Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2006. Mattie was home and trying to learn to play the piano. This keyboard was given to Mattie by Jerry, one of the amazing volunteers at the hospital. Jerry knew Mattie loved music and gifted him this keyboard. This keyboard came back and forth with us to the hospital. It brought Mattie joy. After Mattie died, I consulted with Jerry and we then donated the keyboard to the pediatric inpatient unit of the hospital. We wanted this keyboard to bring joy to other children, like it did for Mattie. When stuck in a hospital room, you would be surprised how music can turn around one's mood for the better.
Quote of the day: To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care. ~ Mandy Hale
Another full day on the farm! When I woke my dad up this morning his right hand and wrist were completely swollen. He could hardily use his hand, which of course makes it very difficult to get up from bed or a chair, almost impossible to walk with a walker, make it safely down the stairs, and the list goes on. While showering and dressing him, I had Peter call the doctor's office as I wanted my dad seen and x-rayed. I felt it was vital to know what we were dealing with and determine if this was serious.
My dad has been complaining of hand cramping for a while in this right hand and yesterday I began to see sudden swelling, discoloration, and pain. Naturally my head jumped to a vascular issue, since my dad got a pacemaker inserted in March of 2022. My mom was wiped out today from her physical therapy evaluation yesterday. So I left her at home with Peter and I took my dad to the doctor's appointment.
The doctor (as some of you know, I call dopey) did a great job today. He could see my dad was in pain. He gave him a thorough exam of his hand and then told me he wanted to rule things out like a ganglion cyst (A noncancerous lump, often on the tendons or joints of wrists and hands) or worse an aneurism of the hand.
Right after this doctor's appointment, I called home and told Peter I was taking my dad to the hospital for a walk in x-ray. Once at the hospital, we waited about 30 minutes to be taken back for the x-ray, but the admin folks wouldn't give my dad an ultrasound today because the doctor did not write "STAT" on the script. I naturally pitched a fit and told them that the doctor wanted it done today, as this could be an emergent issue. I suggested she call the doctor's office and she did, right in front of me. The doctor and I were on the same wavelength and he faxed in an updated script with the STAT order. Just a head's up to anyone reading this. If you are given a script for a radiology test, make sure the doctor writes STAT on it so that it can get completed that day!
The x-ray went smoothly and the tech allowed me in the back so that I could see the images as they were taken. I am no doctor, but even I could tell there was no breakage. The tech truly wanted to help us out and have my dad do the ultrasound there and then, but there were no slots open for him. The tech really tried, as he could see the struggle and challenges I have moving my dad about.
So at that point, I called Peter and told him to drive my mom to Clyde's. That we would all meet there and have a late lunch and then I would take my dad back to the hospital for his 6:15pm ultrasound. Thankfully Peter was available and able to juggle this today. Any case, I got my dad back to the hospital around 5:30pm and they took us immediately. Not only that, I was able to get results on both tests and my dad has NOTHING remarkably wrong. Therefore, I am assuming we are dealing with tendonitis. I did book an appointment with my hand doctor for my dad because he may need (like my mom had about a month ago) a shot of cortisone in his hand to improve the situation. For my dad, his hands and arms are crucial to his existence at home. In the mean time I have him in a hand brace, on Tylenol (as he can't take Advil), and icing the hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment