Why not wait till the last minute?

That works in life, baseball and medical decisions. After all, one needs all the facts before considering where to go next.

The As pulled off an amazing win (thank Chapman’s home run with two on in the bottom of the ninth). Unfortunately, I left at the end of the eighth. Just too much to do on top of freezing in the windy stadium.

Backing up now to the morning – BART + the N-Judah. With the potential for being able to spring George either tomorrow or this weekend, the nurse coordinator had scheduled the mandatory teaching sessions. So there was the dietitian, the pharmacist, the infusion service (going home with a line to continue IV meds is much better than hanging out in the hospital.)

[Aside. Back in the old days – 1970s for example, it was absolutely unheard of for a patient to be receiveing IV therapy outside a hospital environment. Admittedly, we didn’t have the fancy micro-chip computer pumps that are the standard today,  – but the idea that anyone would provide care that was normally within the provenance of nursing or medical care just didn’t occur to anyone. There wasn’t much change through the 80s and into the 90s. Several outside influences came into play – law, policy, cost – and the attitudes of what could be done at home vs. hospital changed drastically especially once we entered the era of “managed care” and “utilization management.” Besides spawning an extensive industry of home health care, a significant portion of care was shifted from health care professionals to family members. What, in some ways is really surprising, this didn’t include laundry, bed linens or food, unlike much of the rest of the world. Which takes us today. People go home with draining woods, central lines, and occasionally the need for infusions around the clock. None of which are seen as requiring “skilled nursing care” if a family member can be instructed.]

Now it is a matter of waiting – to see if his blood counts are stable over night so that we can blow this popsicle stand tomorrow. Somehow the staff seems to think that hanging out over the weekend, even if I have to drive him over every day would be more than satisfactory. Me? I want George home. But the prospect of having to drive over twice a week is daunting enough. Extra trips? The thought makes me shudder.

Anyway, I still have to stop at the grocery store tonight, sort out a few things at home and otherwise get organized.

 

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About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!
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2 Responses to Why not wait till the last minute?

  1. Lorette says:

    Holly, I’m just catching up on blogs. I am so sorry that your husband is going through all of this. I think you have much more fortitude than I would in similar circumstances.

  2. Cat says:

    Catching up again – but, as you would have seen, things have been happening here too. Trust George is home and that the prognosis is postive

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