can occur. Nikki said he was the nicest paranoid patient she’s ever had!
Pray that God will allow my dad to sleep peacefully, restfully & soundly.
He made every effort to stay awake all day so that he would be really sleepy tonight. He walked the halls a couple times, at a brisk pace I must say. He sat up in a chair all day, which is good for his lungs. He even had Rachel take his chair out of his room to the end of the hallway where there were big windows. He sat in the clouded light for a while. He watched some TV, but not much. He never took a single pain pill!
He had a nicely paced day of visits. Bob stayed with him for a while, as did Connie. I was with him in the afternoon & evening. Ray Harrison faithfully visited him & prayed with him. He went across the hall to visit with Merle Mullett & his family, which was a nice time of sharing & laughing. Two ladies who set up Home Health nurses visits stopped by to talk with him about what to expect when he gets discharged. As it turned out, one of the ladies, Michelle Rhodes, had him in 6th grade at Leo Elementary! She still has the term paper she did for Science class. She did it on Polar Bears. He graded it & wrote “Beary good!”. The other lady with Michelle is named Rhonda. Rhonda has cousins Pat & Peter Johnson, who also had him in 6th grade. He really enjoyed talking with Rhonda & Michelle.
Dr. Sowden came around in the late afternoon to check on my dad. He asked if he was in pain, & he told him not at all. He said he hurts sometimes, like when he coughs, but he’s not in pain. Dr. Sowden told him that he is still draining a lot of fluid from his chest, which is not what he had hoped would be the case at this point. Tentative plans are to release him on Sunday. If he is still draining a lot of fluid, Dr. Sowden will install semi-permanent intravascular catheters that will exit his body on his side. Home Health nurses will come several times a week to drain the accumulated fluid. Hopefully, the draining will stop by Sunday so that Bob doesn’t have to worry about it any more.
Jack Clark came in & prayed with Bob. Bob has a tremendous respect & love for Jack. Then my dad was invaded by his sisters, Sandi & Kim. They had stories to tell about his doggies & what they are up to while he is away. Next Kristie & her current boyfriend Jeff came in. A couple minutes later, Bob came back with Josiah & Colson. Next Jason Eckes & Kirsten Meadows squeezed in the room. Rachel came next, but there was no room in the inn. We took that as our cue to leave. So Bob, Rachel, Colson, Josiah & I said goodbye & left to go celebrate Colson’s 19th birthday.
Saturday Bob would really love to have brief visits from friends. He’s ready to interact with people again & could use your encouragement. Students from LPCS, he has really appreciated the cards you made for him. They decorate his hospital room! Please keep praying for Mr. A. He wants to be back at school with all of you as soon as possible.
Food for thought:
We have had several wonderful people asking us about preparing meals for Bob after he gets home. He doesn’t have any dietary restrictions. If you provide a meal for Bob, we would appreciate it if you could deliver it in small containers that can be used in the refrigerator, freezer & microwave & then can be thrown away. Please include instructions of how to reheat the meal. During the first 2 weeks he is at home following his hospitalization, he will have a caretaker with him 24 hours a day. He will need 2 meals a day, one for lunch & one for dinner. Please include enough food for both Bob & the person who is keeping an eye on him each day during his recuperation.
Bob’s sister, Kim Culbertson, will be creating a calendar to organize meal schedules for the weeks of February 27th - March 12th. If you wish to prepare a meal, please either call Kim at 260-925-3213 or email her at luvruby007@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment