So after she entered the hospital and they started her on antibiotics everyone became a little hopeful. When she first arrived no one knew if she was actually gonna make it. As I said she had severe memory problems. I stayed with her 24/7. I was there for the doctors. I was there for nurses and I also kept Connie from getting depressed.
As she was in there it became clear that what ever damage was done not all of it if any was reversible. So during the first week doctors were in and out. The doctor that saw her in the emergency room would come by before he got off his shift. With that visit we received some devastating news. Due to the severity of the UTI and the severe malnutrition they told us that she probably has early onset dementia. The longer she was in there the more that diagnosis became evident.
She did not remember her parents dying, she could no longer remember her address, she didn't know her granddaughter, and she had no idea who I was. She called me Jessica a lot. Sometimes during frustration I would stop her and tell her to look directly at me. When she did I would say "now what is my name". She never changed so I gave up.
Another reason I am glad I was there is because you should have heard the stuff she would say to the doctors. She would always tell them that she had been up and that she fed herself and everything. I would basically have to retell the doctor everything. She began to get frustrated with me when I would contradict her. I would always say since you walked this morning show the doctor. Her answer always was, I can't right now I don't feel good.
See her hands were hurting her real bad. The muscles had contracted and causing them to be stuck in the same position all the time. When they began to put her on physical therapy she refused to walk because her hands hurt her so bad. The physical therapist would tell me that her legs are strong enough for her to stand on them she is just scared. The longer time went with her not walking the more skeptical we became on her walking at all.
For everyone who doesn't know what they do in physical therapy they basically give you exercises to perform to regain movement and muscles. These are exercises that they expect you to continue on your own. Well with her memory she could not even remember the therapist being in the room much less the exercises she was given. I asked a nurse one day about her ability to regain her capabilities. The nurse looked at me and said it is hard to tell. Since she basically gave up and was to scared to walk the physical therapists just stopped coming by.
During her hospital stay she was put on TPN. They insert a PicLine into a major artery and hook you up to nutrients that basically provides you with everything you need to survive. This is a dangerous process that if the line gets infected it could cause serious health issues. We were there for nearly the entire month of August. I only left when I had to and tried not to leave for lengthy periods. I ate hospital food and showered there. So it basically became a temporary home. Thank God the food was good. I was there long enough that the CNAs learned my name and I assisted them in changing her and bathing her. I hurt my back at one point and thought I may not be able to help anymore but finally it went away.
During all this her sorry excuse for a husband hardly ever came and when he did it wasn't for long at all. He definitely to advantage of her memory problem that is for sure. She loved this man like crazy and as soon as he could he started living like he was single. I could write a book on that man.
So the social worker gave us paperwork on long-term care. We tried and tried to get it where her husband was not in control of her medical paperwork. We wanted to make sure she was properly taken care of. See he was practically deaf. I call it selective hearing though because he ignored her and blamed it on his hearing Since she was dependent on someone 24hrs a day. They suggested we look into it.
Upon discharge she was sent to a rehab facility. Due to her TPN we struggled to find a place for her. The rehab stay was for 20 days. And we had that length of time to fill out paperwork to get her approved for long-term care. We didn't want to just leave her there but everyone felt like, or so we thought, that her being in a facility where she would have around the clock caregivers and medical staff would be perfect until she was able to at least feed herself or sit up on her own.
Well this is where the fracture began in the family. And I will start that part of the story in my next post.
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