Saturday update

Queenee had an uncomfortable early morning. She got a roommate at about 3am, an elderly woman who had fallen and had quite a good gash on her forehead. She kept trying to get out of bed, which set the alarms off and kept Queenee awake. Then Queenee got her 8am pain meds 45 minutes late. When I heard that, I made a phone call and spoke to everyone I could think of, finally ending up with her nurse. I made it very clear that Queenee is a very good patient, but too stoic for her own good, so when she asks for pain medication, she should get it pronto, and that keeping her waiting for 45 minutes was not acceptable. I was polite, but clearly pissed. PopPop and I went in early, because I wanted to be there for her next dose. The nurse got the message, because she came in and asked Queenee if she was ready for her next dose, which arrived promptly. It's the standard thing, they wait until you ask for your meds, and that's fine, except once you ask for them, dammit, you should get them and not have to wait that long. We'll see if it happens again.

Early mornings are the worst time of day for Queenee, particularly if she hasn't slept well, like last night. Then she gets taken to x-ray, then brought back to the room. This morning she spent about 45 minutes sitting in a chair. She says that helps, it lets her stretch her back a little and it feels good to be able to sit up straight, which is difficult in a bed. She is doing her breathing exercises regularly and says her ankle is not in intolerable pain. The ribs and bruising are very sore and that's going to take some time to improve. She skipped physical therapy yesterday, but may have that today or tomorrow. She should be able to be moved to an acute care facility for more intensive rehab early next week. That will depend on how her ribs progress. So far her chest x-rays have been negative, and there is no indication of any change there.

Tomorrow the hospital is waiving the usual $7 daily fee for getting television reception, so everyone can watch the Pats win the Super Bowl. I'll be going in to watch the game with Queenee.