Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2005. Mattie was three years old and we took him to Boston for Christmas. Regardless of the weather, Mattie was out and about in it. He did not get to see a lot of snow in Washington, DC, but he made up for it in Boston.
Quote of the day: Losing your head in a crisis is a good way to become the crisis. ~ C.J. Redwine
Tonight's quote is spot on. I would say that with any life threatening medical issue, a crisis ensues. Especially for family members. In fact, it is hard to sometimes think rationally when placed in a very difficult situation, and you are worried that the person you love maybe dying or in pain. However, I would say that Peter and I now excel in crisis mode. We do because Mattie's 14 month ordeal with cancer, pushed us over the edge many days and nights, and forced us to keep it together, make smart decisions, take in information, but also to live one day at a time. In a crisis, living moment to moment is the best way to cope. In fact, when you are so mindful to the present moment, it is actually an amazing experience. You become solely focused of making the most out of the present. It is freeing to some extent, because you are not worried about what will happen at 5pm, or next week, or next year. Something we humans are programmed to do.... be forward looking.
Though I remain in Washington, DC and Peter is in Boston with his mom, I am virtually there. Peter keeps me posted about everything and in the midst of the information he sends me, I do research into the issue or resource. Today's issue was trying to press the hospital to get Barbara on the surgery calendar. The operation rooms seem completely booked up this week and they view Barbara's case as stable. Rather hysterical, since she is immobilized and unable to move because movement could sever the spinal chord and cause paralysis. Peter was determined to put pressure on folks today and though I don't think Barbara will have surgery tomorrow, the hope is she will early next week.
The big issue today is discomfort and the fact that Barbara's arm is swelling. It is swelling because of the IV in her arm. Infiltration occurs when I.V. fluid or medications leak into the surrounding tissue. Infiltration can be caused by improper placement or dislodgment of the catheter. So now she is scheduled for a procedure tomorrow morning to get the insertion of a PICC line.
Meanwhile, we are trying to focus on next steps and how things will proceed after surgery. With the given that we hope the surgery goes smoothly and effectively. Once Barbara is medically stable, the therapy team at the hospital will come visit her. She will be assessed by a physical therapist who will get Barbara up and moving and will evaluate how she is doing and basically what the next steps are in her care plan. A plan that could involve going to an acute rehab center (which is a more intensive option, as acute care will give her 3 hours of physical therapy a day for 1-7 weeks, with the goal of transitioning her back home) or a skilled nursing facility (which is in essence a nursing home, where access to physical therapy will not be as intense or frequent and her long terms goals may look different). Naturally either option is a possibility, it just depends on how well the surgery goes and Barbara's ability to move and manage pain. Given that she has been immobilized for a week is not good, because muscles can atrophy and this can impact her recovery timeline.
Of course I did not mention Peter's dad in all of this. But managing his needs and where he should be living while Peter's mom in recovering is something else we are also juggling. Which reminds us once again, that when one person becomes ill, it affects an entire family system.
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