As I’m pretty sure I mentioned, my brother was admitted last Friday the 13th for the FOURTH TIME since our Mom’s funeral on 2/13/18.
He has a multitude of problems, but the big ones have been pneumonia and profound anemia. This time he has bilateral pneumonia (he’s been a smoker since his late teens and he’s in his 70’s now). And his hemoglobin kept dropping, and finally when it got down to 7.0 they transfused him – but just with one unit. (Not unreasonable, because if you transfuse a large amount it shuts down bone marrow production because the feedback mechanism says “I don’t need to make any more RBCs.”)
His hospitalist told him yesterday morning he would be in for 2-3 more days. His son, (SF Bay area) daughter-in-law (Tampa Metro – but 55 miles away) and I (KCMO) were ecstatic. My brother hated it.
So we made plans with his health support people accordingly.
But then the pulmonary service came in the afternoon and said he could be discharged.
Us – BOO! My brother – YEA!
So he was dismissed last night. So today we’ve been scrambling to get meds, health aide, PT, OT Social Worker, Nurse Practitioner all going again.
My nephew will be going out a week from tomorrow to help get lots of things done involving his wife’s estate (she died last Labor Day weekend) and our Mom’s estate taken care. Plus check to be sure he’s gotten everything done to transition to Medicare, as he’s a retiring college professor (economics) and has been using his work’s insurance, which ends in early May.
I’m hoping things will settle down. He does have a PCP, a hematologist-oncologist, a GI doc, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, an ENT doc, and I’m sure I’m leaving out a few. So it’s not like he hasn’t tried to find out what’s going on. But the pieces haven’t come together.
He and his wife lived in the KCMO Metro very close to me for several years when he was teaching at another college – and liked it. I’m actually hoping he’d agree to move back because it’s really difficult to manage his medical issues long distance. But he now likes Florida, so I’m not sure what he’ll do.
Sorry – no “Friday Fun”. But I’m sure you agree that there are priorities, and family is at the top.
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To make the day even more enjoyable, I’m heading out to mow the lawn. The Critter is asleep in one of his favorite boxes in the den which faces the backyard – which I won’t be mowing today.
I’m going to close the door and keep my fingers crossed he’ll be Dr. Jekyll when I come back in rather than Mr. Hyde.
Cross posted to Care2 HERE
Some days just feel like one step forward, two steps back, don’t they? It must be very tiring. Do take care of yourself, including getting enough rest.
WRT Mr. Furry Little Hyde, does he care for catnip? I only ask because people are having some success with Pootie Pads filled with organic catnip, and there’s a new model now which includes lavender which people who have tried it are saying is noticeably helpful for anxiety. Granted the anxiety they are talking about is mostly with road trips (e.g. to the vet) and moving, and getting into the carrier, which is probably the top paranoid behavior that most of us run up against. But still. You might be able to get a few sprigs in a local herb source to check his reactions out before investing in a full blown pootie pad. Not trying to make Nike into a drug addict, just throwing it out in case it might help.
Worth trying catnip again.
I used it quite awhile ago just as an enjoyment function … and nothing.
About a third of cats don’t respond to catnip – and as luck would have it, he’s the first in over 60 years of catnip entertainment to be immune to it.
He may have been to young, but I doubt his genome has changed enough to help.
The room lock-in was only mildly successful. And I’m not sure if it was inherent of because I brought the leaf-rake and squirt bottle with me when I opened the door.
But at least it wasn’t full-out lunging and biting – just snarling and growling.
Took him ~ 2 hours to settle down to where I could play and pet him again.
*sigh*
Lavender by itself maybe?
Healing thoughts to you, Nameless.
Yes, family comes first, with rest/recuperation being most important.
Outdoor activities are good for the heart, and soul, imho.
Hope that you have a good week, and Thank you for your post.
Thanks, Joanne for cross-posting.
Best of luck to your brother. None of this can be any fun for any of you. Please do not forget to take care of yourself, in all the chaos.
Thanks for all the supportive and kind words. I’ll tell my brother he has a cheering section keeping him in their thoughts.
Family, both the human and the furry kind, is keeping you occupied more than you like, Nameless. But they always should take priority so there’s no need to to excuse yourself for not writing Friday fun articles. You have given us an update instead and hearing your brother is on the mend a little and discharged from the hospital, so what more could we possibly ask from you.
You seem to be entering a downward spiral with your Critter Nike, it seems. Locking him in a room, which he surely will have noticed and not have been happy about and then entered, a little anxious perhaps, armed with leaf-rake and squirt-bottle. But Nike appears not to be the only cat with such strange behaviour and that has been noticed by the animal care industry.
Here is what they recommend (with a warning to be careful with the dosage):
1. Valerian, relaxing for both humans and cats. Some cats respond positively to just smelling teabags of Valerian tea. Valerian drops on plaything (never on the cat) may do the trick with Mike. However, with some cats it works quite the opposite, and they react strongly, even aggressively to the smell.
2. Catnip, already discussed here. Doesn’t work for about 1/3 of the cats and there quite a strong habituation curve, so don’t use it too often
3. Feliway, an over-the-counter remedy, also sold by veterinarians in the form of an evaporator and as a spray. “It is widely touted as the panacea that dissolves all behavioral problems of cats in a simple way.
The composition of Feliway is secret, but it would be a synthetic variant of the fragrance (pheromones) that the cat itself gives off when he rubs or gives cups. The effect of Feliway has never been scientifically proven!
According to these researchers Feliway contains valerian, which would explain why it sometimes seems to help.
Remember that the effect of a Feliway evaporator literally evaporates when you air your room. In the summer, with many open windows and doors, a Feliway evaporator is useless.
There are cats that react negatively to the smell of Feliway, become agitated and even avoid the space with vaporizer. Be alert to that.” I don’t know if it’s available in the US.
But you probably knew all that already, Nameless.
Nameless, if the dawg ate your homework, shoot that dawg!!
Seriously, thoughts and prayers for you and yours. Of course family comes first.