Prayer request

Superfly said:

I can't wait for that day! I could bathe him, make sure he has the things he needs. I don't have to feed him or anything - he can do all that just fine. I just can't help him onto a bed pan if he's sitting straight up, and I have a weak stomach, so I can't help him clean up when he's done. Once he is able to walk to the bathroom, I will be fine with him coming home, but now he's not ready (nor am I).

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Checkerboard Strangler said:

Karen ate a lot of those brownies while she was in the VA hospital.
Finally a couple of the nurses caught on, which was even funnier.

"Karen...you're always so sweet and in such a good mood. You're the best patient we've ever had on this ward!"
(Karen smiles and takes another bite)

"Say, I noticed your husband always makes sure you have brownies, are those....(long pause)"
(Karen starts giggling)

They just winked and giggled back, our secret was safe.
But she barely needed any other medication, so there's that.
While all the other patients were constantly ringing up for pain pills or sleeping pills or what not, my darling was just mellowed out and fully baked, and feeling just fine, as fine as can be under the circumstances.

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Superfly said:

Not sure where to put this, but I am asking all praying members to do me a solid and send up a prayer or 30 for my husband. He is not well. He is in the ICU, in critical condition. He has advanced lung disease, and also has MDS, which affects his ability to heal properly. He is having a rough go of it, and I could certainly use some prayers. Even from non believers. God listens to you, too. .

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Checkerboard Strangler said:

I went to see Karen every single day the entire two and a half months she was in the VA in Long Beach.
But I did go home after a few hours, if only because she did need lots of rest in order for the surgical site to knit together and heal adequately.
The first month when she was in the Clinitron bed I couldn't even hug her and that was extremely tough...for us both.
I was there when they finally came to get that monstrosity and bring in her regular hospital bed, and when I scooped her up and held her for the first time in a month, I cried.

But it was the GOOD kind of cry. I need my wifey hugs.
I even swear that they make me feel physically better when I am feeling horrible.
I swear they are therapeutic.

But I went home every day. She even kicked me out sometimes..."You need to have a life outside of seeing me here every day...go home before the animals forget who you are!"

Oh yeah, speaking of which...that was probably pretty therapeutic too...her coming home to her pets!
Of course Betty Boop went completely nuts and tried to jump into her lap, all forty pounds of her.
The cats pretended to be miffed, for about 15 minutes and then they were very vocal and jostled each other for lap time and petting/purring/etc.

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Checkerboard Strangler said:

I'm sorry, please don't take this the wrong way but you're a momma, how can you have a weak stomach about that? :lamo

I guess I used have sort of a weak stomach, when it came to seeing people who are seriously injured, but after being a news guy I've seen just about everything.
When it comes to personal care nothing bothers me anymore after dealing with two babies. :lol:

I just go by clockwork and it keeps everything happy and harmonious.
Karen's baseline is every three or four days and has been since she was a child, so about every third day I just wheel her into the bathroom and put her on the pot and nature takes care of the rest, but if there's an accident anyway it doesn't bother me.

Medicare should pay for both a rolling shower chair AND for a patient lift.
This is ours...it's pretty simple but all it has to do is lift her out of bed and into her chair or the shower chair and back into bed again.

View attachment 67258869

One thing I can definitely tell you, if they ever put him on a full strength 24 hr a day IV antibiotic, you're in for a mess of herculean proportions! Most of them, like Vancomycin, if it is administered 24 hrs a day via IV, will turn any person into a one man pooping machine bad enough to crap an entire superhighway.
She was NOT a happy camper during those six weeks. (can't blame her either!)

After six weeks of dealing with that, absolutely NOTHING bothers me anymore! :lamo
But it's only if they do it continually with a pump 24 hrs a day. If it's intermittent, most people's systems can handle it. They might get a stomach ache sometimes. But the continuous IV antibiotics are a Hell I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
And you have to make them take PRO-biotics and eat a lot of cultured yogurt afterwards to build the friendly bacteria back up again or else it will not stop for a long time afterward even after they stop the antibiotics.

PS: I am going to change the lift to the sling type because that is what they use in the VA Hospital. This one is okay but we both like the fabric sling type better...much more comfortable.
This one, as you can see, grabs you by the armpits and your legs go in the metal arms below.
Karen's only 120 pounds but I tried it myself and I am 230 and it felt like I was being crushed when it lifted me.

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MovingPictures said:

Fantastic news.

This is a beg development. For him, it's just more bull****, but at least his life is no longer in danger.

You both have our love.

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MovingPictures said:

That's because you ARE his best friend and it's just as tough for him to sleep without you, as it is for you without him.

Sorry to hear you've been crying.

Roses and pot brownies for you!

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Checkerboard Strangler said:

Karen ate a lot of those brownies while she was in the VA hospital.
Finally a couple of the nurses caught on, which was even funnier.

"Karen...you're always so sweet and in such a good mood. You're the best patient we've ever had on this ward!"
(Karen smiles and takes another bite)

"Say, I noticed your husband always makes sure you have brownies, are those....(long pause)"
(Karen starts giggling)

They just winked and giggled back, our secret was safe.
But she barely needed any other medication, so there's that.
While all the other patients were constantly ringing up for pain pills or sleeping pills or what not, my darling was just mellowed out and fully baked, and feeling just fine, as fine as can be under the circumstances.

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OldFatGuy said:

When recovering there is nothing so fine as the first shower alone. The small things we take for granted.

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OldFatGuy said:

He is losing his best friend, but only for the night. A bit of separation creates more appreciation. These days it is my wife who drives us at night. She says it is scary enough when I drive during the day, but she won't allow Dog in her car because he tends to lick the back of her neck. When she brought him to visit me in the hospital, she pretended he was her service dog, and took the Long Island Railroad and then the subway. No problem getting a seat. 120 lb dog is intimidating. I suggested she try riding him into Manhattan, throw a blanket on his back and ride. He was afraid of the subway noise and tried to sit in her lap. He wasn't happy with the aromas of cleaning stuff in the hospital, but jumped right in my bed, to the chagrin of the nursing staff. When one of them yelled at him to get out of my bed, he hid underneath. Brave dog.

Good thing it is summer with longer days. My grandkids would suggest it is time to get your honey a pet frog. It is always time to get pet frogs. At worst, frog legs for dinner.

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Bullseye said:

You have mine. God bless you and your husband.

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Superfly said:

He was weighed yesterday by one of those sling lifts. He's lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks, because he just won't eat. He's angry. Me? I'm thankful he's still with us. Our anniversary was yesterday. 19 years married, 23 together. Could have been a very different anniversary, had things gone the other way.

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Superfly said:

He was weighed yesterday by one of those sling lifts. He's lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks, because he just won't eat. He's angry. Me? I'm thankful he's still with us. Our anniversary was yesterday. 19 years married, 23 together. Could have been a very different anniversary, had things gone the other way.

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Superfly said:

Erm.... thanks! :lol:

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MovingPictures said:

Ah, a few pot brownies makes a new woman.

Only problem is the first thing the new woman wants: Another pot brownie. :doh

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Checkerboard Strangler said:

Re that story about me waking up fully baked the next after half a brownie the night before:
Karen's tolerance is such that she can eat an entire brownie now and handle it.
She says she feels "REALLY good" but most of the rest of us would be blithering idiots because those lil suckers are potent!

And the citrus-ey drinks are even worse! Holy smokes, I grudgingly paid sixteen bucks for a 16 ounce "Arnold Palmer" concoction. Got home, drank LITERALLY TWO FINGERS of it and twenty minutes later I'm flat on the bed watching Aztec temples being built in the sky and mumbling like a fool.
I was OUT that night and I swear I woke up the next day with a residual buzz, too.

Karen? Drinks half the damn thing and says "feels really good".

If you're a novice, ONE "gummy bear" is more than enough for you for the night, maybe too much.
If you're a seasoned user, you might be able to tolerate TWO "gummy candies".
Karen eats three at a time.

You gotta be really careful with the dispensary goodies, they're incredibly strong.

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MovingPictures said:

I'm not pot user myself, the smoke is too much for me.

I enjoy watching others getting ****ed up, though.

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Superfly said:

Update on my husband.

He's still around, for now.

He has had his issues repaired (as much as possible) with his lung disease, and his MDS. He was in ICU for 10 days, and was then sent to LTAC (long term care) for about 4 weeks. After that, he was sent to a rehab facility. He complained the whole time. Hated it, hated everything about it. Was sent there on Thursday, by Monday he was complaining about chest pains.

They took him to the ER, and he had a mild heart attack. Didn't even realize he'd had it. He had two blockages at 95%, and they gave him 3 stents. He should have gone home that Friday, the 5th. He has yet to come home.

I am afraid he is giving up. He has stopped eating. Hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks (stopped eating before he went to rehab). He will eat like a bite here, and a bite there (and by a bite, I mean literally he ate a bite of a candy bar one day at about 830 pm, and that's all he had all day). I have tried everything. I've brought him his favorite foods, I've begged, I've pleaded. I've yelled, I've guilted him. I told him he was going to die, and leave me and the girls alone. He said nothing.

I don't know what else to do. I don't want to yell at him or guilt him, but I don't know how to deal with this.

I am taking it personally. I feel like he doesn't love me enough to fight. To stick around. He could have left the hospital weeks ago, but he refuses to eat, and refuses to take PT and OT. He looks like a concentration camp survivor. Literally, he looks like those little Ethiopian kids with the distended belly and the matchstick legs. I even showed him a picture of his legs, and it didn't faze him.

I'm losing him, and I don't know what to do. I know it's depression, but I don't know how to fix it. They gave him something called Remaron, but it isn't working.

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Superfly said:

Update on my husband.

He's still around, for now. ....

I don't know what else to do. I don't want to yell at him or guilt him, but I don't know how to deal with this.

I am taking it personally. I feel like he doesn't love me enough to fight. To stick around. He could have left the hospital weeks ago, but he refuses to eat, and refuses to take PT and OT. He looks like a concentration camp survivor. Literally, he looks like those little Ethiopian kids with the distended belly and the matchstick legs. I even showed him a picture of his legs, and it didn't faze him.

I'm losing him, and I don't know what to do. I know it's depression, but I don't know how to fix it. They gave him something called Remaron, but it isn't working.

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Superfly said:

Update on my husband.

He's still around, for now.

He has had his issues repaired (as much as possible) with his lung disease, and his MDS. He was in ICU for 10 days, and was then sent to LTAC (long term care) for about 4 weeks. After that, he was sent to a rehab facility. He complained the whole time. Hated it, hated everything about it. Was sent there on Thursday, by Monday he was complaining about chest pains.

They took him to the ER, and he had a mild heart attack. Didn't even realize he'd had it. He had two blockages at 95%, and they gave him 3 stents. He should have gone home that Friday, the 5th. He has yet to come home.

I am afraid he is giving up. He has stopped eating. Hasn't eaten in almost 3 weeks (stopped eating before he went to rehab). He will eat like a bite here, and a bite there (and by a bite, I mean literally he ate a bite of a candy bar one day at about 830 pm, and that's all he had all day). I have tried everything. I've brought him his favorite foods, I've begged, I've pleaded. I've yelled, I've guilted him. I told him he was going to die, and leave me and the girls alone. He said nothing.

I don't know what else to do. I don't want to yell at him or guilt him, but I don't know how to deal with this.

I am taking it personally. I feel like he doesn't love me enough to fight. To stick around. He could have left the hospital weeks ago, but he refuses to eat, and refuses to take PT and OT. He looks like a concentration camp survivor. Literally, he looks like those little Ethiopian kids with the distended belly and the matchstick legs. I even showed him a picture of his legs, and it didn't faze him.

I'm losing him, and I don't know what to do. I know it's depression, but I don't know how to fix it. They gave him something called Remaron, but it isn't working.

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Trippy Trekker said:

No one fails who tries their best! You continue to do the best you can! Your husband knows with certainty you love him. Make sure not to lose sight of taking care of yourself. I hope you already have a support system in place. Ask your Higher Power for help.

Feel some Love!

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MovingPictures said:

It could be a lot of things that he's too afraid to share.

After trauma like what his body has been through people lose their taste, their ability to chew, their digestive tract can get messed up, and medication can cause a real loss of appetite. Hospital food is crummy and his favorite foods might either taste bad now, or make him sick, so don't read too much into that.

First, make sure the doctors and nurses are aware of his loss of appetite and refusal to eat. They can determine if there is anything life threatening going on. If there is they can always use force if need be. Ask if there might be an underlying issue he's hiding out of shame and if they can look into it - it's very possible. They can treat whatever condition that is causing him to not want to eat.

Most anti-depressants take weeks if not a full month to truly take hold in the body - especially men.

My Dad looked like Skeletor after MRSA and so did his best friend after sepsis, and I was sure they were goners. As freighting as it looks, their lives were not in danger. Still, keep an eye on him, keep being your sweet self, and just make sure the staff are on top of it. Don't be afraid to be a total bitch every single day, because they work for you. :twisted:

We love you. :2grouphug

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Superfly said:

Well I have two of my daughters. My oldest totally flaked out on me. I have my mom, but she can only be here every couple of weeks or so, and then only for about two days.

My two daughters, and my faith in God, are the only things getting me through this right now. I have reached out to a therapist, but can’t get in for a few weeks. But I will get there eventually.

Thanks.

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