Tooth Repaired!!

Great Day......I called Dr Alex Blazzard about Mothers tooth. He has an office around the corner from Highland Manor. He came over after work and cemented the tooth back in place. No charge.....thanks Alex. Mother was eating at the time. I wondered if he could do it then but he did and she was very relieved and happy. She is eating better but with a measure of complaining about the food.

Ice Cream

I'm sure most of you know how much Mother likes ice cream. Last night Kathy, Anne and I went to visit Mother. We watched the Jazz game and at half time I asked Mom if she would like some ice cream. She just wrinkled her face and said no. So I left anyway and went to Smiths for some. I got chocolate swirl, some plastic bowls, spoons and something to dip it with. Mother's eyes lit up. I helped her eat hers. That made her day. She seemed kind of down when we got there but after the ice cream she was much happier.

Earlier yesterday I stopped by to check on her. Her right hearing aid was not working so I took it to a specialist here in town to have it cleaned and checked out. Also she had a crown fall off her back lower tooth. Pour Mother when it rains it pours.

I just got back from visiting her today (Thursday) and brought back her hearing aid all repaired and in working order. The Dr that fixed it for her only charged $5. What a deal.

I have a dentist that I know very well that I hope will be willing to stop by her room to glue her crown back on. I left a message for him today.

Mother seems much happier today. I think that the depression medication she is taking is helping.

She is now able to put all her weight on her leg and walk. I dont think she can take many steps yet but with the help of her therapist she is making great progress. She said it is painful for her but she does what they ask.

Dr Visits

Mothers first appointment was with Dr Reber, her surgeon. He said the leg is healing fine and the stitches could come out now but he decided not to rush it because of her age. He left them in and put a new cast on her leg. It is the same as the old one placed last week. He wants her to begin to walk on it. I will speak to the therapist about this and make sure he has new orders for her rehab. She will have an appointment next week with him. I think he will put a walking cast on at time.

The visit with Dr Empy went well. We voiced concerns about depression. He had prescribed a light dose about 10mg I think. He said he would double this to 20mg. We also talked about the effects of the stroke and her eating and talking. She will continue to receive treatment for that. Her blood pressure was good but a bit on the high side, 145 over 85.

I'll keep you posted with how she is doing so check back.

Robyn

My teeth don't work

I had a nice visit with Mother Sunday. We watched the second half of the Jazz game.

There are 2 important things that I found out:

1) Mother says that her teeth don't work. I asked what she means by that and she says because of the stroke she cant chew her food. Because of this it is hard for her to eat not to mention that she doesn't like the food they are preparing for her. I advised the nurse about this. They report that she is going to a speech therapist for treatment. The will also look to help her with eating.

2) Some of you have called to visit with Mother. She reports that it is very had to for her to talk. So she doesn't want to answer the phone. When Greg called he reported that Mother couldn't hear very well. I think she can hear fine but just is having a very hard time communicating. I told her that we would keep calling her but to do her best and we would do all the talking.

If you want to talk with Mother just understand her problem talking. I wonder if she will answer the phone because it is hard for her.

I really feel bad that she has such a hard time talking. She told me that she has not called any of her friends because of this. She really feels alone.

I also visited with her last night. She is struggling with being in bed. She wanted me to fix her pillow. I just had a hard time getting it adjusted how she wanted it. I made several attempts to help her. She told me that it was better but I wonder if I ever helped.

She has two Dr apts today. One at 1:00 with her surgeon. He will take out the stitches and put a new ankle walking cast on. The other appointment is at 3:00 with Dr Empy, her medical Dr. We will discuss her problems with depression, talking and the effects of the stroke.

That's all for now.

Robyn

Mikes Visit

Mike came down Wednesday and left this morning. I asked him for his update for the time hew was with Mother.

I talked with the RN at Highland Manor today. She said that every new patient should have a Dr to check them in. We did that from the Hospital but they still want her Dr check on her. We have not done that yet. We have an appointment set up for Tuesday April 27 @ 3:00 He will let us know how the medication and she is doing.

Robyn

Dr's Visit

I just got back from Mothers doctor appointment. Good news! Mother is healing just fine. There is very little swelling. He took off her "L" shaped splint that was placed on her ankle and leg at the time of surgery. He also took an x-ray of the leg. He put a cast on the leg from just below the knee down. She will wear this for one week. Then she will come back and have the stitches and the cast removed. He will then put a ankle cast on that she will have for two more weeks. She can begin standing and using the leg after next week. So mother will have 3 more weeks down here before she can go back to Vernal. I have 2 new pictures for you to see from today.

Robyn

New Phone

Exciting news. Grandma has a phone in her room. Please call me for her number!!! She usually is busy with lunching in the morning and therapy as well as lunch around noon and dinner at 5:00. So she may not be there when you call.

She as an appointment with Dr Reber, the foot surgeon at 1:30 today. I will attend with her and post what he says. So check back later today for an up-date.

We watched the Jazz last night until halftime. Mother didn't think they would pull it off. I need to call her to see if she finished the game and if she knows who won. If any of you want to give her a call, you can see if she finished the game.

The Weekend

I see that I have not up-dated the blog over the weekend. Friday was a busy day for me. I was short handed at work so I just visited mother after work. I had so much fun watching her eat. She was in the cafeteria with another resident. They both were so funny complaining about the food. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.

That evening I returned with Kathy. Saturday we watched the Jazz Game together. Mother's spirits were wonderfull. She seemed to me to be back to who she was before the accident. She can now use her right arm and hand. It is somewhat limited but she can use it to feed herself. She has no swelling that I could see in her hand or arm. Sunday while we visited I called Mike and he suggested that we check her left foot to see how that looked. It was swollen quite a bit. I had the RNwrap and take care of it. I also told her therapist to help her with that.

She attended an LDS sacrament service Sunday. She said it was only 40 minutes long. But at least she got to take the sacrament. Also Bill JR, Denise and Family were here. They visited Grandma.

Richard visited Saturday and gave her a milkshake. She loves ice cream!

Gladys form Ghana

Gladys is one of Grandmas Nurse's at the care center. She is the best! She is always helpfull and has a great smile. Good Work Gladys.

Watched the News

Kathy, I and Anne visited with Grandma last night. We took her clothes to her. We hope she can now get out of the hospital attire. We read out of Alma 5 and commented about verse 15 ".....Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption......." Mother laughed about her body being corrupted. We watched the news and had family prayer. She seems like she can use her right hand more.

Fruit Smoothie

I just got back from visiting Mother. She is doing very well. The swelling is down a bit in her right arm and hand. I took her a fruit smoothie, strawberry and banana. She liked that. Kathy showed up just as I was leaving and is there as I type this.

Settling In

4/15/10 10:14am

Just a little bit of an up-date. Mother is settling in fine. She has her good moments and bad as can be expected. Yesterday I stopped by at noon to check on her before I went to a Chamber luncheon. She looked depressed. She was just sitting all alone in her room in a wheel chair staring at the wall. I wanted to take her outside or just visit but I had to leave.

At 3:00 Kathy and Anne stopped by to be with her. Kathy reported that mother was doing just great. She would talk and smile. At 5:00 after work I stopped by to see her. She was in bed. I helped her with her dinner. She had turkey noodle soup, some beets and crackers. The therapist wants her to feed herself but without the use of her right arm it is hard. She eats with her left and is a bit shaky. As she brings the spoon to her mouth the soup spills on her napkin. I stayed with her for about one hour.

At 7:30 I came back to watch the Jazz with her. She had the TV on to the Jazz and it was very loud. She was asleep. I woke her, we watch the Jazz but she seemed out of it and would drift off to sleep. At half time I left to go home. She asked me “what temperature is it?” What she wanted to know was the score.

I visited with her briefly this morning at 9:00. She was with Ty Wakefield her therapist. He works with her every day. She was using special straps to aid her in standing up. It is especially hard because she is only using her left leg.

This will be the best for mother. I just couldn’t believe how good she was doing. She smiled at me and we laughed sarcastically at how well she was doing. She was not complaining of pain or anything. She was just doing what they asked.

I think I will get a blog put together so everyone can go in and see pictures and updates.

Trip to Mesquite

4/14/10 10:20am

I think that I spoke to most of you yesterday but here is what happened.

At noon Nevada time I received a call from the RN at the hospital indicating that Mother would be transferred to the care center in Mesquite within the hour. I immediately jumped in the car and headed to St George to be with her. I arrived at 1:30.

Mother looked much better than when Greg and Bill were with her. The stroke that affected her facial muscles on her right side showed no evidence that she had a stroke. She looked good. Her pain and discomfort was a different story however. She was suffering beyond anything you could imagine.

I spoke with the nurse and requested something for pain. She was preparing a syringe to put into her IV. I wondered what she was thinking because they had removed her IV sometime before I arrived.

She said “oh I forgot she doesn’t have an IV anymore, I will get it in a pill form”.

This was at 1:45. At 2:00 I asked to find out where the pain med was and was told that she was waiting for a Dr’s order. I wondered how she was willing to give it to her in an IV but could not dispense it in a pill form without a Dr’s order.

Anyway at 2:45 she finally received a pain pill. Through all this the care center was about one hour late. At 3:00 they finally showed up. They tried to move her but Mother refused. She was still in too much pain. The care center had another patient to pick up so they when up to the second floor to retrieve that patient.

After they left, Mother needed her bed pan so I left the room while they helped her with that. Finally at 3:30 they had her loaded in a mobile chair (it looks like a recliner but with wheels).

I really don’t have words to describe how hard this all was. I wondered if Mother should be leaving the hospital. She would not respond to much when I spoke to her. She would just look off into space. She would cry out in pain when moved. Her will to live was gone or that is what It looked like to me. She didn’t want to face the trial that awaited her. It was so hard for me because I couldn’t do anything about it but just try to offer her comfort.

At 4:00 and after lots of pain getting her on the lift in the van, we were on the road headed to Mesquite. I followed the care center transport van home. It was by far the longest dive I took back to Mesquite. I’m not sure if it was the speed of the vehicle or just worrying about mother. I could see her in the large back window of the van. She appeared to be sleeping.

At the care center I had my doubts what to expect with the way mother was responding to this ordeal. I wonder if she would have the will to get better.

After getting her settled in and in her bed, things changed just like turning on a light. I met with her therapist who happens to be my neighbor, Ty Wakefield. He thinks she will recover from the effects of the stroke well and will regain the use of her right arm. Mother told him that she wants to get better, get out of bed and walk.

I fed mother some dinner. After that she perked up and was able to carry on conversations and smile. She seemed reasonably happy.

I don’t have a phone to her room but I will work on that today. She is in room 409. I will let you know more as I get her settled in..

Gregs Report

4/11/10 8:26pm

VeAnn and I spent Saturday afternoon through 10:00 PM with Grandma. We stayed with Robyn last night and went back to the hospital at noon today and stayed until 2:30 this afternoon. She slept most all day yesterday but woke up wide awake a little after 8:00 PM. She was very alert when we left at 10:00 PM last night. The stroke has left her speech slurred but she comprehends quite well and knew who VeAnn and I were. When we got to the hospital today we were greeted with grandma sitting in a chair by the bed. It was so good to see. She had a little fruit and pudding for breakfast. For lunch she ate a little of the spaghetti, peas and carrots. The doctor visited with us today and said the biggest concern with stroke is the ability to swallow. It looks like grandma has no problem with that. She does have a long way to go but we are optimistic that she will continue to improve. Bill and Sharon will be with her through tomorrow. Mike is trying to arrange his schedule to visit with her sometime this week. When I talked to Sharon just a few minutes ago she said Robyn had been up to visit before they arrived this evening. Bill said that Billy will be in the area for a few days this Wednesday and wants to visit Grandma. What ever family visits and calls to the room can be made will help speed her recovery. The caution is to call at a resonable hour. She may not be able to answer if a family member isn't there so let it ring a few times and if it isn't answered, try later. Greg.

Mother still Asleep

4/9/10 4:17pm

I just called the Nurse’s Station….Mother is still out of it. She has not been awake since the surgery. The nurse reported that she tried to wake her for a drink of water but she just wanted to sleep. The nurse thinks that later on this evening she will be coherent. I wouldn’t try to call her….but if you want you can call the nurse first and find out her status. If she is awake the nurse will transfer the call to her room.

See x-ray

4/9/10 4:03pm

Here is what moms leg looks like after the surgery. On the left side of the x-ray is the small fibula with a plate. On the right is tibia. You can see now how much was involved to put her back together. Her bones are very soft. He had to use soft bone screws as well.

Robyn

Mother in Room

4/9/10 11:25am

Mother is now in her room…..she is asleep. I will let you all know more after she wakes up.

Robyn

Clarification

Clarification. After reading my e-mail I wrote that “the fibula has 8 screws…..What I meant to say was that the 8 screws are screwed into the plate to attach it to the Fibula…. I will provide a picture as soon as I can.

Robyn

Out of Surgery

4/9/10 10:38 AM

Mother is out of surgery. The surgery went well. She has 1 screw on Tibia and a plate on the Fibula. The Fibula has 8 screws to attach it to the bone and she also has one long screw that runs vertical through both bones to add stability. She is now in recovery and is expected to return to her room within the hour. The Dr wants her to began her therapy in 2 weeks. We expect her to be discharged on Saturday but it could also be as late as Sunday.

I have arranged for extended care with Highland Manor here in Mesquite. Highland called mothers supplemental insurance with Combined and they will pick up the co-pay portion with Medicare up to 100 days. I will get the phone numbers for her room after she is admitted. We had hoped that Highland Manor could transport her to Mesquite but they report that it is hard to get a driver on the weekend. I will transport her as soon as she is released.

I will keep you posted with any new developments.

Robyn

Mothers Fall

4-8-10 @11:47

As you know yesterday was a very hard day for mother. I tried to speak to most of you to give information as soon as I could. Because of all that was going on I would give some details to one brother and not to another. So I will summarize the events of the day for you. Sorry if all this is a repeat of what you know.

At approximately 2:00am, Mother got out of bed to use the bathroom. Upon returning to her bed, she lost her balance and fell on her right side. She hit her head on the floor and twisted her ankle. She made attempts to get up off the floor but could not.

She told me that some time around 3:30am she decided to call out to get someone in our homes attention. She said that she began calling “Anne…..Robyn…..Kathy. With no response. At 4:00am I was awakened by her yelling “help-me……..help-me…….help-me………help-me……”.

At first I was slow to respond thinking that Kathy was yelling at Anne to get up for school. As you know Mothers bedroom is on the other side of the house so her cry sounded like Kathy calling for Anne. I awoke, discovered Kathy still in bed and then looked at the clock. It was 4:00am. I ran into her room and found her on the floor. Kathy came in behind me and helped me get her off the floor and into her bed.

At 7:20 Mother called my cell phone because she could not get out of bed. I guess that this was easier than yelling for me to come into her room. I went into her bedroom to find her still in bed but unable to get out to go to the bathroom. It was all I could do to get her out of bed to the bathroom. She said her right leg was really hurting.

I called Kathy at work and asked her to help me with Mother. When she came home she helped get her out of the bathroom.

At 8:00 we got her some breakfast and then at 8:30 I gave her a priesthood blessing. By 9:30 we loaded her in the ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center. I had considered transporting her to our hospital here in Mesquite but we just don’t have the specialists needed for the kinds of problems Mother could have as a result of her fall. As it turned out, this was a good decision.

At the ER x-ray showed two fractures on the Fibula (small lower leg bone) and the Tibia (large lower leg bone). See attached x-ray. Dr Reber with Coral Desert Foot and Ankle happened to be at the hospital when we arrived. He reviewed her x-rays and agreed to take her case. He reports that he will pin the break on the Fibula and place a wire on the fracture on the Tibia. The surgery will be sometime on Friday. I will keep you posted. Coral Desert also has an office here in Mesquite.

After the x-ray they placed a splint on her leg to keep it in place. The person that did the splint told me that he would set it so it would not hurt. The way he set it I think was not the best position because she still complains of pain. Mother is also experiencing pain in her back as she always has and now her leg really hurts. She is receiving pain meds at this time.

After the surgery Mother will not be able to walk for 6 weeks and will require a rehab care facility. I am looking at the one here in Mesquite called Highland Manor and I have submitted a request. I will keep you posted. It will be May before she can return to Vernal.

That is what I know for now. I will visit with mom this afternoon and I will let you know about the time of the surgery and the where she will go after that.

Nicholas and Grandma

Taken before Surgery

Grandma's Broken Leg

Both x-rays are of same leg and foot just different angles.