Thank you for your prayers...my Mom's arm finally healed, she cleared her MRSA infection, and finally she is back into her right mind, at least on a semi-daily basis. With dementia and/or Alzheimer's this is as good as it gets.
One area of concern for all of us in the sandwich generation (those of us caring for our children and caring for our parents)...be sure and keep up with a loved one's Standard of Care while in a hospital or nursing facility. Luckily, I worked in a large cardiac unit in Houston in my early career. Even though I was working in one of the best medical facilities in the country, I can tell you that it is extremely important to keep track of your relatives when they are in the hospital.
If possible, obtain a private room with an extra bed and rotate with your spouse, partner, relatives, or friends to keep an eye on your loved one. At a minimum, make sure someone is checking in on your loved one at least once a day and is visiting for at least one hour during lunch or dinner. It is usually during this time that the nurses are making rounds with medications. You can usually get an update from the nurse, and observe whether or not your loved one is receiving skilled care, getting enough pain medicine, and eating properly.
It's important to be an advocate for the patient, mainly because hospitals are so short-staffed these days. In the old days we had one Registered Nurse (RN), one Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), and one nurse assistant (CNA) stationed for 15 cardiac patients. These days, you are lucky if your nurse is an LVN and you have a CNA as a back up.
Now Mom is back in her nursing home for a temporary stay, until we can get her moved back into her regular assisted living apartment. The Standard of Care she is getting in the nursing home is much lower than that she received in the hospital. I observe many nursing assistants (CNAs) and nursing students in this environment.
The bottom line...no matter what the age of the patient, it helps to have someone else around to keep an eye on care.
Stay well, enjoy the moment, and pray for the best. Terre
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Still doing hospital visits
It's almost 3 weeks later and my household is still making daily and semi-daily runs to the hospital. I am fortunate because the hospital is on my route to/from work, and I can run lots of errands on my way home. I feel like I am on auto pilot at this point.
It has been difficult to run a frugal household while having a sick loved one in the hospital. One thing I have discovered, the hospital volunteer shop is cheaper on snacks than the hospital cafeteria, and cheaper than the vending machines. I came out with 2 bags of Chex snacks and a bottle of water for $1.72. I know I would have paid at least $3.00 anywhere else, so it pays to have an open mind.
My grocery bill has been higher due to buying convenience foods. We don't always give in to eating fast food, although my waistline says "time to give it up". Last weekend, I bought lots of veggies for myself - easy to microwave and nutrition packed yams, potatoes and acorn squash. Also, I've been able to catch some of the lower salt microwave meals at $2.50/item, which is also much cheaper than eating out.
Anyway, say a prayer for my family. We've still got a long healing process for two family members during the next few weeks.
Take care,
Terre
It has been difficult to run a frugal household while having a sick loved one in the hospital. One thing I have discovered, the hospital volunteer shop is cheaper on snacks than the hospital cafeteria, and cheaper than the vending machines. I came out with 2 bags of Chex snacks and a bottle of water for $1.72. I know I would have paid at least $3.00 anywhere else, so it pays to have an open mind.
My grocery bill has been higher due to buying convenience foods. We don't always give in to eating fast food, although my waistline says "time to give it up". Last weekend, I bought lots of veggies for myself - easy to microwave and nutrition packed yams, potatoes and acorn squash. Also, I've been able to catch some of the lower salt microwave meals at $2.50/item, which is also much cheaper than eating out.
Anyway, say a prayer for my family. We've still got a long healing process for two family members during the next few weeks.
Take care,
Terre
Thursday, February 28, 2008
MRSA strikes again
Welcome again to my favorite medical subject...
MRSA - Methicillin Resistant Staphyloccus Aureus - i.e. staph infectection - it's struck my family again, luckily not my own household. Mama is 67 years old and suffers from dementia/Alzheimer's in addition to a host of other medical problems. Apparently, not only is MRSA common to hospitals and locker rooms, it also thrives among people who are in close contact with one another such as an assisted living retirement community.
Mama broke her arm two weeks ago. One of the first things the E.R. discovered when they started testing her last week was that MRSA had started colonizing in her nose. When I arrived to the hospital at noontime Friday, the nurses were frantically trying to get her bed moved so that she could be put into a private room and have her put into an isolation type setting. At her door you'll find a green label attached to a cabinet, mentioning the barrier precautions one needs to take...this include good hand washing, donning rubber gloves, wearing a plastic protective gown, and putting a mask over your nose and mouth.
As I have assisted with ice chips, drinks, meals and keeping her covered up, I have been extra cautious not to touch my skin or face with the rubber gloves. I don't even eat, drink or use the restroom when I'm in her room. I'll take a break, sanitize my hands thoroughly and take my meal either in the hospital cafe or at a nearby restaurant. When I get home, the clothes hit the washing machine in hot water almost immediately.
I.V. Vancomycin and nasal swabs of Bactroban have been the drugs of choice. We're six days into this and she's still not out of isolation yet. So, when you visit the hospital and see green and white signs about MRSA, take it seriously, use the sanitary foam and take all the precautions you need. Oh, and if you can, leave your kids at home - they don't need to catch this stuff.
Here's to being healthy...Terre
MRSA - Methicillin Resistant Staphyloccus Aureus - i.e. staph infectection - it's struck my family again, luckily not my own household. Mama is 67 years old and suffers from dementia/Alzheimer's in addition to a host of other medical problems. Apparently, not only is MRSA common to hospitals and locker rooms, it also thrives among people who are in close contact with one another such as an assisted living retirement community.
Mama broke her arm two weeks ago. One of the first things the E.R. discovered when they started testing her last week was that MRSA had started colonizing in her nose. When I arrived to the hospital at noontime Friday, the nurses were frantically trying to get her bed moved so that she could be put into a private room and have her put into an isolation type setting. At her door you'll find a green label attached to a cabinet, mentioning the barrier precautions one needs to take...this include good hand washing, donning rubber gloves, wearing a plastic protective gown, and putting a mask over your nose and mouth.
As I have assisted with ice chips, drinks, meals and keeping her covered up, I have been extra cautious not to touch my skin or face with the rubber gloves. I don't even eat, drink or use the restroom when I'm in her room. I'll take a break, sanitize my hands thoroughly and take my meal either in the hospital cafe or at a nearby restaurant. When I get home, the clothes hit the washing machine in hot water almost immediately.
I.V. Vancomycin and nasal swabs of Bactroban have been the drugs of choice. We're six days into this and she's still not out of isolation yet. So, when you visit the hospital and see green and white signs about MRSA, take it seriously, use the sanitary foam and take all the precautions you need. Oh, and if you can, leave your kids at home - they don't need to catch this stuff.
Here's to being healthy...Terre
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The art of feeding teenage boys
All of this raising a boy stuff is totally new to me, even almost 16 years later. Why? I grew up in a household of all females, except for my father.
My main challenge these days is keeping my teen son fed. Last night, a pound of ground meat fed the boys sloppy joes and bolognese sphaghetti for me. This is one of my frugal mom secrets - he hates sphaghetti and I hate sloppy joes. One frugal sauce can sometimes produce many meals. Last night there was nothing left over. The good news? Where can you feed 3 people for $7.50 if we were eating out?
The other thing I've learned about feeding a teen is to NEVER, ever stock up the whole household at one time. If you do, you'd better have a locked cupboard somewhere. It doesn't matter how much food I buy, it's never enough for the bottomless pit. 90% of the food bill belongs to him, 10% of the other stuff is mine. My stuff is on the outside ring of the grocery store, his is all the inside, expensive stuff.
One thing I've gotten smart on, if my son will cooperate. Go feed him a meal at Sonic and then make a run to Dollar General. Teen junk food and beverages are a lot cheaper there. I'm talking $60.00 at DG vs. $100.00 at the local grocery. Sometimes I can persuade him to make the 99Cent Store run with me, but those days are very rare. He has to be in desperate need of cheap electronics and chocolate to go there.
Happy living...T
My main challenge these days is keeping my teen son fed. Last night, a pound of ground meat fed the boys sloppy joes and bolognese sphaghetti for me. This is one of my frugal mom secrets - he hates sphaghetti and I hate sloppy joes. One frugal sauce can sometimes produce many meals. Last night there was nothing left over. The good news? Where can you feed 3 people for $7.50 if we were eating out?
The other thing I've learned about feeding a teen is to NEVER, ever stock up the whole household at one time. If you do, you'd better have a locked cupboard somewhere. It doesn't matter how much food I buy, it's never enough for the bottomless pit. 90% of the food bill belongs to him, 10% of the other stuff is mine. My stuff is on the outside ring of the grocery store, his is all the inside, expensive stuff.
One thing I've gotten smart on, if my son will cooperate. Go feed him a meal at Sonic and then make a run to Dollar General. Teen junk food and beverages are a lot cheaper there. I'm talking $60.00 at DG vs. $100.00 at the local grocery. Sometimes I can persuade him to make the 99Cent Store run with me, but those days are very rare. He has to be in desperate need of cheap electronics and chocolate to go there.
Happy living...T
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Don't be impressed when you visit my home
Hello readers! My household is trying to mature these days by becoming better housekeepers.
One thing you won't find at my home is anything fancy, and lately that means living extremely frugally, especially with the high price of gasoline and starting a new job which caused me to be without any form of money for about 3 weeks, until my first paycheck arrived.
How did we make it? I keep my place thoroughly stocked for the hard times in life. This usually happens to me about every 3 years, for one reason or another. I keep my freezer fully stocked with meats, vegetables, and of course leftovers. Leftovers could be anything from vegetable soup to packets of macaroni seasoning, dried milk, etc. Also, since we live in hurricane alley, we keep lots of canned goods on hand. We don't starve around here. At one time years ago, my son wished that we could be "poor" again so that we could have more home made meals.
Another thing we do is recycle old things into new things. I can't tell you how many towels have become washclothes, and how many ripped Wally World towels have become handtowels. I have but one goal in all of this...to successfully get the kiddo through high school and into the college of his choice.
Live wisely! Merry Christmas! Terre
One thing you won't find at my home is anything fancy, and lately that means living extremely frugally, especially with the high price of gasoline and starting a new job which caused me to be without any form of money for about 3 weeks, until my first paycheck arrived.
How did we make it? I keep my place thoroughly stocked for the hard times in life. This usually happens to me about every 3 years, for one reason or another. I keep my freezer fully stocked with meats, vegetables, and of course leftovers. Leftovers could be anything from vegetable soup to packets of macaroni seasoning, dried milk, etc. Also, since we live in hurricane alley, we keep lots of canned goods on hand. We don't starve around here. At one time years ago, my son wished that we could be "poor" again so that we could have more home made meals.
Another thing we do is recycle old things into new things. I can't tell you how many towels have become washclothes, and how many ripped Wally World towels have become handtowels. I have but one goal in all of this...to successfully get the kiddo through high school and into the college of his choice.
Live wisely! Merry Christmas! Terre
Ack, I'm back...
I have been blog deprived for the last two months, due to lack of customer service with that mega conglomerate phone company that attempted to give me the universe, then conveniently deleted all of my e-mail accounts when I uninstalled their service. Nothing like cutting cable connections (with their permission, of course) to get the point across about lousy service.
I don't recommend the universe service. I live in an old place and the wiring is old here. My home electricity current fried two of their modems into total submission. I must have made at least 50 phone calls to them since Sept. 8th, when the universe was first installed. At this point, they owe me money...$156.00 for the lousy service I paid for, 1 week's worth of wages for waiting on their lame customer service lines, and psychological counseling for anger management (just joking on the last part, of course). You can guarantee that when I get a notice from a law firm stating that a class action suit has been filed that my name will be on it.
In the meantime, I've become a convert to gmail. Go Google!
I don't recommend the universe service. I live in an old place and the wiring is old here. My home electricity current fried two of their modems into total submission. I must have made at least 50 phone calls to them since Sept. 8th, when the universe was first installed. At this point, they owe me money...$156.00 for the lousy service I paid for, 1 week's worth of wages for waiting on their lame customer service lines, and psychological counseling for anger management (just joking on the last part, of course). You can guarantee that when I get a notice from a law firm stating that a class action suit has been filed that my name will be on it.
In the meantime, I've become a convert to gmail. Go Google!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Yes, I'm still around - Commentary
Hello to everyone who occasionally reads my posts. I've been very busy with a new job and with luck, will be hired on as a permanent employee soon, with benefits!
If you don't understand what living with no health insurance means, dig through my earlier posts and you can get a dose of my reality.
And speaking of health insurance, you can bet I'm not happy with George W. Bush for vetoing the children's health insurance plan for under-privileged children in America. Republican Party please note, I want to vote Republican, but you guys have got to get real about the war in Iraq (getting our troops out), and also realizing that there's a poverty crisis here in the U.S. If you don't believe me, do a web search on "teen pregnancy Mississippi" and find out what's really going on. Many young girls, age 17 years old or less, high teen pregnancy rates, high infant mortality and mortality in children age 2 or less. I say, charity starts at home, USA !!!
By the way, please see my previous post on staph infection or MRSA. It's been a big item in the Houston news media lately. Sunday or Monday's Houston Chronicle had an article about a mother and son in Spring Branch who have battled the infection, including frequent trips to the Texas Medical Center for IV antibiotics.
Be safe, healthy and happy...Terre
If you don't understand what living with no health insurance means, dig through my earlier posts and you can get a dose of my reality.
And speaking of health insurance, you can bet I'm not happy with George W. Bush for vetoing the children's health insurance plan for under-privileged children in America. Republican Party please note, I want to vote Republican, but you guys have got to get real about the war in Iraq (getting our troops out), and also realizing that there's a poverty crisis here in the U.S. If you don't believe me, do a web search on "teen pregnancy Mississippi" and find out what's really going on. Many young girls, age 17 years old or less, high teen pregnancy rates, high infant mortality and mortality in children age 2 or less. I say, charity starts at home, USA !!!
By the way, please see my previous post on staph infection or MRSA. It's been a big item in the Houston news media lately. Sunday or Monday's Houston Chronicle had an article about a mother and son in Spring Branch who have battled the infection, including frequent trips to the Texas Medical Center for IV antibiotics.
Be safe, healthy and happy...Terre
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