Nana discharged

Nana was discharged from the hospital today after a nearly a week.  She had  numerous exams and lost a lot of the fluid weight.  Her red leg had returned to a normal color as well, in spite of testing negative for staph.

Doctor visit turns into trip to ER (and Red Leg solved!)

Laura took Nana to see Dr. M again today.  Towards the end of the exam, Dr. M decided she needed to go to the straight to the ER due to the pneumonia.  Treating it at home just wasn't working. He called for an ambulance, which got her right in to a bed in the ER.  Laura followed in Nana's car, and got to the hospital ahead of the ambulance.  Nana was able to get a bed in the hospital after she and Laura spent around 4 hours in the ER.

I'm really stretching trying to remember what happened during this hospital stay.  The only thing they could find about the red leg was that it was a reaction to being so swollen.  If you're thinking staph, they didn't find any staph in her leg--it was in her nose, of all places.  Nana got moved to the quarantine section of the hospital, and all visitors had to wear a gown and gloves.

She was feeling much better by the 16th, and was able to even spend some time outside in a wheelchair in addition to walking up and down the hall at the hospital.

The Red Leg, part 2

Laura took Nana to see Dr. M again today, mainly to get her swollen red leg examined.  They performed all sorts of exams to her leg (including an x-ray and an ultrasound), but there was nothing conclusive except that it was not a clot.

The Red Leg, part 1

Big mystery!  Nana's leg has turned red.  Laura called Dr. M's office and was told to monitor her temperature.  If the temperature is elevated at all, Nana would need to go to urgent care or the ER.  Her temp is normal, but the red leg feels warm to the touch.  Laura is concerned that it might be a blood clot.

Pneumonia?!?!?!!

Nana is wheezing, sick, and is still having a hard time breathing (though it is a bit better today).  Dr. M thinks that she has pneumonia and the antibiotics for that are rather harsh on her.  It will be nice when she gets her appetite back

New Years Eve

Nana was feeling particularly weak and could not get any breath just after dinner on New Year's Eve.  The decision was made to get Nana to urgent care.  Urgent care closed at 9pm that night--Laura and Nana barely made it there on time.  The staff at urgent care took an x-ray and found her lungs about half way filled with fluid.  So it was off to the ER, as they would better be able to treat Nana better.

Now this is New Year's Eve...a night with lots of crazy partying going on.  You'd think that the ER would be full, but it was totally vacant!  Nana and Laura had no problems whatsoever in getting a bed in the ER, or attention from the staff.

Nana was given a nebulized breathing treatment, which helped out tremendously.  She was moving around so well that Laura could barely keep up with her.  They got to ring in the new year with the nurses in the ER and were able to come home that night a little after 1:30am on New Year's Day.

While Laura and Nana were off on their little jaunt, I subjected the kids to a movie from the 1970's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."  I just had to have them watch Richard Dreyfuss sculpt Devil's Tower out of mashed potatoes!  :-)

Christmas 2010

Nana's legs had been swelling prior to Christmas, and she didn't want to mess up Christmas for anyone by going to the hospital.  Things continued to get worse and worse so Laura took her into the ER on December 27. They finally got a bed in the ER, and eventually a room.  Nana was administered a diuretic via IV and was discharged on the 29th, having  spent a couple of days, and losing several pounds from excess fluid.

When she went into the hospital she was 10 pounds above her normal weight--from just fluid alone! Dr M. has put her on a strict fluid restriction to help with this problem.