Mom's Back Home Again!

Dr. Kamai gave Mom the green light to leave the hospital today and she was very happy; she was dressed and ready to go an hour before she was officially released. It was a good thing Aunty Judy dropped by to see her before she went to her dentist appointment, otherwise Mom would have been gone when she came to visit! Mom has completed the course of intravenous antibiotics so now she continues her recuperation at home. Xander was really happy to have her back home. He was not sure what was happening and didn't know where to sleep. Almost every morning I found him in the living room either on the sofa or on the floor.

Best buddies!

Soon after Mom got home she changed and got in to bed to sleep; she's still fighting off the bug. We are doing the incentive spirometer every hour she is awake. I need to watch for increased shortness of breath, fever, chills, or more pain. She is on a neutropenic diet, which means nothing raw, so no fresh salads, fresh fruit, poke, or sashimi. The cats are really happy that Mom is back.

None of the cats slept on Mom's bed while she was at the hospital.

While we were waiting for the release paperwork the contractors were working just outside Mom's room. On Friday, Curtis had seen them cut down a rainbow eucalyptus that was standing right next to the building. Today they were removing the stump and roots. We think they might be enlarging the paved area to make it easier for delivery vehicles to get in. Because of all the construction activity near the building I didn't see any cats today.

Root removal.

Stump grinder.

We also saw some of the staff putting cardboard in to the recycle bin. I think they should add a set of movable steps so staff doesn't hurt themselves trying to throw the cardboard up in to the bin. It was kind of windy today, at least 1 armload of cardboard went airborne and ended up scattered across the pavement.

Mom has gotten a lot of encouraging messages and prayers from friends and family. She would love to get phone calls now that she is home; the home phone is the best since she frequently has trouble hearing her cell phone ring.

As I was just about to publish this post, Mom started yelling for me. She tried to get up and go to the bathroom but couldn't make it because her legs were too weak. She ignored our requests to call us for help to get to the bathroom, like she did when she was at the hospital. I had to pick her up off the floor and sit her on the rolling walker. (Glad I have been doing things to keep my upper body toned! I think I'll do more of the Wii Fit strength training...) I used the rolling walker to get her to the toilet, then helped clean her up. I asked about having someone from Safe Harbor come to help us while she is still recuperating; she was less than thrilled with the idea. We'll have a longer discussion tomorrow.

Happy 7th Anniversary to Brianna & Key! Happy Kahlua Day, Polar Bear Day, and Strawberry Day! Get ready to celebrate Fat Tuesday, Chocolate Souffle Day, Floral Design Day, Public Sleeping Day, Tooth Fairy Day, Rare Disease Day, and Spay Day tomorrow.