Wednesday, April 22

3pm report: Today i got a phonecall from Michu, a OT therapist who is working with dad, just as i was pulling in to deliver his morning NY Post and a stress ball from hand therapy. So, we decided best to meet.. After a quick stop at dads window, kisses and waves, i met Michu in the lobby. They have to take you temperature when you enter, i did not have one, and of course, masks and gloves!

Michu mentioned that she spoke with Conner who is doing PT with dad and that he said that dad is really doing great. They feel that upon discharge next week, he will not need a first floor bed and that he will be ok to utilize the home stairs to his bedroom. They will conduct another COVID-19 test to see if dad is stills testing positive, if so, Sterling Home will not be able to assist dad at home and other options will need to be explored. However, they did say, that once home, dad should only utilize disposable cutlery, plates and cups. Both mom and dad will need to wear masks and gloves. They will need wipes to ensure that all high-touch areas are wiped multiple times a day. They are encouraged to utilize different bathrooms with one person working in the kitchen only. So all in all, dad is doing really well physically and they are quite pleased with that as she mentioned they do have some who are having a tough time during this stage…

4.20pm report: Just checked in with Dr. Seidel - he said overall dad is coming along nicely and he is impressed with his progress. One concern that is top of the list, with dad, is in regards to his Hemoglobin. His numbers are running a bit low. He mentioned that they did start dads Aspirin up yesterday, as per Greenwich Hospitals recommendation. However, they are holding on the Plavix for now. The Hemoglobin numbers were at 8.3 on admission and were 7.9 today. Ideally, they should be above 9. A bit concerning and the Burke team will stay on top of him and plan to check again tomorrow. If the drop shows to be more significant, it may indicate another slow bleeding. If the numbers drop below 7, he will require another blood transfusion back at Greenwich Hospital. There is, however, no indication that this is happening at this time. Dr. Seidel knows dads Cardiologist, Dr Weissman, who actually works at Burke from time to time. They will be in touch with each other before Friday to further discuss the hemoglobin numbers, and dad in general. His Blood Pressure is stable at 128/63 and earlier in the day 116/61 - they are happy with those numbers. He is still on the Protonix, the medication that decreases the amount of acid produced in the stomach, 2x a day. This was originally given at Greenwich Hospital after stomach ulcers were detected. That is a treatment dose and he will continue that for now.

With regard to his kidneys, his creatinine levels are at 42/2.3 which are running similar to the way they were at Greenwich Hospital. He has been urinating at a healthy level. With regard to the incontinence mentioned by Nurse Nancy a few days ago, it seems that after catheterization, your bladder can shrink and in a man of dads age, if can take a bit of time to expand. So, that explains that he may loose a bit of control for now and will improve once time allows the bladder to expand.

Dad will be tested for COVID-19 tomorrow and again on Friday. Dr Seidel mentioned that since the in-home health care - Sterling Home - is not tending to COVID-19 positive patients, he is willing to keep dad a bit longer, until those tests come back negative. He does not want to compromise home care based on test results. Fingers crossed that he tests negative. Home Care services require 1 negative test and the CDC requires 2 negative tests to claim free and clear.

At the end of our conversation Dr. Seidel has mentioned that he has had some wonderful conversations with dad including skiing at Stratton, kids, etc.. He did say that dad was ‘one of his favorites’. I think that goes for all of us - dad is one of our favorites……

10.30pm report: Nurse Reika came to check on dad tonight. He was having some intense pain from his lower sternum/upper stomach. Along with the low hemoglobin numbers, we became nervous, based on the last episode, with regard to internal bleeding. The pain, he experienced at Greenwich Hospital, came from the acid produced from the stomach ulcers. She ordered another set of labs and vital checks immediately. He has not had a BM in 2 days, and when he did he says he did not see/notice any blood in the stools. They are giving him Heprin 3x a day for now. The Heprin is used to prevent the blood from clotting too easily while he is spending more time resting and off his feet than usual—which is when blood clots are more likely to form. Later this evening, dad was given Maalox to treat his stomach. After a visit from the Doctor on staff, he said he felt better with regards to his stomach pain, and after hearing the doctor was keeping a close eye on hemoglobin and his thinking that it might be a glitch. More tests to come in am - but dad went to bed feeling good..