Wednesday November 9 in the morning –
Mom’s move to Menorah Manor went ok. It was an adjustment going from ICU to a regular nursing floor then to rehab as with each move the personal attention diminished. And of course the food wasn’t good.
But once things settled down and the therapies started, Mom felt a little better, then….
On Friday, Mom started being short of breath and it was determined that she had an infection in her lungs which of course after a chest x-ray was confirmed as a slight case of pneumonia. Then on Saturday, Mom’s jaw started hurting. At first it was thought to be TMJ, but that was ultimately ruled out. The pain got progressively worse and by Monday she was having difficulty opening her mouth all the way. Lori had been with her on Monday afternoon and since this was becoming a big issue really had the nursing staff involved.
On Tuesday morning, Mom could open her mouth only about a half an inch. The Dr. was called but he could not come in to see Mom and was concerned that this may be related to a cardiac issue and suggested that we take her to the emergency room. Fortunately, by the time this determination was made, I was pulling in to the parking lot for a visit when Lori called to tell me what was going on. When I got upstairs Mom was as white as a ghost and was not looking so good. So I packed Mom up and took her back to St. Josephs ER just in case she would need to be admitted again.
The ER staff was great and after about 4 hours of tests and blood work it was determined that this was not cardiac related at all, but more likely something dental going on. Once Mom heard this, the change in her color and look was incredible. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of her and she relaxed and started to joke around a bit (what a relief). We called Moms dentist (Dr. Krist) who said to bring her over and he would see her right away, so we packed Mom up again and went to the dentist (Thank goodness Mom is walking pretty good right now). The dentist decided that it was most likely not dental but probably glandular and suggested we take her to an oral surgeon for a panoramic x-ray to be sure. So…
I packed Mom up again and drove to the oral surgeon’s office (Dr. Peters). The x-ray confirmed there were no dental issues so the surgeon asked Mom if she had ever been to an ENT. She had and told Peters she previously saw Dr. Foreman. Peters said that was great and that he was good friends with Foreman and would call him right away. So Lori, Mom and I are thinking another trip but, and this was the best thing about the day (other than this not being a cardiac issue), Foreman’s office is right across the street. But it gets even better. Since Foreman was wrapping up for the day he said he would walk over and examine Mom at Dr. Peter’s office, an so he did.
He poked and prodded and pretty much decided that Mom has some issue going on with a salivary gland but the only way to confirm this is with a CT scan. He said if we can get a CT scan done early Wednesday morning and get to his office by around 11:00am, he would see Mom right away. So, we’ll be calling his office to see if we can work this all out.
In the mean time, Dr. Peters prescribed some pain killers for Mom to not only make her more comfortable but also in the hopes of allowing her to eat some more. When we finally left his office, it was now almost 7:00pm, Mom wanted some soup from Panera. So off to Panera we went, bought some soup and snuck the contraband in to Menorah Manor where she almost the entire cup of soup, which is good indication that with the right food and diminished pain, she should be eating ok.
I’ll post another update late today after we know what is going on with the ENT.
Wednesday November 9 – In the evening
Jim: “Ok Alex, I’ll take WTF for $2000”.
Alex Trebech (this is the Yiddish version): “And the answer is….
So, I picked Mom up at Menorah Manor at 8:30am so we could get her to a CT scan in Tampa first thing. I was told to head to a particular imaging center. So I did.
We were on our way to SDI when I got a call from the ENT’s office and was told to go to a different (but closer) imaging center. So I did.
When we were checking in, I got another call from the ENT’s office and was told to go to the original imaging center. So I did. (see what 29 years of marriage will do to a man).
But really, everyone was great. The CT scan was completed and they handed Lori a disk of the images to take with her to the ENT’s office. Once there, Dr. Foreman saw Mom and tried to put a scope down her throat but he could not get it in far enough, but he could see “bruising” and was very concerned about that. So he told Mom that he would have to put the scope in her nose and down her throat. Mom asked him if it would hurt and he told her that he would numb her first but she would feel some “pressure”. Mom then told him that she knew his mother and that if he hurt her Mom would tell on him.
After he quit laughing, the scope then went in Mom’s nose and throat and he was able to see a lot of bruising that he determined was probably from the port that she had in her neck. There was also a 2 cm hematoma and other medical terms, but the important thing is that between Dr. Krist and Dr. Peters, they got the right guy in who figured out what was going on. Dr. Foreman was also very concerned about the amount of fluid built up around her lungs and suggested that Mom be admitted again so she could be watched closely particularly if she started having breathing issues.
But before Lori could get Mom to the ER, they had to make a quick stop at the beauty parlor so Mom could get her hair washed and cut.
Once at the ER, Dr. Sokol’s group was called in again and Dr. McFadden saw Mom. One of the docs also ordered an echocardiogram to confirm that there were no cardiac issues related to the fluid build up.
At 7:20pm, Mom was wheeled in to room 229B at St. Joseph’s, said hello to all of her friends that she had left a week before and finished the night off with some jello as she is on a clear liquid diet again.
I will tell you that she was walking well, talking well, and all things considered, looking pretty good too, and I’m not saying that just because she got her hair cut. She was joking with the nurses and did not appear to be out of breath at all, and it was quite a long day.
There has already been another CT scan ordered for tomorrow to see if what if any change there is in the hematoma, but other than that, there is not too much going on”.
(Remember the opening line)
Jim: What is going on with Barbara Marks today?