Far From Great News

Mom has been moved up to the 7th floor at St. Vincent's to free her room up for a cardiac patient, but her condition is not getting a whole lot better. She was a little more lucid when working with an orthopedist today, and they are going to take her off one of her pain meds so they can try and localize the origin of her continuing pain (the orthopedist said the arm looks great and the stitches can come out, but she continues to moan occasionally in pain).

Dr. Unger was also up there yesterday morning, and at the time she was running a low-grade fever and she is beginning to show some fluid in her lungs. The cause of the pneumonia is unclear, and there are also some kidney function issues that, while not currently threatening, show that her kidneys are not performing as well as they could. She is not eating very much, even though Kathleen, Janet and Bev have all been up to visit and help feed her, and there is some concern that she is not able to keep taking all her necessary medication.

Given all this, Dr. Unger has made a recommendation that Mom be moved to hospice care at Maryville. It's probably the hardest decision Dad's ever had to make, but in the interest of her comfort and knowing full well that she is miserable at St. Vincent's in her current state, Dad and I agreed that this was the best move. The word "hospice" of course carries a lot of baggage with it, but there is always a chance that Mom could recover. The most important thing at this point is to keep Mom as comfortable as possible so her body can do its best to fight its way back to health.

Mom is probably going to be moved to Maryville tomorrow, and once she is, I'll let you know where she is located. Flowers, cards and visits will be most welcome.