"jmcquown" wrote in
:

He's doing as well as can be expected given his age and general
health. They haven't had to move him back to ICU or anything like
that. He does have a cannula to keep his oxygen levels up and they're
giving him IV fluids to keep him hydrated. The doctor called last
week to get some clarification from me. He didn't know, for example,
Dad had only been at the nursing home for one day before he was rushed
to the ER. He didn't know Dad had been in the hospital prior to being
transferred to Bayview. (Don't these people write anything in the
charts?!!! Grrrrr.)

He also seemed to think, prior to this, Dad used a walker or a
wheelchair.
No, doc, when he was at home he was ambulatory. Slow, yes. Unsteady
sometimes, yes. But he'd walk out to the kitchen to make coffee, or
get a glass of juice, or grab a pastry to snack on. The doctor was
surprised by this, saying he didn't think Dad would be able to walk
now. Duh, again. The man has been flat on his back in a hospital bed
since January 31st. I'm not 83 but if I'd been bedridden that long
I'm sure I couldn't walk either!

We visited him on Friday. He was snoozing but he woke up and talked
with us briefly. I told him the neighbor cats are still prowling
around and he grinned. We took him an adorable stuffed bunny with a
plaid ribbon around its neck; it;s on the bed next to him. He said it
was time to go back to sleep so we didn't stay long.

Jill


So much of medicine today is about liability who knows what they even
write in charts anymore. I _am_ glad your dad sounds comfortable at
least.

Andy