Day 10

I've been in a skilled nursing facility now for 10 days. I admit, the first few days were REALLY REALLY tough as reality hit and I entered into a new, unknown environment a good distance from home. Spruce Manor is about an hour and 15 minutes away from my home so my family can only visit me on the weekend. That's been tough, but I have learned how to deal with it. After PT and OT I am so tired I tend to sleep most of the rest of the day anyway.

I'm glad I came fully prepared. I brought my TV (they don't have them here automatically), my Wii, iPhone, of course (don't even have phone hookups in room!), lots of books, drawing paper, laptop, DVD's, clothes, and stuff to make the place more homey to me. They have given me a semi-private room with one bed blocked so no one else can stay with me in order to cut down on my odds of getting an infection. That's a good thing because the place isn't very clean. Some basic sanitary measures are not being taken. When I first arrived, the nurses knew little about someone as complicated as me and I had to put up a bit of a stink to get them to pay attention and not screw me up more. Now they wash their hands before and after, clean my room every day, wear gloves around me, know to use sterile water through my tube, and have given me permission to NOT go to the shower on "shower days" because of the risk of catching something there. Instead I stay in my room and wash my hair in the sink. They provided me with hand sanitizer for my own hands, and are paying much better attention to cleanliness. They are learning my meds well and now know my routine of flushing my tube, and are looking into getting me my own refrigerator since I eat small snacks all day and someone keeps taking my special GP/CIP/DS food, etc. They are really staying on top of me now, in some cases, more than the hospital does! They have made A LOT of accommodations so I really appreciate that. Of course, I have to find something to complain about with any hospital stay!

I had called in advance to ask if they had WiFi access, which they don't. I basically iPhoned it for a couple of days until I met Rick. He's 50 and a techie. He told me what he does to connect and has let me borrow his laptop connect card to get online. Since I'm going to be stuck here for a few more weeks, I'm going to get me one too so I can stay connected.

We looked into transferring me out to a cleaner environment closer to home, but nothing has opened up under Medicare facilities, especially for someone with my complex medical needs. I'm actually ok with it. I've adjusted to the environment and made some friends to help. They are trying so hard now to meet my needs. In some ways, I'm kind of spoiled for a place like this. Private room...no one screaming over my TV, temp as I like it (cold most say!), all my techie stuff, dietitian very helpful in getting what I need now, nice window view. If it weren't for a fear of cleanliness still and distance from home, it's not much worse or different than being in a regular hospital. Most awkward thing is the fact that there are so many geriatrics w/ dementia and other things I'm not as used to being around...I'm used to tubes, IV's, catheters, etc, but it's a different type of population and kind of sadder. The PT/OT hasn't been as good as I had hoped, but they do feel like I have made some progress. I would be leaving AMA if I left right now and Medicare wouldn't cover this past week. So, I'm gonna stick it out. I want to anyway. I do want the help to get back on my feet and be more independent. They plan to show me some energy conservation techniques for times I am too tired to even get out of bed, or I get so weak and tired while doing things. I read the list they left though and I already do all of those things!

On Saturday night I had a little mishap when my j-tube fell out. This isn't uncommon, but Spruce Manor didn't have the size tube I needed so I got an "exciting" ride in an ambulance to the Reading Hospital ER for a tube change. Reading Hospital was actually impressive for what I saw them for. Knew what they were doing, unlike other ER's I have been to for tube changes.

I'll be here probably a couple more weeks at least. I'd like to be out for my b-day, or at least be allowed out for a b-day break. My mom is coming by Saturday to do my laundry so it doesn't get lost w/ other resident clothing, and to bring me more junk for this upcoming week. I really hope this pays off in the end. It's been a tough ordeal, but I'm a lot tougher and I can get through this too. It hasn't been all bad. I've heard some good historical stories from other people. It's just kind of hard to "work out" with people three times my age! Makes me feel...well...99 years old! I probably do for real feel 99 when it comes to pain and stiffness and general mobility. But I'm working on that. It's hard to know how much is nutritional, physical conditions that cause this, or anything I can really change much based on the cause. It's definitely a combo, just not sure what is contributing the most.