G Came Home Last Evening
G came home around 6:00 PM yesterday.
It was a bit of a rush to get him released. The surgeon came in the morning, and said he was OK to be released as per surgery, but the attending Dr. had to sign off.
So around 1:30 I asked the nurse to notify the attending that Gary hoped to get released, that I would need instructions on how to change the dressing, and a bedside commode.
Finally around 3:30 the Dr. showed up, along with about 3 other people. Apparently physical therapy did not think he was safe to be released. But, that's because they had worked with him on Tuesday and Wed., and he was quite bad those days.
After they took him off the heparin drip Thursday morning, he was much better (which we only made the connection last night). He is able to "transfer" from wheelchair to sofa, etc. on his own, so he is OK in the house.
Meeting with the hematologist went well. At least G and I feel like we are now talking with a Dr. who might be able to do something. The renal Dr. has done all that she can, and as I told G, her job is to take care of his kidneys, and she shouldn't be expected to take care of blood clots in other parts of his body.
The hematologist confirmed there are severe blockages in the left side carotid artery, that is almost fully "excluded" (I guess that's the word he used) (**correction, I realized the next day he must have said "occluded", as in "shut up") , meaning it's almost totally blocked. This of course explains why G is losing word usage day by day. They made a follow up appointment for June, when they will do another CT scan to see if any change in blockages. As G is now on Plavix, perhaps it will have some effect.
If not, and if his sites for dialysis are OK, I suppose they will consider vascular surgery to clear out the blockages. Although, the risk of such a surgery scares me, but will cross that bridge when we get there.
The main thing is if the current catheter continues to function for at least the next 6 weeks, and hopefully by then the fistula in his leg will be able to be used.
Fingers crossed.
It was a bit of a rush to get him released. The surgeon came in the morning, and said he was OK to be released as per surgery, but the attending Dr. had to sign off.
So around 1:30 I asked the nurse to notify the attending that Gary hoped to get released, that I would need instructions on how to change the dressing, and a bedside commode.
Finally around 3:30 the Dr. showed up, along with about 3 other people. Apparently physical therapy did not think he was safe to be released. But, that's because they had worked with him on Tuesday and Wed., and he was quite bad those days.
After they took him off the heparin drip Thursday morning, he was much better (which we only made the connection last night). He is able to "transfer" from wheelchair to sofa, etc. on his own, so he is OK in the house.
Meeting with the hematologist went well. At least G and I feel like we are now talking with a Dr. who might be able to do something. The renal Dr. has done all that she can, and as I told G, her job is to take care of his kidneys, and she shouldn't be expected to take care of blood clots in other parts of his body.
The hematologist confirmed there are severe blockages in the left side carotid artery, that is almost fully "excluded" (I guess that's the word he used) (**correction, I realized the next day he must have said "occluded", as in "shut up") , meaning it's almost totally blocked. This of course explains why G is losing word usage day by day. They made a follow up appointment for June, when they will do another CT scan to see if any change in blockages. As G is now on Plavix, perhaps it will have some effect.
If not, and if his sites for dialysis are OK, I suppose they will consider vascular surgery to clear out the blockages. Although, the risk of such a surgery scares me, but will cross that bridge when we get there.
The main thing is if the current catheter continues to function for at least the next 6 weeks, and hopefully by then the fistula in his leg will be able to be used.
Fingers crossed.
Labels: hemotolgist
posted by Confessions of a Caregiver at
12:07 PM
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