Daily Update 4-8-2020

4-7-2020

​Here’s an update for what I did on April 7 and getting up today in April 8. I was released from the hospital yesterday about 130-2 o’clock and I was ready to come home.


Yesterday morning a handful of visitors from the floor doctor Dr. Chao, Dr. Richardson, Dr. Eubank and a lady named Julie from physical therapy. Busy morning, everyone liked my progress for one day. I am feeling lucky. Go Figure!

Medication has been prescribed for cholesterol, Lipitor and aspirin and my blood pressure is up a little bit, so they put me on an evening dose. We log the medications and blood pressure readings.

Dr. Eubank is an orthopedic surgeon. Very cool guy said they were not going to have to operate on my back they found a little stress fracture on the MRI and L5 and he said that it carries some Edema, that would be sort of like an inflammation. It is elective surgery and they don’t really see a need at this time. They did give me a brace, wraps around my midsection sort of compresses everything from my back around my belly. It’s not uncomfortable. And Dr. Eubanks said that he wouldn’t even wear the thing. But I’m going to wear it when I’m walking around or sitting up. They don’t want to wear it when you’re laying down and I’ll probably do plenty of that.

Dr. Chao, the floor Doctor, reports up to Richardson, put me on the height blood pressure medicine just as an FYI my blood pressure usually like 130/68. During this visit in averaged over 160 between 100-110. Personally, I don’t feel stressed, but I can understand the activity of the brain from the stroke and maybe just the uncertainty causes you know your pressure on her.

Dr. Richardson, what a great guy we talked about PT and they would’ve like me to do an inpatient at a rehab facility for UH. I don’t want to do that with the coronavirus running around and he said he won’t even argue with me. If corona wasn’t around, he would insist on it, he said, “but I’m wearing a mask and I’m as cautious as you are. No argument, go home and be diligent about the exercises.”

Julie from physical therapy visited with me and she allowed me to walk with a walker and a nurse in tow around the six floor and then we walked up a flight of stairs and down a flight of stairs. (Of course, I didn’t use the walker on the stairs!). And then I elected to walk  halfway up a flight of stairs, by myself with the therapist behind me and turned around and walked down using both railings. They want you to have a railing and a person or two railings and still a person accompany you. It might be a while before I take two steps at a time to run back upstairs to get something. Timing has slowed down quite a bit.

One other visit from Corbett the occupational therapist. Very cool big guy, 6’2” maybe. What a patient Cat he is. He gave me a few exercises to help develop my left-hand, easy things to do. Tedious and yet time-consuming, but I probably have quite a bit of that on my hands. Take a magazine turn the pages from the right page to the left I did about 120 pages last night in a magazine called Garden and Gun. A gift from the Isgett’s. It was the second time I flipped through it, saw a couple of really good recipes, as well as a place to visit in Charleston in July. He also told me to flip playing cards one at a time from one pile to another. And the last function he had, was a stack of 10 dish cloths. Using my left-hand thumb and my index finger to fold it in half and folded in a quarter making sure everything lined up and stack up all ten as you fold them.

When I was released, Alan Papa (president of the Hospital, in Italian, we call him A Bigga Shot") escorted me to Debbie and our car. Thank you for everything Alan. It was great to drive out of Ahuja Medical Center. A nice drive home. Debbie was driving, FYI. It was great to get back home, it’s comfortable, there are some challenges, more steps, smaller access areas and carpet changes from hardwood to carpet etc. But I’m at home and today plan on sitting on the deck a little bit and probably doing some walking up and down the driveway.

Debbie’s been great she has help me out immensely. I’m sure that anybody reading this would know that. So, I’m grateful thank you and I’ll have patience with my time, and I appreciate your patience. We know it’s going to be a little bit of a longer haul than we expected.

I took a nap yesterday afternoon and woke up really hungry. By the time I got downstairs, I was pretty frustrated and probably had a little pity party for myself. I admitted up to it and apologized, the situation is a situation and I had a little anxious episode and I’m going to work hard not to have any more of those. It’s probably normal, I just don’t want it to be my normal.

So that’s it, hope I’m not boring you with three pages today. I appreciate all the text messages and emails and phone calls. Do me a favor limit the phone calls. I know I like to talk and I know I like to connect with everybody, but they are exhausting, especially if I hold the phone in my left hand because I would guarantee you that in 10 minutes it’ll slip out of my hand at least three times.

So, enjoy your Wednesday I’ve got a physical therapist coming here in a half an hour. She will be here for 90 minutes I’m sure I’ll need a nap at that time.

All the best John