Please keep our parents in your prayers today. Dad is scheduled to get a pacemaker implanted this afternoon (huge thanks to their neighbors Tom & Cindy for taking him for this half-day outpatient procedure!!). Mom starts her 2nd full day in Belleair Health Care Center (rehab center / nursing home). I was with her at the hospital all day Tuesday then went with her when she was transported to BHCC Tuesday night. I spent all day and into the night with her there yesterday and will do the same today and the foreseeable future. She is soooooo confused and has moments of great sadness. She wants so badly to just go home. The staff at BHCC have been wonderful and incredibly helpful. But one thing I learned when I was a Respiratory Therapist in nursing homes in the 1990's is that nursing home staffs have way too many patients to care for at one time so there are a lot of unattended moments when confused unbalanced patients can fall (out of bed, off the toilet, out of the wheelchair, or just wandering the halls). I was reminded of all of that yesterday even as helpful, caring, and hardworking as the staff was. One crazy major change from the 90's to now is that there are no longer side bed rails allowed on patients' beds because they are considered restraints??? My Mom falls out of bed. We have bed rails for her at her home. I signed some paperwork to allow for bed rails and they have ordered a "bed scoop" that forms a wedge on the bed to help prevent rolling out of bed. When I asked about bed rails on Tuesday night they told me that they aren't allowed to use bed rails, but they could put some pads on the floor for her to land on if she falls out. Do you know how asinine and unreassuring that is?!?! She has a broken femur with a rod and screws... falling out of bed onto a pad would be a one way ticket back to the hospital. So the nurses assistant and I shoved pillows up under the mattress to form a wedge. Thankfully my Mom's hip is so sore that the pain won't allow her to consider trying to get out of bed so I feel safe for now that falling out of bed is less of a concern as the other times she will fall if left unattended... so I'm going back everyday to stay with her... as self absorbed as this sounds I can't even put into words how much I don't have an extra 12 hours a day to do this... so much of my life and responsibilities are falling apart or have already fallen apart, but my Mom is worth it. She would do it (and has done it) for us, and it's an honor to be there for her... and that's the point of love right... it makes great sacrifices... like Jesus did, and like Jesus said, "For God so loved... that He gave..." I'm so thankful to have learned this type of love from our Heavenly Father and an earthly mother. Keep her & our Dad in your prayers... they continue on a very difficult road. PS: My amazing Sister would be here too if she could. She has mandatory training all month that has been scheduled for a loooong time... she has no option. Anyways, thanks for the prayers and I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply back to so many encouraging FB comments (text messages, FB Messenger messages, & voicemails) for several months now... I literally have no time. But the words of encouragement and the support mean more than I could ever convey in words. Humbly I say, thank you!
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