Slow Sunday Stitching

I have done very little in hand work these past few weeks, with John being hospitalized, and now home with Hospice care.  I did manage to pull out an old crochet UFO this week.  Back about 3-4 years ago, crochet mermaid tail blankets were popular.  I made one for granddaughters Kyleigh and Klara.  Our daughter Kristen decided she wanted one.  Then I started on one for myself.  I found out that my sister-in-law Char wanted one too.  I finished the one I was working on, and gave it to Char.  And then I started another one for myself.  I got about 10 inches done and put it away.  

I pulled it out again this week, couldn't figure out what row I was on exactly and pulled it out and restarted.  I have one more row to go to finish this part of the cocoon/tail, and then I change yarns and am start the fin part next.

I have also been wanting to knit some washcloths, Kathy @Kathy's Quilts has been working with the little sea creatures.  First up though I want to work on this Unicorn for granddaughter Klara.  I just got the purple yarn so I haven't started yet.  This is what it looks like.  I got the pattern at Ravelry, but can't get into my account now for some reason to give the link.  

I will be linking up to Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching,   Head on over and find out what people have been up to.  

As far as John is concerned, Hospice has been here 3-4 days a week.  His brother Roger is here and has been an enormous help.  We had a bit of a scare three nights ago.  I had John on the baby monitor while I went to bed.   I went to bed at 9, and got up to check John to make sure he didn't need his pants changed.  He didn't really respond to me and was dry so I went back to bed.  

About 11:30 I noticed his breathing changed, he would have long pauses (from his sleep apnea), then start snoring really heavy, and as the night went on, after the heavy breathing there was a cough and it sounded like he was choking on secretions.  They sent an RN out about 4:30, and we gave him a breathing treatment, increased his oxygen to 4 liters, and got a prescription for Levsin to decrease secretions.  They also placed him on continuous care and had two shifts come on to help care for him.  We found out they were not able to cover the night shift, so Roger and I split the night staying with him.  

Yesterday morning another nurse came to be with him 8 am- 4 pm but after that they apparently had to cover other patients more serious, so Roger and I split the night again.  I think someone will be coming this morning, but probably the other two shifts are not covered, and I suspect they will put him on regular care with his normal nurses and home health aide on Monday.   If he worsens again I can call someone out to see him emergently.

John has been alternately totally out of it, somewhat aware, and then a little more aware and somewhat  conversant.  Two days he was really out of it, he didn't eat or drink at all, because we were afraid of choking.   Yesterday he was able to have an Ensure for lunch and dinner.  

I took this picture the other day of Roger and John.

That's all I know right now.  Thanks for stopping by!  

Slow Sunday Stitching, My News

A lot has happened since the last time I checked in.  I have not done much slow stitching or any other kind of stitching.  I thought I would pop in here and let everyone know what is going on.  

The little stitching I have done, and what I might be working on for Slow Sunday Stitching is this tea towel.  I was going to do it for the In the Kitchen Blog Hop coming up soon.  There was no way to transfer the lines to the tea towel, so I used the Sticky Fabric Solvy which you run through the printer, and washes away.  With the weight of the tea towel, and this Solvy, it makes it difficult for me to stitch through.  I have stitched the Back off, and part of the back and head.  

I'll be linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over and check out what everyone has been working on.

Okay for what has been going on here.  I think the last time I checked in was Easter Sunday.  John was admitted to the hospital April 1st, spent the 5th, his 78th birthday in the hospital, and was released April 12th.   They told me had a urinary tract infection and blood infection, then the blood infection was contamination.  Filled him full of 5 antibiotics, tons of bolus fluids, and his whole body blew up like a balloon.  Did a heart scan to make sure he didn't have a heart infection, did a scan of his liver because his liver function tests were up, but he has a fatty liver and that is nothing new.  He lost the ability to feed himself, is now incontinent.  He is unable to do even more for himself than he was before.  

An interventionalist came into his room on the 11th and told me he was going downhill and wanted to know what the family wanted to do with him.  He was sleeping almost all day.  I was feeding him all three meals.  When they did his scans he had to be fasting after lunch, and they were going to do his scan at 8 pm that night.  I go back in the next day, he is still fasting, there were a bunch of priority ER patients.  He finally got 2 scans about 6 pm the next night and when he got back to his room his dinner was cold, and the kitchen was closed.  He was not responding in any way to recover from this.  One day a neurologist came in to see him while I wasn't there and said there wasn't anything neurological wrong with him, he was just deconditioned.  

If the neurologist had bothered to call me, or come while I was in the room, I could have pointed out that my daughters and I could have pointed out that we had noticed that he has almost all the symptoms of ALS or Lou Gherig's disease, and has been steadily declining for 3 years now.  

I asked if he had less than 6 months to live and they said yes.  I told him I wanted to bring him home with home Hospice, so that was arranged.  I stayed up late 1 night so Hospice could bring in their own bed so  he could come home the next day.  An intake nurse interviewed him and my daughter at the hospital, while one simultaneously interviewed me at home.  

These are part of the discharge instructions I received home from the hospital.  I asked specifically if he had a blood infection, and they said it was a contaminant, he didn't, yet they list bacteremia as a diagnosis.  

These are the diagnoses obtained from the Hospice intake notes.   

The heart failure we knew nothing about. The atherosclerosis we did, he has 6 stents placed a number of years ago.  

Chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia.  He has been coughing really badly for the past three years and we thought it was asthma.  No wonder the inhalers didn't work so great.  

We knew nothing about cor pulmonale until 2 days ago, when I heard the hospice nurse say his diagnosis was cor pulmonale.  I was a medical transcriptionist for 35 years, and I do know this is serious, right-sided heart failure due to complications from high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries.  

So John is home with Hospice nurse coming in 3 times a week, as well as a Home Health Aid 3 times a week.  I have about 4 days a week I need help in the mornings with.  When he had his hospitalization in November I heard about a resource center that had grants to hire caregivers, and I never took advantage of.   A chaplain came in yesterday, talked to John briefly and then motioned for me to come out in the other room.  He said that I needed to hire help NOW, no looking around, just hire someone to come in the other 4 days.   Most agencies want a minimum of 4 hours, but the social worker found one that will come in for 2 hours.  We are supposed to be evaluated on Monday to see if we qualify.  If we do, we have enough funds to last for 44 two hour visits.  

He also gave me a little booklet that lays out what happens months before death, weeks before death, days before death which is very informative

We are taking it day by day.  I am not able to be able to think about anything, have not sewn anything for 2-1/2 weeks now.  I usually sit by his bedside and read or play my word games.  

He is barely eating anything, or drinking.  His oldest daughter from another marriage came in today and is visiting for several days.  We have been estranged from her for a number of years because of a miscommunication.  She used to just drop by (She lives about 6 hours away).  The last time John saw her he told her to give us some notice she was coming.  She and I talked tonight and she thought he said never come again.  So at least that has been mended somewhat.  She talked to him tonight, and talks about what she always loved doing with him and happier times.  I met John when she was 6 years old, her parents were waiting for the final divorce decree and her mother had moved another guy in.  

John's brother Roger will be flying in on Wednesday.  Our girls are visiting almost every day and spending a few hours.  

So I just wanted everyone to know what I have been up to.  I just can't think about much of anything right now except caring for John and spending time with him.  I'll pop in when I can think straight.  

Below are a few pictures of when I met John, and a few from recent years.  

Thanks for stopping by~!

350 Blocks Report, March

 

I did a little better in March.  The goal was 31 blocks.  

Pieces of the Past:   5 blocks.  I  assembled the top of this one.  I need to make another row of blocks and put on the outside borders.  This will be grandson Jaeger's graduation quilt.  

Stay at Home Round Robin:  8 blocks.  

Hands All Around Alcotts:  4 blocks.  I decided to make a block of each size, 8" and 12"

Salt and Sand Blog Hop Project:  10 blocks.  I called the whole quilt 10 blocks.

Klara's Doll quilt.  I called this 6 blocks

So I have a total of 33 blocks for March.  I will be linking up at Prairie Moon Quilts.  

Slow Sunday Stitching, Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  Hope you have a good day!  I will be making some au gratin potatoes and having dinner at daughter Kristen's house.  

This week has sped by again.  I have gotten a few things done.  I quilted this top I made for the Salt and Sand Blog Hop, and got the binding sewn down by hand.  

I didn't get any hexies done this week, will talk about that later.  

I got Miss Klara's little doll quilt done for Beatrice, and made a little pillow with  an old sheet of Klara's that had rainbows and unicorns on it.  She came over this afternoon and was quite pleased with it, I think Beatrice was too!  

I got gingko leaves done on my free motion sampler, and started working on the graffiti quilting, but got interrupted on that.  

For Slow Sunday Stitching this week, I will be working on stitching on these tea towels for the In the Kitchen Blog Hop which is coming up in a couple of weeks.  

I will be linking up For Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.    Thanks so much to Kathy for this continued motivation and place to link up each week!

Now for the rest of my week, which seemed to go to Hell in a handbasket.   

Tuesday grandson Keaton came to spend the day with us.  He is 14, and loves to spend time with his Papa.  I think he also likes the food.  I made pancakes, grilled cheese sandwich and we had meatball sandwiches and homemade potato salad for dinner, as well as Snickerdoodles.   Kristen, his mother hadn't wanted him to spend all day on the computer, and his brother Jaeger was at the lake with his girlfriend's family, so Keaton would have been alone, and happily on the computer all day.

Just before Kristen came to pick Keaton up after work, John got in bed, and told me he was cold.  I put two blankets on him.  He wanted another and another.  He ended up with 4 blankets on and was shivering.  I took his temp and it was 100.3.  The next morning it was the same, but came down later in the day running high 99's.  He slept all day on the 31st.   I was supposed to get my second vaccine that day, but cancelled my appointment as I didn't feel he was safe to leave alone.

Next morning I called advice nurse to try to get a  message to his Dr. to order a urinalysis as he was showing symptoms of having a UTI.  They wanted to talk to him and did, but he talks very slow anymore, and breathes through his mouth and is a heavy breather.  They thought he was in difficulty and said I should call 911, he could be going septic.  I felt he could be too, but his breathing I wasn't worried about because that is the way he breathes on exertion, or trying to talk.  He refused.  I called back again, to try to get a message to his Dr. to order a urinalysis as I had a sterile container at home.  Second time I got a Dr. on the advice line, she briefly talked to him, and advised me harshly to call 911 as I could be putting his life at risk, and I was acting negligently.  He had a mild temp this day, was sleeping all the time, telling me he didn't feel right, and was breathing heavily they thought.  I tried to talk to John again, and he refused to go.

So they set us up with a telephone call with his Dr. at 12:30.  His Dr. ordered the urinalysis, but told John  he needed to go to ER if he got any worse, and John agreed.  

After lunch, John decided he needed to walk down to the bathroom to have a BM, but couldn't get up off the commode after.  His legs were shaking and he could not do his part of pushing up on the handles and standing up.  I put this gait belt we have to try to pull him up, but couldn't.   So I told him this time there was something wrong that needed to be checked out.

We were in the ER from about 1:30 pm till 9:45 pm.  They found he did have a UTI and gave him IV antibiotics, but wanted more observation.  That facility was full so they sent him to a neighboring city that has been doing overflow for our hospital. In the ER, his feet and legs were hanging off the bed at least a foot.  They said they would pay for the ambulance ride to the second facility.  He has a private room, there are no COVID patients on this floor, and the nurses are very kind.

He has been there since April 1st. He is still on observation status, now taking IV Vancomycin.  Apparently 2/3 blood cultures at our facility showed the same organism that was in his urine.  They repeated blood cultures today.  His blood pressure also is way out of control, and they have been trying to bring that down.  He is so weak, he cannot roll to the side by himself.  He was continent several days ago, but doesn't appear to be now, and so they are changing him frequently.  The way he is right now, he will likely be sent to rehab after his infection (s) are treated.  

I will go in again on Sunday when the doctor from our facility makes his rounds.  

One thing that came up on my daughter's Facebook feed this week were these two pictures.  The little guy on the right is my grandson Jaeger, and his friend.  They have been swimming together all these years, and this year they are graduating from high school.  

Hope everyone has a great week!  Thanks for stopping by!

One Monthly Goal, April

 

It's time to link up your One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.    I continue to appreciate this monthly motivation with this link up and appreciate everything Patty does!  

My One Monthly Goal for April is to make my project for the In the Kitchen Blog Hop coming up in a couple of weeks, hosted by Carla @ Creatin In the Sticks.  

I have not started my project yet, but part of it is going to involve these two tea towels.  

Linking up at One Monthly Goal @ Elm Street Quilts and thanks again to Patty!