Granny and Papa...A Familiy History Lesson

So many people have asked about these two that I thought I would make a post and then share the link rather than keeep on explaining and explaining, lol. 

I'm going to go back to April of last year (2011).  Papa tried to get a limb that was hanging out of a tree and took a tumble.  He completely smashed his hip and broke his femur and pubic bone as well.  He had to be taken on to Vanderbilt where there was a surgeono experienced enough to work on his hip and put it back together again..you know...like Humpty Dumpty.  We spent weeks and weeks at Vanderbilt, and when the time was right, he went to the nursing home for rehabilitation and stayed there for many weeks as well.

Papa slowly but surely got better about walking around and getting his strength back, and was tooling around town like normal, making his route...Hardees, BP, The Dollar store...who knows where all.  You know he was Granny's chauffer to yardsales, and Makayla's ride home from basketbally practice and what not. 

Things were almost normal....and then, Barb took a tumble in the bathroom one night.  We called the abulance, and they took her to what I will call the "first" hospital.  That hospital sent her home with some pain meds and told her she should be better soon.

She ran out of pain medication, and called said hospital back, and just so happens that the person on the other end of the phone had her chart and asked her why she went home with a broken back.  We had no clue!!!!!!  They said we needed to get her to the nearest hospital, so we surpassed #1 and stopped at #2. 

At #2, she was x-rayed, examined, and sent home, being told to rest and let it heal and it would all be fine.  Days later, she was talking out of her head all crazy, she couldn't move at all, and something was very wrong.  THIS time, we went to #3,  which was Skyline.  I couldn't have asked for better care for her if I had mail-ordered it.  EVERYONE there was wonderful!  The bad news was she had three fractures in her back, and needed a major surgery, but her body was not healthy enough to endure the surgery.  We waited nearly a month until the doctors there felt it was safe to opporate on her, and then they did.  :)  The opporation was successful, and she pulled through like a champ.  It even took a lot less time than they thought it would.  Over the next six weeks or so, she would get up and stand, and maybe walk to the bathroom in her room, with help.  I begged, and even though they were pretty certain it wasn't going to be a go, they tried physical therapy for a few weeks.  She seemed to regress instead of get better, and now, she can barely stand and take a step or two to get in and out of her wheelchair. 

When Skyline had done all that they could do, they put her in the nursing home, and she has been receiving care and therapy there since December-ish.  She has a lot of problems with dimentia that were not issues before she fell, and at this point, we are not hopeful that that will get any better.  Neurologically, she checks out fine.  Soooo....she's been in the nursing home for the whole year.  Unless God sees fit to use a miracle of his on her, she will be there and never come out, if I had to be real and try to predict what the future holds for her. 

Papa never really got too stable on his feet and used a walker or a cane most of the time.  He also complained of being weak, but he didn't think anything hurt on him.  His blood sugars went way up into the 500's and then way down low say to 50.  Up and down, and up and down...and then we had to take shots with every meal.  This was a bit complicated since noone was around really at his meal times, so I adjusted my schedule to take care of him, since I have the store and I'm my own boss. 

One day, he fell and layed in the kitchen floor for about four hours before someone came home and found him and helped him up.  He's fallen numerous times besides then, too...but I think with no one being home, that was the realy eye-opener.  That week, he layed in bed and never got out of it at all.  We would have to take him his food, water, etc. and he wouldn't get up.  So I made another appt or him.  The morning of his appointment, I had to get behind his back and push him into a sitting position, then put his clothes and shoes on him before we could go.  He had no strength to do it.  It was at that appointment with the loss of strength, more weight loss, the fall, him being alone, and his wonky blood sugars that the doctor felt that he would only be safe with 24 hour care, so up to the nursing home he went.  Thankfully, it only took a couple of weeks to get them in the same room...the staff there is the best.  That was probably around March.  I think Carl knows that Barb can't come out, and he wants to stay with her.  He's a pistol!  :)  So I'm not sure that either of them will ever be able to come "home".  I think the nursing home IS their home.

Soooooo, I think they have both been in and out of the hospital once or twice for some little things, like Carl bumped his head one day, but other than that, they've been happy as larks in the dark...cept for when Barb is giving Carl a fussin!  :)  This time, she had elevated blood pressure and was doing some twitching, so they called and Mark met them at the ER about that, which ended up being the beginning of her stay here.  Oh-I almost forgot!  She fell last week and broke her pelvic bone, but apparently, time is the best healer for that. 

We have dealt with a lot of combativeness, a lot of aggression and a lot more than a lot of confusion.  We have found another drug allergy, and the list goes on and on.  I was up with her ALLLLL night last night, but tonight, she is sleeping well, and I'm about to turn in, too.  We'll see what tomorrow holds, I suppose!  :)

If I left anything out feel free to comment and let me know, or if you have a question I didn't answer.