Hello,
Carol had a difficult day today. She did not see the palliative care physician until mid afternoon, and by that time she was pretty uncomfortable. Her pain is being better addressed at this point, however, and her palliative care physician will re-evaluate her later tonight or tomorrow morning. Carol will not be leaving the hospital until her pain is well managed. Carol and her physician are in agreement on this.
In the meantime, the social worker is coordinating arrangements for Carol to be transferred home with hospice home care followup in Bennington. Plans are being made to deliver necessary equipment such as a hospital bed, and Sue is inquiring about the types of support services available through hospice.
Carol is generally alert, though she fatigues easily and sleeps on and off during the day. Sue says that when Carol wakes up, she is "refreshed." Visitation is very limited at this time and Carol is communicating clearly about her need for a calm and restful environment. On a somewhat humorous note, Carol summarily dismissed everyone from her room today with the exception of her physician. Her nurse eventually convinced her that it might be in Carol's best interest to have her present for a discussion on symptom management. Carol agreed and allowed the nurse to stay. Not so for the rest of the retinue, however.
Carol is having more symptoms, which suggests continued tumor growth and disease progression. The top priority right now is to get her into good pain control and symptom management. If all goes well, discharge will be in the very near future. There are still details to arrange, and Sue is doing a terrific job of managing all of this.
Additional members of Carol's family are arriving tomorrow. They will be staying nearby and understand that Carol can only manage short visits interspersed with periods of rest.
Carol is scheduled to receive her friends Stacie and Deb tomorrow for a short visit in the morning. I hope that they will post an update on their visit to this website.
The hospital environment sounds pretty busy, between hospital personnel of all varieties coming in and out of her room, and more family coming to see Carol tomorrow. Again, the top priorities are to get Carol into good pain control, evaluate the potential for her to return home in the near future, and make all of the necessary arrangements for this to happen.
Please continue to hold Carol in your heart and mind, and send her healing energy. She expresses appreciation for the shamanic work and prayer circles being held on her behalf. If all goes well, she'll be home soon, and be able to see people for very short visits.
I'll keep you posted to the best of my ability. My thanks to Sue for her generosity in speaking with me and for the wonderful care she is giving Carol. She is a fierce advocate for her sister.
Warm regards,
Barbara
Carol had a difficult day today. She did not see the palliative care physician until mid afternoon, and by that time she was pretty uncomfortable. Her pain is being better addressed at this point, however, and her palliative care physician will re-evaluate her later tonight or tomorrow morning. Carol will not be leaving the hospital until her pain is well managed. Carol and her physician are in agreement on this.
In the meantime, the social worker is coordinating arrangements for Carol to be transferred home with hospice home care followup in Bennington. Plans are being made to deliver necessary equipment such as a hospital bed, and Sue is inquiring about the types of support services available through hospice.
Carol is generally alert, though she fatigues easily and sleeps on and off during the day. Sue says that when Carol wakes up, she is "refreshed." Visitation is very limited at this time and Carol is communicating clearly about her need for a calm and restful environment. On a somewhat humorous note, Carol summarily dismissed everyone from her room today with the exception of her physician. Her nurse eventually convinced her that it might be in Carol's best interest to have her present for a discussion on symptom management. Carol agreed and allowed the nurse to stay. Not so for the rest of the retinue, however.
Carol is having more symptoms, which suggests continued tumor growth and disease progression. The top priority right now is to get her into good pain control and symptom management. If all goes well, discharge will be in the very near future. There are still details to arrange, and Sue is doing a terrific job of managing all of this.
Additional members of Carol's family are arriving tomorrow. They will be staying nearby and understand that Carol can only manage short visits interspersed with periods of rest.
Carol is scheduled to receive her friends Stacie and Deb tomorrow for a short visit in the morning. I hope that they will post an update on their visit to this website.
The hospital environment sounds pretty busy, between hospital personnel of all varieties coming in and out of her room, and more family coming to see Carol tomorrow. Again, the top priorities are to get Carol into good pain control, evaluate the potential for her to return home in the near future, and make all of the necessary arrangements for this to happen.
Please continue to hold Carol in your heart and mind, and send her healing energy. She expresses appreciation for the shamanic work and prayer circles being held on her behalf. If all goes well, she'll be home soon, and be able to see people for very short visits.
I'll keep you posted to the best of my ability. My thanks to Sue for her generosity in speaking with me and for the wonderful care she is giving Carol. She is a fierce advocate for her sister.
Warm regards,
Barbara
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