Saturday, August 4, 2012

08-04-12

  It's been a wild week. Right after we got the good news and stayed on the road all day Annie called late that night worried that mom's BP was high along with her pulse. I asked Denise to go and check so off she went. Denise called back and between us three we talked mom into letting us take her to the hospital, which took some doing. We took her to Ft Sanders in Knoxville and while mom was in there Denise said she had A Fib. I actually think they'd let you die in ER, oh wait, they did two days later let a man code. It amazed me that probably only a few people actually needed medical care there, most seemed to need a fix. It was more like Springer meets the side show. One guy I wanted to knock out just to shut him up, I think everybody did. I keep thinking there has to be something that could be done for somebody other than feed an addiction.

  They ended up sticking her on the eighth floor, the cancer floor where you go when you have people extremely sick. At this point I'd like to thank UT, you all done a great job when I was there, and I saw just how excellent the care was now. Annie spent the night with mom and we came home and caught about 3 hours sleep at best. I was quite surprised and impressed with Annie. Her devotion and knowledge, especially being a new nurse. Charts were not filled out, orders not sent, they even took her BP by placing the cuff upside down and taking temperatures by sticking the thermometer in her mouth as she swallowed iced tea. To beat it all, the other RN lied like a dog, which didn't last too long as Denise and Annie both caught and confronted her and the other RN. Funny how they'd change their summation then go right to the next lie. We finally got her transferred to the cardiac floor after the main RN on the oncology floor stated they were a cancer floor, not a heart floor and they weren't prepared and didn't know how to care for a patient with heart issues. That lead me to say, wanna know a secret, you not only suck at heart care, but you suck with cancer care too. The Cardiac nurse told mom that if she had went to UT she would have been home in 24 hours or less, we're now working on day three. They were day and night on that floor difference. The nurse's station actually looked like a nurse's station. No charts strung out and it didn't look like prat girls gone wild. They actually were watching the monitors, organized, and working. Covenant Health Care has a long ways to go, and that includes doctors there too. Might want to curb those advertising dollars for quality, I expect better care for my animals.  

  It's taken until now to get back on track from all the excitement and lack of sleep, Denise is still wiped. Despite all of that, the week has been good overall. I pulled the biggest Banana Melon out of the garden I've ever seen or heard tell of, weighing in at 10.5 lbs. The biggest and best I always give to Denise's mom and dad, especially her dad since he is confined to a wheel chair and cannot raise them anymore. The look on his face is enough to make this year's heat and aggravation of the dry and wet season worth it. We took them some other stuff like Tomatoes and pears. Mom wanted some Nitro, which the doctors failed to prescribe. I'm of sure if she needs it after a successful stress, but I think it makes her more at ease knowing she has it, so I gave her mine. I forget to carry it most of the time anyway, plus it's mom. It did ease her off that night and her BP is still high, but no A Fib, I think thats what Denise said it was. Heart out of rhythm, like mine did the first few days after the heart attack. Misty and the kids came in to see her. I miss them.

  So that brings us to today. Yesterday I picked about a bushel of pears and this morning I thought I'd surprise Denise by peeling, coring, and cooking one. Had the recipe and it was simple. It was like saute in a pan with butter and some Cinnamon, poached I think it was called. It ended up being more perched than poached, lol. I remembered the great taste when Granny would cook them... that wasn't it, lol. I think Denise ate what she did to save my feelings, but her taste buds got the best of her. She had that look, I probably did too, of a mule eatin' briars. I watched what appeared to be a smile as she took the first bite, didn't take until my bite it wasn't a smile, more like a snarl. Me and Megan tried to make Ketchup and made some great Grilling Sauce, except we don't know what all we used. I can grill, make cookies, and pizza good and that is about the extent of it. I'll probably try that again as soon as our taste buds heal. :) It's all good, except when I cook it.