12/3 Gracie PMPS 285 +3 247

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Marje and Gracie

Member Since 2010
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Gracie's Yesterday

12/2 Recap:
AMPS: 230 15th cycle c1u lev
+4: 253
+8: 281
PMPS: 292 16th cycle c1u lev NEW PEN
+3: 213
+4: 189
+5: 144
+6.5: 71
+7: 78
+8: 108
+10: 83


Happy Caturday. Sending continued well wishes for Mike and Jill and all the sick kitties and beans in LL.

I don't know if Gracie finally cleared her bounce or the pen was toasty and the new one helped. I'm thinking the former because I'm not sure if a new pen would kick in THAT fast. I'm still feeling like Gracie overall needs a little tiny extra juice to flatten her out some more but we're holding steady right now. She and Tobey have been romping, stomping, and having their usual WWF smackdowns. Last night when her numbers were coming down, Gracie got on the counter and whacked Tobey's food container into the sink :lol: :lol: OK...point taken little brown girl!!!

It was already a long night for me with little sleep and DM called me about 4:45 a.m. and asked me if I knew what my sisters and I had done and that she was in a "militia camp" and then told me she was so mad at "you girls" that she could kill us and hung up the phone... so the confusion still remains. I found out this morning she had called all four of us with the same message and all about 5 am regardless of our time zone. Thankfully, one of my sisters who lives there got up and went right over and everything was fine. She has been there all morning, talking to the nurses/social worker, and she said Mom is more clear headed now and doing some rehab. She was going over the med list with them. The frustrating part is that my mom cannot take morphine and we have told them repeatedly but they keep giving her dilaudid which is hydromorphone. I wonder what part of "morphine" they don't understand?

Mike is home; it's cold and cloudy here today and so we're probably going to be around. A movie sounds good but don't know what baby girl has in mind and I don't want to fall asleep in it :lol: :lol:

Thanks for all your support and caring thoughts....it means alot!! Have a wonderful day.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Yea, Gracie!!! You are rockin' this dose! Now keep it in the green :mrgreen:

Marj, I see why you are frustrated by the health care here. One would think they would know the meds they are prescribing, but after the incident with my mom, I guess not ohmygod_smile Hope things go better with your mom now. ~ John
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Tam got Binks a little tiger-striped wrestling outfit...
I haven't tried to put it on him yet...but when I do...i'll have the camera ready :lol:


WWW-Cat-Wrestling-Fight.jpg
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Go Gracie go! Is Binks issuing you a wrestling challenge or an outfit challenge? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Our health care system is sad, what a shame to give your mom drugs that make her more confused. It may not bother her if she isn't aware, but it is awful for the friends and family - nothing worse than seeing their loved one so confused and not herself. That's great she is getting some rehab. :smile:
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Gracie is looking good!

The whole medical situation is very frustrating. Many (many, many) years ago I worked as PBX operator (I said many, many!) for the night shift at a hospital. I ate midnight lunch with some nurses and one night heard a hair raising tale of "so and so's family is *****ing, guess who isn't getting meds tonight". I quit the next day. I hope that was a rare occurance. But that memory informs the way I deal with the nurses and aides who work with my mom.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

No matter what, I have learned that you have to stay on top of everything medical. I have nightmare stories from when I spent 6 weeks in the hospital and continually got the wrong IV bag with glucose in it rather than saline. It boggles the mind that they do not check and double check things. I hope things settle down for your DM and that you find her the right placement. Confusion is common enough when older folks are ill so to have it exacerbated by giving inappropriate meds is infuriating.

Gracie is having a nice cycle thus far.

Hope you are staying warm. It is a little chilly here today and I like it. Must be my New England blood.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

(((Marje))) I am sorry that you are going through all of this with your DM. I went through the same issues 10 years ago (at this same time of year) and I still remember it so vividly.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Beautiful sassy Miss Gracie's in fine form as usual today...sweet baby....

Marje, I too am sorry that you're going thru this with DM and not being close seems to make the burden heavier. Prayers continue here...

BIG BIG hug,
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

What a pretty start to the day for Princess Grace! Let's bring it back down a little now.

I wish I could be there to give you a hug. The child/parent role reversal is always difficult. Things should get better as the confusion clears. :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Wow, Miss Gracie! Much better day today and hoping you will now flatten out with these nice green and blue numbers.

Unbelievable that they are still messing up and giving your DM a drug that is a derifitive of morphine. Not good. Unfortunately, I have found that unless you are cognitively alert all the time in the hospital, you need to have someone with you at all times to make sure things get done right. I know all the nurses and techs are overwhelmed with all their duties and they just can't keep up with things...making sure the budget gets met means fewer staff, more patients and less quality of care. No wonder mistakes can happen. Same as in many assisted living facilities. Too many people being taken care of by very few staff that is overworked and underpaid. Ok, I am getting off of my soap box now. Anyway, I'm glad your mom seems to be more alert (she must have been pretty alert to be able to make sure she called all of her daughters to tell you the same thing!).

I hope your night is less eventful and you get a good night's sleep with no interruptions.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Marje, just wanted to say thanks for stopping by our condo. Sorry to hear about the call from your mom, that must have been really rough :cry: You are trying to do the right thing for her, whether she is able to realize it or not. Hoping she comes around soon.

P.S. Despite the similarity in names, morphine and hydromorphone are chemically different enough that we frequently use Dilaudid for pain control in someone with a morphine allergy. It has a slightly better side effect profile... but it is several times stronger than morphine and has to be dosed carefully. Just FYI, if you don't want her to have it (and it sounds like she's not reacting well) you will need to have Dilaudid listed on her profile as an allergy/intolerance and not just morphine.

I know this healthcare stuff is enough to make anyone pull their hair out - it's got to be even harder to do long distance! Hang in there ;-)
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Hi Marje, much better today for Gracie and hope she continues. So funny with Gracie and Tobey and their smackdowns. It sounds like Gracie has the upper hand there with whacking Tobey's dish into the sink. That must be scary with your Mom and all the confusion. It sounds like your sister was helping getting the meds straightened out for your DM. Prayers and vines for your DM and you for your upcoming trip to visit her and family. Hugs.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie AMPS 72 +2 141

Marje, that is a tough situation with DM and you are doing a great job. Good thing you have the kitties to keep you laughing! Too funny about Gracie whacking Tobey's food bowl into the sink. She has a sense of humor too. :lol: :lol:
Liz
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie PMPS 285

Good evening, friends!! So baby girl is back in a bounce. I am hoping it might take a few cycles on the new pen for her to start tossing out back to back blue/green. I would add a drop if I were going to be here but I don't want to take her up for a few days and then bring her back down for the time I'm gone. Settle in more Gracie!!

Talked to DM tonight and oh what a difference!! Whatever they gave her that made her so confused is wearing off and she finally sounded like "MOM" again. Thank God!!! What a relief. Both my DSs who live there were with her today and I think that helped, too. I am still really worried about her but she definitely seems to have recovered her cognitive abilities.

John: I'm glad Ann told me about your mom's issues....that really helped and I let my sisters know.

Celi: That is hysterical!! A tiger striped wrestling outfit would look amazing on Lil G Money. And the picture...that is EXACTLY what goes on here!!

Anne: Yes it has been bad for us....I hate to see her like that. She's always been feisty but not like she was this morning.

Linda: OMG...now I'm scared to death! I have told DM to BE NICE to all the nurses and aides. I think that any health care professional that would do that should be fired and severe penalties invoked.

Rosalie: Unbelieveable......you have to be your own advocate if you are sick and don't have anyone there? I know we have had to be Mom's constantly. Loving the rain!

Linda: thank you and I hope you are feeling better. I appreciate that you identify with the parental issues.

Lyresa: Thank you very much.....I know you have tons on your plate ALWAYS.

Ann: I could use a hug!!! And Princess Gracie....I could use her numbers lower than this!!

Georgia: I agree with you 100%; it scares me for when we are old and who will help??? Sending you healing vines, my friend.

Melissa: THANK YOU SO MUCH for telling me that. Now it makes sense why they kept giving her dilaudid when we told them she was allergic to morphine. I called my sister right after I read your post and told her. I still don't have a list of her meds to run by you....gotta get that. Hope you feel better soon, too.

Ann: I'd say most of the time Gracie has the upper hand but sometimes Tobes does and he is much bigger than she is. Thank you for the prayers.

Liz: Well..I'm not doing that much...handling insurance, finances, talking to nurses, social workers but not being there in person is tough. Gracie is very expressive in every way.

Time for dinner and some time with Mike and maybe another nap!!!! Have a great evening.
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie PMPS 285

(((((Marje)))) It sounds like you're going thru a tough time with your DM, i hope everything calms down for her. Good thing that your sisters are close enough to keep an eye on her.

Love the Gracie and Tobey WWF smackdown stories, how does your other kitty handle all this wrestling business? Does he (can't remember his name, is it Gus?) just sit and watch? Or does he participate?

Have a great evening Marje, Mike and kitties!
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie PMPS 285

Marje, Your mom's 4 A.M. phone call brought back memories of so many such phone calls from my aunt (then in her mid 90s). I just had to share this with you: to stop the phone calls we bought her a dial phone without the dial (the kind they have in hotel lobbies). We could call her, but she couldn't call us!!

Get some good rest tonight!

Ella
 
Re: 12/3 Gracie PMPS 285

((((marj)))) there is nothing easy about being a mom to your mom. either my dad or i was with my mom except in the middle of the night for 4 months. i agree with those who have said that if the patient isn't clear-headed someone else must be there at all times to be the advocate. it would be nice to trust the med professionals, but people make mistakes and especially at nursing homes, it's not always the brightest people working. i found the day shift mon-thurs folks were super, but the night and weekends (which included fridays) . . . you got folks who were warm bodies willing to work for a low salary. some were good, some were not. it was incredibly frustrating - and we had her at the "best" nursing home in eugene - a city of 100,000. there was one incident where my mom's roommate left and someone new came in and the med person brought the meds for the new person that were supposed to be for the person who left. fortunately the new person figured out the issue before she took the wrong meds. i'm glad your sisters are there with her.

please know you can vent and find support here. so glad she's doing better tonight!

ya gotta get a video of the kitty wrestling! i'd love to see it! :-D
 
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