Stressful Times

The last few weeks have been pretty stressful for us!

On Tuesday, April 22, our 92 year old lady friend (Nomi, who we have taken charge of) was taken to the hospital with breathing problems. After some calls to and from the emergency room, we found out she had blood clots in her lungs….pulmonary embolisms. The doctor in charge planned on keeping her in the hospital for a few days undergoing Heparin (blood thinning) treatments. She was in the hospital three days then released to a skilled nursing home for rehabilitation and more Heparin shots because this was a level of treatment that could not be done in her assisted living home.

On Tuesday, April 29, Nomi was again rushed back to the hospital emergency room with severe breathing problems. Turns out the blood thinners were causing more blood clots to break loose, and a huge one caused her blood pressure to drop extremely low and they didn’t think she would live through the night. She was put on fluids and oxygen then moved to the progressive care unit (one step below ICU) where the staff kept watch on all night long. Amazingly, she rallied on Wednesday and was alert enough to answer simple questions. The doctor said she a touch of Pneumonia and not breathing well. She also was extremely confused.

Thursday turned out to be Nomi’s best day. She still had moments of confusion but was able to sit up and even able to feed herself. The doctor was quite pleased with her progress, but he said it would not last. He said her condition was such that she would continue to have more and more problems and thought she should be on hospice instead of continually bouncing back and forth to the hospital. We talked about it and agreed it would be the best choice and that way, she could be released back to her assisted living facility and be with her cat.

Friday, Nomi was taken off all IVs and moved to a regular room. After she was moved, she again started feeling bad and regressed to a very lethargic state. She would wake long enough to talk a bit and promptly, while in mid sentence, fall back asleep. She still tried to feed herself, but couldn’t eat much.

When we were first told that Nomi was not going to survive, we notified a niece (Linda) in Texas and an ex-niece-in-law (Mary) in Salem. Thankfully, Linda flew to Salem from Texas and was able to spend a couple quality days with Nomi before having to fly back to Texas. Mary, who lives in Salem, has been a God send in visiting daily with Nomi and filling us in on her condition. Our daughter (LeighAnn) is the alternate power of attorney for Nomi’s health care, and she immediately started working with the hospice representative in order to get Nomi taken care of quickly. She also spent time with Nomi and kept us informed of her ups and downs.

Nomi started feeling a bit better on Monday, May 5 and was alert enough to visit with LeighAnn and Mary. Nomi said she knew she had been very sick, but didn’t remember anything that had happened over the weekend. She didn't even remember Linda's visit, but was pleased to know that she had been there. When Nomi was told that she would be going back to her room at the assisted living facility and be with her cat, she really brightened up.

Nomi is now back at the assisted living facility and under the care of hospice. We just pray that she continues to have more good days than bad days and stays as comfortable as possible.

We are getting the coach ready to pull out of Queen Valley and should be "on the road again" (love that song) Saturday, May 10. We are going to Laughliin, Nevada for a short stay before heading to Reno. After Reno, we have a week scheduled in the Sacramento, California area before heading back to Salem.

So far the temperatures here have not reached triple digits and according to the weather reports that won’t happen before we leave. The days have been gorgeous with temps in the high 80s to mid 90s and NO rain since February 27. The evenings are still cooling to the mid 60s. Sure not looking forward to leaving, but we are scheduled to be traveling through May, and we want to get back to Salem and check on Nomi. That means we will be home early June instead of mid July. We still have plans for our yearly campout in Prineville, Oregon over the 4th of July.