April 7, 2012

51 days...two major surgeries... extra corporeal membrane oxygenation...tracheotomy...28 days on a ventilator...Peter is on his way home...FINALLY! God bless and Happy Easter.

Natividad ARU: April 3

Peter is working HARD! Driven by a desire to return home, he set his goal as April 9. Imagine his excitement when Case Manager told him today he is doing so well he can go home on Saturday! We are all ecstatic - it has been a long seven weeks in the hospital for Peter - even though ther are large periods of time he does not remember - thank God! Unfortunately, I think those memories are forever burned into my memory. His trache has now been capped for 24 hours and his saturation is excellent! He is excelling in his therapy. Got to "cook" today. It was old pasta - not to be eaten, but he was standing at a stove! Three more days of in-patent therapy.....

Natividad ARU: April 1 & 2

Lots of evaluations going on! Peter has met with PT, OT, and speech pathologist. He has been working really hard - I think he wants to set a new record for shortest time here. He is walking three to four times/day about 800 fet. He is working on stairs with his PT so he can walk around our house. Speech pathologist is working with him on his swallowing/eating and his OT has promised to work with him on kitchen skills. Hands are still pretty shaky so not real sure about him using knives yet! The biggest news.....MondY night they capped his trache! He is now completely off oxygen, breathing normally and has an oxygen saturation of 98-99%! We have come a long way......

Natividad ARU: March 31

Arrived in Salinas just after noon. We got here just before the ambulance. He had lunch with the speech pathologist present so they could figure out specifics of diet to order. Peter is eating so much better, they will be able to stop nighttime tube feedings soon! Also had an evaluation with the physical therapist, walking and steps. Spent the afternoon with Jaime, Marissa, Will, mom and dad with some Katie G. thrown in. All in all, a good day. Art Solent the night at the ARU (Acute Rehab Unit) while mom went home and slept in her own bed for the first time in weeks. Mercy was happy to welcome me home by waking me up several times as she walked all over me!

Reverse Transfer Day: March 31

As I write this, Peter is in an ambulance on his way back to Salinas and we are driving home! I had my last breakfast at My Rosegarden Bed and Breakfast and thanked our wonderful hostess for her oasis of rest in our crisis. The ambulance arrived on time and with one last suture removal, we were on our way. I would be absolutely remiss here if I did not give total cudos and thanks to all of the wonderful medical and nursing staff for giving Peter back to us. We will be back at UCSF in a few months when Peter undergoes additional surgery. Thank you UCSF Medical Center!

UCSF Day 17: March 30

Great news! Porter has been approved for the Acute Rehab Unit at NMC! Bad news is that it took so long to get approvals and make arrangements for transport that he can't leave until tomorrow. He is pretty disappointed - but waled 15 minutes with PT and 10 minutes with mom and dad! He is now eating some although he is hypersensitive to smells which make him nauseous..he says he can taste what he smells (he included dads farts in that discussion). Mom thinks it is a reaction to flagyl, one of the antibiotics. Plan for tomorrow...ambulance is supposed to arrive around 9:30 to transport him!

UCSF Day 16: March 29

Banner day! Peter walked up and back in rhe ICU for 10 minutes and.....transferred out of the ICU!!!!!!!! He went to the cardiovascular telemetry unit. Heard from the case manager that our insurance company is not sure that this previously healthy 25 year old male is ready for acute rehab...even though the physicians and therapists all are in agreement that is what he needs and is ready for...apparently our insurance company thinks that he might need recovery time in a nursing home...the doctors and therapists are adamant that he either go to an acute rehab facility for intense physical therapy or stay at UCSF until ready to go home. So, we wait...we live in an interesting world where some insurance adjustor (who has never even seen the patient, reads the medical notes and can over rule the healthcare providers...it's all about money and cost. However, God bless Obamacare without which Peter would not be on our insurance plans!