Floating on a Bed of Air

Friday, February 20: The Thursday overnight guard was mostly uneventful. Dad had a fairly tiring day on Thursday, and I hadn't been able to sleep at home so I was able to close my eyes a little easier in the super recliner.


Nurse Patty was in shortly after the ex-ray crew, ready to rock Dad's morning with dialysis. He had a really good run this morning and Patty had few issues with the machine. Mom arrived at 10:30am and he only had 30 minutes left of his dialysis! She said that Ken had called to check on Dad. She made an early stop at Leppink's Supermarket to pick up hot dogs, bologna, and turkey...for MURPHY! I left about 11:00am for errands before heading for home. The docs came in right after I left. They told Mom everything is looking good but it still will be a long road.

Mom's friend Sally S surprised Mom again about 12n. They went down to the cafe for sundaes while the Physical Therapy team worked with Dad. Sally visited with Mom until 4:00pm. Its refreshing for Mom to have someone else to talk to. Nurse April and Tech Emily got Dad cleaned up after working so hard with PT. Dad was very active today. When Mom told Dad, "I love you," he smiled and winked at Mom. When he is alert he has pretty good control of his eye contact.
Mom said there was a Kin Air Bed waiting to be moved into his room later.


Dave is whipped from the cold that he has procured. I wonder who he picked that up from? Its surprising he wasn't sick earlier than now. Despite him feeling like he just got hit by a Mac truck, he changed the wheel and tire on Kelsey's car. He had called me earlier to make a phone call and order a wheel from Bakers. He had picked up a used tire from Schneiders in Marne. Kelsey had a chunk out of her wheel and it went into the sidewall of the tire. Somehow supper hour and sleep seem like a perfect match. I think my whole family napped at some point during the early evening hours. I remember waking up hearing Kelsey and her friends talking. I was still tired. Dave told me he had taken care of the beef ribs that I had set to cooking earlier. Mom called and was leaving soom after 9:00pm. By the time I got my body into gear, I didn't get to the hospital until 11:30pm. Nurse Kara and the tech were getting ready to give Dad his bath and transfer him to his new air bed. It was a team effort by a few staff members.


His bed looks like a giant pool float set down into a hospital bed frame. It is inflated based on his height and weight. He seems to be able to rest more comfortably now.