Our Weekend With Lance - Part 12

Part 12
Wednesday – October 18th

After lunch, Jimmy is feeling much better. We get him psyched for the next PT session and Roland and Danielle come back around 2 pm. OKAY! Here we go!

Jimmy has the routine down now and he schooches to the edge of the bed by himself. He stands. He walks. HE DOESN'T PASS OUT! YEAH!!!

He walks around the room. He's feeling pretty good about himself now... We don't want him to over do it, so Roland guides him over to the chair by the bed and he sits down. He stays there for about 20 minutes. Roland and Danielle go on to other patients. After a while, Jimmy says he's getting tired and wants to get back in bed. I wanted to go get Roland, but Jimmy says he feels good and he can do it himself. So I get the walker. He stands. He walks over to the bed. He sits down. I help him lift his right leg onto the bed and swing both his legs together. We schooch him back on the bed. VOILA! He did some great PT and didn't go down.

Later that afternoon, Dietra, Jimmy's OT, stops by and shows Jimmy all his new tools. No – not drills or saws – the kind Jimmy likes. These are tools to help him reach things he wants to pick up, put on his socks, scrub his back. Jimmy is a star pupil and is soon handling these tools like his drill back home. ..

Dr. A's internal medicine doctor swings by to chat just before dinner. He is concerned about Jimmy passing out and wants to be sure that this is followed up when we get home. Turns out that Jimmy has vasovagal syncope:

People with vasovagal syncope typically have recurrent episodes, usually when exposed to a specific trigger. The initial episode often occurs when the person is a teenager, then recurs in clusters throughout his or her life. Prior to losing consciousness, the individual frequently experiences a prodrome of symptoms such as lightheadedness, nausea, sweating, ringing in the ears, and visual disturbances. These last for at least a few seconds before consciousness is lost, which typically happens when the person is sitting up or standing. When they pass out, they fall down; and when in this position, effective blood flow to the brain is immediately restored, allowing the person to wake up.

It doesn't say anything about slapping the person silly to revive them ... but it works for me! ..

Wednesday night we watch the result show of DANCING WITH THE STARS and then Criminal Minds. Jimmy's tired, so we go to bed early.

Thursday morning … our new routine … Good Morning Lupe! Breakfast, vitals and Jimmy wants a shower. Roland stops by and says that we can do that … We get Jimmy up out of bed … so good … so far … we get him walking to the bathroom, which is as big as our dining room – no lie! Roland and I get him in position to sit on the bench in the shower. Lupe had the water running nice and hot, just as Jimmy likes it. Now you have to understand. Jimmy takes 30 minute showers every day … usually falling asleep while standing up in the shower.

Jimmy hasn't had a shower since Sunday, so he is really enjoying this. I scrub him down, rinse him off and he's done … 8 minutes. He really wants to sit in the shower longer, but he realizes he's getting pretty tired, so I get him standing and dry him off. Lupe has a new hospital gown for him, we wrap it around him, and he walks back to the bed. Lupe has already changed the sheets, so he is feeling pretty good once we get him settled back in bed. Toasty blankets on top … and Jimmy's ready for a nap.

Lunch comes and Josee sends me a delicious chicken cesar salad. Yum. Jimmy has meatloaf, mashed potatoes and carrots.

Thursday afternoon Jimmy is raring to go. He wants to do stairs, because we have several steps he needs to navigate to get inside the house. Roland, Danielle and I walk with Jimmy out of the bedroom, down the hall and to the stairwell, where Roland shows Jimmy how to go up and down stairs. He walks back to his room and we get him settled back in bed.

I'm bored. .. I brought 4 books with me for the weekend, never anticipating that I would actually read all 4 books. What am I going to do for the rest of the week? I am whining to Jimmy when Hulu comes in to check on Jimmy. Jimmy asks if there is a bookstore or a drug store close by that I could walk to so I could get a couple books to read. Well … we all know my history with walking around here, and Hulu does not want me ending up in the ditch again. She is so sweet, she loans me her car … walks me out to her car … hands me her car keys and points me in the right direction. I zip up 2 blocks (past my ditch) to the shopping center. There is a CVS there, and I park and go in and get Nora Roberts (of course, duh) 2 new books – that were left in Maryland at Jeannie's when I had to rush home for Reggie. I'll just use these as my reading and sharing copies and save the signed ones at Jeannie's for my collection. While paying for my books, I notice that they sell wine at CVS … I'm so tempted to grab a couple bottles of Pinot Grigio and have myself a party, but I pay for my books and head back to the hospital. Hulu's same parking place is still available, I park and head back inside. Isn't Hulu the nicest? So kind.

Dietra stops by again in the late afternoon to run through the use of the OT tools … and Jimmy has mastered them. She is quite impressed and assures Jimmy that he'll do fine. She reviews the hip precautions and how to "not get into trouble" with his new hip.

Dinner is served. Josee sends me salmon with wild rise and grilled veggies. YUM!!! It is the best salmon I have had and enjoy it very much. Jimmy has pasta with meatballs. I give him a bit of my salmon and he wants to switch. Na-uh … the salmon is all mine!

We watch Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, 6 Degrees and get ready for bed. Going to bed at 10 pm is weird. I'm not use the time difference, but I do like watching the primetime shows earlier. That way I have a good 2 hours to read before going to sleep. We get Jimmy all tucked into bed, I get in my jammies and stretch out on my pullout.

Ahhhhhhh … A new Nora book …. I feel peace and some semblance of normalcy returning to my present chaotic world. Jimmy is snoring softly as I being reading my book. All is right with the world. ..