Some of you have read my recent posts about C being in and out of hospital for the past 3 and a half months. Thanks for your answers and support.
She is still in there, been back a little over 4 weeks. During that time she has moved 3 times and is currently in isolation in her won room due to C Diff. It's not the toxic kind, but can be infectious if the person in the next bed has compromised immunity. I think that was explanation. I can only visit for an hour every day and some days she is awake and aware for 50 minutes out of that and engages with her children on the phone or WhatsApp video. Other days she is barely aware of anything. She is hardly eating or drinking. Th nurses and the doctors just put it down to her dementia and her medication, but her daughter refuses to accept any explanation.
She has been on and off of antibiotics. The consultant is now considering lorazapam on a low dose for a short term to ease anxiety and make getting her in and out of bed less stressful. The nurse told me she was up for about 10 minutes this morning, but the stress and the anxiety it put her through was too much. They can't leave her in bed as her muscles are wasting away. I helped the nurse get her out of bed last week and saw how little muscle mass she has in her legs. Getting her out of bed for a short while is so stressful as she still remembers the pain the blistering caused and tenses up as soon as they go near her.
That's all problems for the medical staff to work out and I don't envy them it. C's daughter wants them to take her off all of her medication and told the poor junior doctor that on the phone on Friday after I had a constructive conversation with the consultant and the junior doc. That's not meant as a criticism. She is not well and feels frustrated she can't visit.
In the meantime we are waiting for a nursing home assessment bed, but they are rarer than hen's teeth even in Bristol. As usual, thanks for reading and any ideas on what to tell C's daughter or what to ask the nurses would be appreciated. All the best to you all in your own situations, Rob
She is still in there, been back a little over 4 weeks. During that time she has moved 3 times and is currently in isolation in her won room due to C Diff. It's not the toxic kind, but can be infectious if the person in the next bed has compromised immunity. I think that was explanation. I can only visit for an hour every day and some days she is awake and aware for 50 minutes out of that and engages with her children on the phone or WhatsApp video. Other days she is barely aware of anything. She is hardly eating or drinking. Th nurses and the doctors just put it down to her dementia and her medication, but her daughter refuses to accept any explanation.
She has been on and off of antibiotics. The consultant is now considering lorazapam on a low dose for a short term to ease anxiety and make getting her in and out of bed less stressful. The nurse told me she was up for about 10 minutes this morning, but the stress and the anxiety it put her through was too much. They can't leave her in bed as her muscles are wasting away. I helped the nurse get her out of bed last week and saw how little muscle mass she has in her legs. Getting her out of bed for a short while is so stressful as she still remembers the pain the blistering caused and tenses up as soon as they go near her.
That's all problems for the medical staff to work out and I don't envy them it. C's daughter wants them to take her off all of her medication and told the poor junior doctor that on the phone on Friday after I had a constructive conversation with the consultant and the junior doc. That's not meant as a criticism. She is not well and feels frustrated she can't visit.
In the meantime we are waiting for a nursing home assessment bed, but they are rarer than hen's teeth even in Bristol. As usual, thanks for reading and any ideas on what to tell C's daughter or what to ask the nurses would be appreciated. All the best to you all in your own situations, Rob
