Connie's Corner

An especially thankful Thanksgiving...

Jim came home from the hospital last Tuesday evening ... with doctor's orders, thankfully. His potassium finally came in under 5. His nephew came to the hospital and literally lifted him into the truck. He followed us home and helped me get Jim into bed. Thank goodness for family. Jim is very weak and cannot sit up onto the side of the bed without help from me. Even then, he keeps falling backward onto pillows I prop behind him. The first couple of days I had to feed him, but now he is feeding himself for the most part. I am beginning to see some improvement.

Yesterday and today, with the stand and pivot maneuver, I was able to help him into his wheelchair. I have osteoporosis so I have to be careful. A home health nurse is coming once or twice a week as necessary to keep close watch on his feet (he got pressure sores in the hospital), and she does blood tests ordered by his doctor. His feet worry me the most because of his diabetes.

His new ostomy site is working perfectly. A blockage of the old one is why he initially went into the hospital. Afterwards, he kept pingponging from rehab to hospital for out-of-kilter electrolytes, mainly potassium. I did not see him getting any better on that regimen, only weaker, so that is why I begged the doctor to let him come home.

We did not have the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving. I made spaghetti with meatballs and sweet sausage, Jim's favorite. A little weird with pumpkin pie, though . Most importantly, we were both thankful he was home.

Physical therapy will be coming twice a week to help him get back to where he was before surgery. She was here Friday to assess him. Her name is Jackie, a little tiny girl. She is meeting with a recruiter Tuesday about enlisting in the Air Force, as a physical therapist. She calls herself "the physical terrorist". I have not seen that side yet...but maybe later .

Duty...uh, Jim...calls so...

until later....c