Angela was officially released from Palomar Hospital at 11AM Wednesday, September 14th 2005. She proceeded to spend the next 6 hrs shopping at the Escondido mall.
3 days later and she's happily settled back home. She's even walking on her own! She needs a bit of support here and there but she is doing so great compared to even just a week ago.
Yup, you read that right! Angela has finally gotten the go ahead from the doctor to go home! She is so excited she can hardly sleep. She's up at all hours of the night planning what she's going to do once 'she's out'.
She'd planned on Fri. but the doctor told her she can go anytime after Tues. so Wed. morning she's breaking outta there!
Yay!
Wow! Alot has changed since we last posted here (sorry about that). Lately the schedule has been: Mom during the week, me on the weekends. A few times Jess has also been able to stay over (something she hopes to be able to make a weekly thing).
Angela can sit up! All by herself. She swings her legs over the side of the bed and can 'transfer' herself from the bed to her wheelchair almost by herself using the 'transfer board'(a nurse dutifully stands by just in case). She can also wheel herself around the hospital with a little help now and then when her arms get tired.
She's doing so great that during a meeting on Wednesday, the doctors, P/T's and nurses agreed that if she continues on this fast track recovery, she can go home in as little as 3 weeks!
Yay!
I got to the hospital a little after 6:30pm Fri night. Mom had already left to run some errands and get Robby from the babysitters so Angela was alone for a couple hrs. Since she now has pretty good use of her hands, she can use her knuckles to adjust her position in bed (up/down), call the Nurse, and operate both the TV and lights in the room so being alone for a few hours isn't a big deal to her.
We had an excellent night on Friday. Angela actually slept through the entire night (very nice break from getting up every hour to help change positions, call the nurse..etc). She did get a bit grumpy during/after her P/T & O/T sessions (which occured simultaneously) but it wore off (for the most part) by the end of the day.
We watched a movie Sat. night, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was pretty good and we had hooked up an external set of speakes to the laptop and cranked it up nice and loud so we could both hear it. That was really nice!
Sat. night I got sick so Angela kept waking up. Poor thing. No wonder she was so sleepy for the duration of Sunday (she just wanted to sleep all day). She had another P/T and O/T session (1 hr instead of the 3 hrs she has during the weekdays). She did very good. She definitely enjoys the workout more from the wheelchair than when they're doing balance work from the bed.
I left around 9PM on Sunday night. Last time I stayed through Monday but the thought of hitting that early morning traffic just didn't sit well (the last time I was stuck on a non-moving freeway for the better part of an hour!).
Mom's had a pretty good break this week. Nana came down from Los Angeles and stayed with Angela for a few days. So Mom's been sleeping in her own bed for most of the week. A nice break for her. Thanks Nana!
Just drove into work from the hospital. I ended up staying Sunday night in addition to Fri & Sat (such a nice sister). Angela did pretty good. Her mood was great on Fri & Sat and her nurse at night was just plain ol' awesome (her name is Lisa and hopefully we'll get her again this weekend!).
The nurses during the day (and last night)...not so awesome. They argued and made a stink whenever Angela wanted her medicine, telling her that she had to start 'weaning' herself so that she didn't become addicted. Angela ever-so-nicely told her she'd gladly switch places with the lady and see how she liked it when her entire body felt like it was being crushed. She got her medicine. But we fought almost every time and believe me fighting with someone at 2:30 AM does not bring out the best in people. Namely me.
Angela has an AMAZINGLY bad heat/sweat rash covering the entire back of her body, from scalp to toes. Big red bumps. So she's now also on Benedryl for that (and boy, does that medicine have her saying some WEIRD things!).
Yesterday, Nana, Papa & Uncle Kurt came to visit. Nana and I went to Angela's P/T session with her. Not the best P/T session. As soon as they tried getting her on her feet, Angela started screaming. Screaming and crying and insisting that her legs were snapping in half. They weren't...but everyone thought it was a good idea to forgo any more P/T for the day.
Other than the bad nurses and P/T session, Angela was in a fine mood. She laughed and talked for most of the time. We watched a movie (Man of the House---surprisingly not bad).
Left for work around 8 this morning. Angela's going to be alone for a few hours before Mom makes it over there.
OH! And I wanted to mention this: ANGELA CAN RECEIVE MAIL AT THE HOSPITAL AND SHE LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVES IT! Just email/call and we'll send you the address (post addy's in cyberspace is a baaaaaaaaaad idea so we're not going to do that!).
That's all for now. Have a great day!
Angela got to ride in a wheel chair yesterday! Mom says she was really excited about it! I should think so, she hasn't gotten to be 'up' for over a month!
Sitting up is extremely painful for her (as is anyone touching her legs...which makes re-arranging her very interesting) so the ride was pretty short...but still, she was happy to get out of bed.
Her trach is OUT. Gone, bye-bye! The doctors came in and just took it out, put some gauze over the hole and said it should heal all by itself in a few days. We haven't seen her since Sunday but we'll be checking the next time we see her!
We're so sorry for the break in posting. This last week has been hectic with plans for Robby's big #7 (yesterday) and just life in general.
We had a great time at Boomers --- thanks to everyone who showed! Didn't get a chance to see Angela (weather, traffic, and a bath all conspired against us!) but Nana and Papa got in a nice couple hours.
Angela's feeling pretty icky, in constant pain and usually nauseous. Which is probably because she is eating and drinking now. No more feeding tube! Yay! We'll be kind and call her food...interesting.
Since we have no more birthdays comin' up, we should be getting back to our normal visiting schedule!
Today was interesting.
When we first got there, Angela was asleep. About 10 minutes later, she woke up and immediately asked for her cellphone. Jessica had the job of telling her that we hadn't.
Angela threw. a. fit! She was so mad she started yelling.
It wasn't that she was mad that was the stunner...
It was that we could HEAR HER!
Yup. Our little girl has found her voice.
And its her regular every day voice. She sounds exactly the same. But talking seemed to wear her out so after about 5 minutes of very vocal disappointment, she went back to sleep. Then again, she could have just been ignoring us due to the whole cell phone thing.
By the time we left, 3 hrs later, Angela was talking to us again and in a slightly better mood, probably because I promised we'd bring the phone on Sunday.
Her new trach still bothers her a little but I think being able to talk makes it worth it for her.
She still refuses to eat (and if you saw the stuff on those trays, you'd know why) but she can't get enough water. Her coloring looks almost perfect but she still can't move anything but her arms.
For now. She'll get better tho. It's only a matter of time.
Poor Angela. She's feeling really sick and her nurse is (in one word) AWFUL. She acts like helping Angela is the most aggrivating / worst thing in the world. At one point, another nurse came in because a machine had been beeping for 10 minutes (10 MINUTES!!!) and Angela mouthed: MY NURSE HATES ME.
I could go on about this AWFUL nurse, but we'll stick to Angela.
The trach completely frees up her mouth, so she's mouthing very well. We haven't played the alphabet game since she got it. She loves getting her exercise, even though it hurts sometimes (she's afraid of blood clots and letting her muscles atrophy). She has also lost almost 25 lbs! Not the best way to lose weight but...that's what happens when you're on a feeding tube I guess.
Angela still sleeps 90% of the time. She's pretty nauseous, still has pneumonia, and has bruises all over her wrists from getting her arteries poked. For all she's been through, Angela is holding up so well!
We're letting Mom have a break until 5:30 tonight. Michele stayed the night last night (poor thing. It turned out to be Angela's worst night in awhile) and Mom got to catch up on sleep in a real bed!
Today is Jessica's 16th birthday. We made a quick trip to the hospital to see Angela. She's looking good (color wise) but she's very depressed about the restrictions of the hospital.
Earlier today she was told she could have some water (something she's been asking for for awhile now). Mom says she drank and loved it but later another Dr. came in and said that its dangerous for her to have water---and even ice! So now, Angela was very upset over the prospect (and probable reality) of not being able to drink for a few more weeks.
We're trying to think up things for her to do while she's in the hospital---but, being as she has very limited to no control over her body, even something as simple as cards becomes a headache.
If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to click on the comments link below and leave us a message!
Thanks!
PS. The trach makes it SO much easier to understand Angela. She doesn't (can't) talk but 95% of the time, we can read her lips! No more alphabet! Woo hoo!
We've just been informed that the trach was performed a little while ago.
Angela still can't talk but Mom (Susie) says it is much easier to read Angela's lips than it was before.
Will update you again after tonight's visit.
Today I am spending the day at the hospital so that Mom can get out and do some stuff.
I got here around 12 and Nana & Papa were in the room already. The nurses during the day are so nice and they let all of us in the room (usually its only 2 at a time).
Angela's nurse, Barbara, is very sweet. She answers all my questions and even said that Angela 'initiated breath' for an hour and 15 min today. I'm not exactly sure what that meant but they said it's very good
so, Yay Ang!
The P/T came in a little while ago and showed me how to work her arms and hands so that when she doesn't have a hard time later.
Brian and Michele stopped by right after and stayed for a few minutes but Angela was so sleepy she drifted off.
We've put this blog together as a way to update everyone through Cyber-space on how Angela is doing.
Just in case you don't have all the details (or most of them anyway)
On Wednesday, June 15th Angela was admitted into Pomerado Hospital for observation, suffering from tingling/numbness that had spread throughout her entire body. By the time she was admitted, Angela could barely talk, was unable to walk, and complained of constant pain.
By Thursday the Dr's realized that this wasn't just a run of the mill flu and had her transferred to a second hospital so she could undergo further, more in depth testing. Our needle-phobic was poked and prodded by more Dr's than imaginable who all came up with the same conclusion: Uh...
And then the neurologist came in. 20 minutes later, Angela was in the C.C.U. (aka I.C.U.) and under intense supervision. She stayed in the C.C.U. until Monday and, even though she showed no signs of improvement, was moved to another floor.
Tuesday June 21st. Angela had worsened to the point that she could not speak above a whisper, had a feeding tube, and needed constant supervision. She steadily got worse throughout the day, complaining of the inability to breathe. By the end of the day, her lips were blue and her eyes were sunken and black.
Late Tuesday night/early Wed. morning @ 12:16AM, Angela hit rock bottom. She Coded.
For almost a half an hour, no one knew what was going on. At the hospital, Mom was hysterical. The situation at home (an hour away) was almost as bad. We made our Emergency calls, got a baby sitter, and raced down the hill.
When we entered the room, the first thing you saw were the tubes. Tubes everywhere. In her arm, in her nose, in her mouth. And then the machines. And then every medication imaginable.
When Angela woke up on Wedsday, it became apparent that she had no brain damage. Unable to speak or move, she quickly picked up a form of communication: The alphabet game. By blinking her eyes, she will spell out entire sentences, sometimes even jokes.
And now, you know what we do
I think almost everyone we've ever known have come by in the past three days. From childhood friends, to family, to everyone in between, the support shown to Angela, to our family, has been amazing.
Please check back here often for updates. We'll be getting this going here pretty quickly, with both Jess and I popping in to answer any questions you have. Feel free to leave Angela messages, too! We'll print them out and put them into her Scrapbook!
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