Saturday July 2nd 2005
Dad arrived home yesterday around 4pm, it was a case of dump and run by the health crew that brought him home, they just lifted him onto the bed and said there you are we'll leave you to it and then left. I have to add it wasn't a "proper" ambulance that he came in it was a patient transport one but I was told at the hospital yesterday morning when we went that when they dropped him off they would make sure he was comfortable and sort out his catherter to make sure it wasn't twisted etc but they did nothing like that.
The reason me and Claire (daughter) went to the hospital yesterday morning was to get a bit of training from the nurses so that we'd know how to give him a bed bath and also how to turn him properly without hurting him or us.
I'm so pleased we did because when I went in at 5am this morning to see how he was and if he wanted a cup of tea the catherter had become blocked during the night and leaked, so he was sat in a sodden sheet of not just urine but blood as well from the tumour in his bladder that is causing him to bleed.
So me and Claire set to and gave him his morning wash and clean up, I know it was very early but there was no point in just cleaning the bottom half and not doing the full wash and shave only to come back a few hours later to do that.
Actually I'm quite pleased on how we got on considering it was our first morning and we'd never done it before, it only took us an hour to gather everything we needed together, to wash him from top to toe, roll him both ways so we could change the sheets and put clean ones on and give him a shave. Sorting the blocked catherter put another hour on top of that as we were trying all sorts of ways to clear it but nothing worked, so I called the ward where dad had been and explained the situation, the nurse said in a case like that it is easier to just change the bag for another one, I told her that we hadn't been taught how to do that so she went through it with me step by step but she did warn me that if we didn't hold it just right the urine that was still in the pipe would go all over... :-( Now after the sad face I can put a happier one :-) because we did as she told me but we must have done it extra specially good becuase we didn't spill a drop..lol..
So about 7am dad had his breakfast, I had to feed him as he's not capable now then settled him down before I went to start cleaning up ready for the district nurse later when she comes to give him his injection for the blood clot and as I write this I have just finished doing the hoovering and checked on dad and he's sleeping peacefully.
Later in the day.
The nurse was right on time she came around 2pm and was here about an hour, she wanted to be brought upto date on how he was feeling and asked if we had everything we needed. He was a little down and told her he'd like to get out of bed but she told him that his leg is very weak from the blood clot so wouldn't be able to stand and even with help from us it would be too much for him and us but she said she'd arrange for a hoist to be delivered sometime next week so at least he can be put in his wheelchair and be moved from his room for a change of scenery. She gave him his injection then checked his pressure dressing on his bottom, all in all she was very pleased and said that we were doing a really good job.
An hour later after she had gone my brother and his family came to visit dad but half way through dad became tired and just drifted off to sleep as we carried on talking..lol..they stayed an hour also then we got him his tea, he wasn't very hungry so had a small asda trifle followed by a banana flavoured fortisip drink the doctor prescribed them for when he didn't feel like eating they are full of all the vitimins and calories that he needs. We then left him watching a tv programme called "animals do the funniest things" while we went for our tea.
Here is one view dad can see from his bed...
