So Here We Are

So after 3 cancellations (one by the fam because of dad's weakened state, two by the doctor because of poor scheduling) we are at the hospital with dad who is being delivered into the operating room as we speak to have the fishula put in. On a subconcious level, I think I'm scared to death. Any procedure for dad is scary these days. Our family was divided as to whether the thing should be put in at all however dad's kidney doctor and the vascular surgeon told us that if he's going to be continuing dialysis -- which is a must to preserve his life -- then he needs to have the fishula put in. During the prep the nurse noticed the TB shot dad had on Monday showed positive, which caused some concern and so they had to do a chest ex-ray. Then they had a lot of trouble finding a vein in dad's left arm that was working -- he's been so poked and prodded over the last few months that the nurse explained she could insert the needle but then would hit scar tissue. Finally, after a bit of moaning and groaning from the nurse, and dad, she got the needle in. Now let's just pray really heard everything's goes well. Before they rolled dad away he said he wanted to put in an order for a T-Bone steak. His thinking this morning was fairly clear, matter of fact, by the time I got to the hospital this morning -- a bit late after getting stopped by our friendly neighborhood law enforcement for speeding -- he'd signed all the paperwork.

Okay let us pray: Dear Lord - We love dad, and he's been through so much lately, please carry him safely through this procedure and in the weeks and months to come. We pray that the fishula placement is successful and opens up properly so that it can be used within the two to four month window (hopefully two months). Help us get him back to him own home and in the care of his loving family where he can begin to heal. Amen.

Update

I truly do not know where to begin. So much has happened over the past few weeks. Okay first, in my last post in June I mentioned dad was in the hospital after a stroke and seizure, afterwhich he was discharged back to the rehab facility. More recently, on Saturday he was at Davita getting hooked up for dialysis. The nurse thought it best to call 911 because Dad's heart was beating too fast and blood pressure too low -- nose was bleeding still after he'd had a fall at the facility that Friday, early A.M. Apparently, the heart beat/blood pressure issues were signs of infection. And guess what? Dad has urinary tract infection, which in elderly people causes more confusion, on top of what he'd already been experiencing. Combine that with the antipsychotics the doctors are insisting he take to "manage his behavior" we have big problems. On top of that he has a necrotic right toe - same toe he had an ingrown toenail removed from almost two months ago which had been healing just fine. It took the doctors until today to finally call in a podiatrist, after 3-4 days of my commenting/insisting/yelling that it was getting worse day by day with the blackened dead skin spreading across his big toe. They kept assuring me that the area had been cleaned by the care nurse, and when asked if that would prevent the spread of dead skin -- hesitantly, with a whole lot of insincerity, the nurse assured me that it would. I didn't believe it. I'd done a little research and consulted with a friend/colleague of mine who is a former nurse and found that necrotic skin can not be repaired. And we all now know, with the exception of some of the medical professionals at Good Sam obviously as it took them 4-days and a lot of irritation on our part to get them to take the situation seriously, necrotic skin spreads rapidly if not treated by cutting away the dead skin to get to the healthier skin, and he would eventually lose his toe, foot. Hell no! And especially not due to their inability to act quickly. I yelled out my frustration today with Peggy, dad's assigned nurse, telling her I'd call back in a hour to see if they'd been able to get the hospital's podiatrist to examine dad's foot and threatened to follow up the call with a visit if nothing had been done, and what do you know...the podiatrist found time to visit and treat dad's foot properly. Why the delay in getting this done and why did it take my getting bitchy to accomplish it? Don't they care?!

We’ve also been informed by the facility where my dad had been staying that they would agree to take him back after his hospital stay, however if he continued to decline mentally they would have to report to Medicare that they could no longer help him and medical coverage would be declined by Medicare. We would then be on private care, and we just can’t afford that. He has a urinary tract infection, which they have to know causes confusion in elderly people, however they are trying really hard to ignore this fact as well as the fact that he’s on antipsychotics, Seroquel and Risperdal, which studies have shown not only cause agitation in elderly people but also have severe side effects which can cause death due to heart problems and infection. I’ve pulled information off the internet on studies being done in Europe on this very topic (BBC News). Guess what? Dad has heart problems and infection. Although this medication may work for a very few, it is not working for dad. I’m thinking it’s time to bring him home.