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Day 14 — Sunday, June 30, 2024

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9:00am #

The nurse said Shane wasn’t relieving himself and she was concerned because his bladder was full. She did a bladder scan. He was starting to hold it because each day he was more aware of his situation, for example, he knew if was in a bed or a chair, therefore, he was holding it to not soil anything. I told him that they had set up the Purwick catheter and I pointed to a tank on the wall and explained that everything would be suctioned away to that tank in the wall. There was no way anything would be soiled. He mouthed, “It’s ok?” I said “Yes, for sure it’s ok.” He understood and didn’t have a problem after that. It was good to see he was more and more aware of what he would normally do as an adult.

10:00am #

We met the social worker, Sarath Nair. His name meant emperor of winter. He said next week we would apply to rehab centers. He gave me a list of rehabs with availability and said I should contact them with my questions and put them in order of preference. I made a list of questions and called the facilities:

Helen Heyes
JFK Edison NJ
Colombia
NYU
Kessler Burke

  1. Can their rehab equipment can adapt to his size? Shane was 6 foot 7. I wanted to know that the bed, recliner and equipment would adjust to him.
  2. How do they handle pressure wounds? Shane’s size meant he was getting more wounds and I wanted to know their success in treating them.
  3. Is it an acute rehab center? Can the acute rehab handle the serious condition Shane was still in?
  4. The ICU still had the restraints attached, how does the rehab handle that? Rehab does not accept patients with restraints. Sarath said a medication can be used to help the patient not feel anxious to avoid them dislodging the trach. Also, the goal will be that he wont be needing it at all by the time he is released from West Chester.

12:00pm #

He gave a high five to the nurse. He started room oxygen from the wall for 6 hours and did great. He was calm most of the day, except for maybe 10 minutes while he was uncomfortable from sitting too upright in the chair. They chair was too small for him. They leaned him back and he slept off and on. The doctor said the Holter 24 hour monitor results were good. No issues. They will recommend a follow up with a cardiologist once he is mobile. He can do a two week Holter test where the monitor records everything. Also they will do a tilt table test.

5:00pm #

He had a call with Bill. Bill did most of the talking. I asked about the crab boats he used to work on in Maryland. That got him telling stories. Shane seemed to like that. When Bill hung up he said “Ok bud, hang in there like a hair in a biscuit.” That made Shane smile.