Granddaddy's Hospitalization

February 13, 2008

I was uptown this afternoon for an appointment when Arend walked in at two o'clock - totally unexpected. This is how our conversation went: "Hi, Hon. Helen Spence called from the Seniors Centre and said that Dad has a badly infected leg and he has to go to the hospital right now." (Daddy was at the Seniors Centre to have his monthly toenail-cutting.)

I headed home, Arend headed to Daddy's. He helped Daddy get his pajamas, a few toiletries and all of his medications together while I hunted at our home for Daddy's insurance forms (only to find out that the policy had lapsed on January 9th). We then had to decide which Emergency Room to go to - Chatham or Newbury. Finally we decided on Chatham in the hope that Dr. Button would be able to visit him there if he were admitted.

We ended up waiting three hours to see the doctor, but then things moved along a bit quicker. Dr. Denys (now there's a good Dutch name!) said he needed to be admitted and treated aggressively to prevent the infection from entering his bone and/or his bloodstream. If it were to progress that far, then there would be the possibility that he would lose that leg - not something we want to think about. Daddy was a little disappointed with being hospitalized, but didn't put up much of a fuss. In retrospect we see that Chatham was the right choice because it will be easier to visit him there . I already knew that I was going to be in Chatham for most of the day Thursday plus Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings, so I will be able to visit him a lot and Arend will be able come on his own since we can use both cars - ours and Daddy's.

He's a little concerned about the insurance part of it, but we said that we will worry about that later. The hospital will send him a bill and then we'll see how much the insurance company will pay - if anything. Dr. Denys said that he would, hopefully, only be hospitalized for a couple of days; if it turns out to be a long-term hospitalization, we will probably have to see about getting him transferred to Port Huron, Michigan so that his insurance will pay.

Anyway...that's the story for now.

February 14, 2008

This morning started off as a normal day. Arend went to work and I worked on some decorations for the PTA/Willing Workers dinner. Once I was finished, I went to the church to help with the actual decorating. Around 12:30 Arend called to tell me that Daddy's nurse had called to ask us to bring one of his medications that the hospital pharmacy did not have. Since I was in Chatham, I told Arend where the medication was and asked him to bring it when he came to visit Daddy.

Just about ten minutes after. Arend called again. The nurse had called to tell us that they had found Daddy unresponsive in his bed. I was devastated. I was convinced that everything that had happened to Daddy was my fault because I hadn't gotten him an appointment with Dr. Button a couple of weeks ago when he had asked me to do it. The ladies who were decorating the church were very compassionate and insisted that one of them should go with me to the hospital rather than me driving there by myself. Sharon Burggraaf prayed with me which surprised me but which I appreciated very much. Diane Bergsma went with me to the hospital.

When we got to the fourth floor, I asked to speak to Rhonda, the nurse who had been talking to Arend. They told me that she was with a patient in crisis to which I responded, "I hope that patient isn't my dad!" They asked me if my dad was Mr. Meeks and I said that he was and they confirmed that he was the patient in crisis. Not what I wanted or needed to hear!

Diane and I walked down to Daddy's room, but we couldn't go in because there were so many people in there with him. Finally Rhonda came out to talk to us and said that he was doing a lot better and we could go in to see him. He looked pretty normal, but he was "out of it", not really aware of what had happened to him. They were getting ready to transfer him to ICU so Diane and I were allowed to go with him. Diane was a great comfort to me, insisting on staying with me until Arend got there. Once he arrived, she called Sharon to come and pick her up at the hospital.

Daddy hadn't been in ICU very long when some x-ray personnel came to take him for a CT scan of his head. We followed him to the elevator and were told we could wait in the ICU waiting room until he came back in 30 minutes or so. Well, we waited and we waited and we waited, but he never came back up that elevator. Finally after two hours (!) we buzzed the nurses' station and asked if he was back. Sure enough he had been back for some time. In fact, he was nearly done eating his dinner! I guess they brought him back up in a different elevator! By then he looked and sounded very good except for feeling cold. Arend asked the nurses for a heated blanket for him and that warmed him up a lot. (Those heated blankets were some of the few good memories I have of my extended stay in the hospital in 2006.)

We talked to Dr. Iyer and his medical student, but they were not able to give us anything definitive yet.

We stayed with him until visiting hours were over then left, telling him that we would be back tomorrow. Off to Wendy's for supper.

What a day!

February 15, 2008

I have gotten to the point that I am afraid to look at the call-display when the phone rings. If it says "Blocked Call", I start to shake because that is how the calls from the hospital show up on call display.

Thankfully, there were no phone calls from the hospital today except for Dr. Martha Clendenning telling me that the scans showed the possibility of a secondary seizure as the cause of his unresponsiveness. He will have to have an EEG in Sarnia to get a more accurate picture.

When I got to ICU I went to Daddy's room only to find that there was another man in that room now. When I asked where Daddy was they told me he had been moved to PCU, the Progressive Care Unit. That meant he must be doing a lot better, and he was! He was happy to see us and happy to feel so much better.

I went to the church to help out with the dinner and Arend stayed at the hospital until I was finished at the church, then he met me at the church and we went to Wendy's for supper. (I told Arend "No more Wendy's hamburgers for me after tonight. I like them a lot and don't want to get turned off of them!"


February 16, 2008

Another day, another room...in fact, he got moved back to the exact same room that he was in originally, but another bed. We could tell today that he was feeling better because he is getting impatient to get home. At the rate he is going, he should be home quite soon, I think.

The nurses had mentioned that he needed some other tests, but since Monday is a holiday (Family Day A.K.A. McGuinty Day) not all departments of the hospital will be open. We'll have to wait and see.

While we were visiting Daddy, Matt and Viktoriya came. He was very glad to see them! They arrived shortly before his dinner arrived and Arend and I needed to leave to go to the church for the dinner. That worked out very well because Matt and Viktoriya could keep him company while we were gone. When we came back from the dinner, Matt and Viktoriya had been gone about half an hour. Good timing!

We spent about an hour visiting with him and telling him about the dinner. He was sorry he missed it, and so were we. I think he would have loved the food as well as the decorations! Of course, he had seen some of the decorations since I made them at home.

We are very thankful that he is doing so much better and we are just as eager as he is for him to be home.


February 17, 2008

Sunday, and I didn't go to church! Actually neither of us went to church in the morning because it was too icy. Arend went in the afternoon, but I stayed home. I just couldn't risk falling and injuring my hip.

After church Arend spent the afternoon and early evening with Daddy at the hospital. I called and talked to him since I couldn't see him in person. He sounded very good and a bit impatient about getting home.

We'll see what Dr. Clendenning says tomorrow.

February 18, 2008

Since today is "Family Day" Daddy was afraid he wouldn't be discharged, but Dr Clendenning calling this morning and said that Daddy could go home. He will still need to have an EEG but that is done as an outpatient in Sarnia. I asked about having it done in Port Huron so that his insurance would cover it, but Dr. Clendenning said that I would have to arrange that myself. When they call from Sarnia, I will ask about that.

Because of the seizure, Dr. Clendenning said Daddy won't be able to drive for six months. I guess she will notify the Ministry of Transportation. Daddy won't be happy about that because it takes away some of his independence. I think he will adjust to it, though.

No Rotary tonight since it's a holiday, so he won't have to explain why he wasn't at the meeting. Next Monday Arend and I both have to be at the congregational meeting, so neither of us will be able to drive him to Rotary and then pick him up afterwards. After that, though, I will be home every Monday night, so that won't be a problem.

February 20, 2008

The EEG department at the Sarnia hospital called with an appointment for Daddy on March 18th. That's a lot farther away than I expected. I asked about having it done in Port Huron, but since it costs less than $100 I decided that we would just have it done in Ontario.