Thank goodness for waterproof mascara.
My grandpa, whom I named Poppa when we were little and the name stuck, has been sick for a while. A stubborn Brayton man, he has been reluctant to go to the hospital over the past few months after falls and heart issues. Last Friday, I saw a lot of men at work who reminded me of Poppa so I decided I should call and see how he was doing. I called my grandma's cell phone and spoke to her for a while as she grocery shopped. I tried to call their home number but I don't think we have it correct so I decided I would just try my grandma later to talk to Pop. When she got home from the grocery store, I guess Poppa looked the worse he has yet and declared he was ready to go to the hospital. So he was admitted to the VA in La Jolla and has been there ever since.
A first he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure because he has AFIB (an irregular heart beat) and fluid in his lungs, among other symptoms. They started to remove the fluidn from his body and gave him oxygen through that nose deal at first. He lost like 10 pounds of fluid in this limbs but the oxygen wasn't making it to his lungs like the doctors wanted it to. Then they tried more of an oxygen mask type of apparatus but poor Poppa is closterphobic and the mask was giving him anxiety. They couldn't regulate his breathing because of his anxiety. So on Wednesday they intibated him and now he's on a bunch of sedatives until they can get his breathing right. I guess when he was first admitted to the VA they were supplying him with 100% of his oxygen. They want him to be able to breathe 60% on his own (40% from the intubation) before they try and extubate him. Yesterday when we left the hospital he was at 50%. They're hoping to get him down to 40% tomorrow (Monday) then take him out of the sedation to see if he can breathe on his own. They actually have to "wake him up" from the sedation everyday to make sure he is still responding. Obviously once he is more lucid he is very confused and in a lot of pain so he has tried to pull out his intubation tube and IVs a few times. The nurses have found out just how strong my Poppa is during times like this. They say that's a good sign. Because of his issues breathing and all the fluid in his lungs, the doctors decided he had an infection that triggered this mess. Recent tests have shown no more infction so that's a good sign too because he is improving from whatever evil started this all.
Liz and I flew into San Diego on Saturday morning where my mom and grandma picked us up and brought us straight to the hospital. I guess I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this trip but I wasn't a prepared to see Pop like this as I thought I was. I took one look at him all full of tubes and wires and had to walk away. Again, thank goodness for waterproof mascara.
We're going back to the hospital to spend the day. Hopefully today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is better than today. The nurses say he can hear us under sedation but won't remember anything when he finally gets back to consciousness. I just hope we get to really see him before Liz and I leave on Tuesday. We'll see, I guess.
Please keep Poppa and Grammy Donna in your thoughts and prayers. It would mean a lot to the fam and me.
UPDATE: Tuesday, October 11 at 8:15 a.m.
Just wanted to let everyone know about Pop's improvements. Yesterday (Monday), Liz and I went to Legoland while Mom and Grammy Donna went to the hospital. No, this wasn't a vacation but only 3 people could be in Pop's room at a time and our aunt and uncle were on their way down so it seemed silly to be at the hospital, especially since they were planning to extubate him yesterday and Liz and I didn't really care to be around for that. Liz and I drove to Legoland and were there for about an hour before our cousin was dropped off to join us. It was right about then when Mom texted and said Poppa was breathing on his own, gave them a thumbs up and was talking. The rest of our stay at Legoland was kind of distracting, knowing that Pop was okay and wanting to be there with him, but we continued to explore on the beautiful day. Liz said nothing bad ever happens at Legoland and I guess that was true. We finally left and met the rest of our family for lunch before traveling to the VA Hospital. Liz and I went up to his room, met his afternoon nurse, then were very pleased to find Poppa's eyes open and a bit of a smile on his face. We could tell he was exhausted and did not want to be there any more but he didn't seem to be in pain or anxious at all so that was a very good thing to see. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth that the nurse told us to remind him to keep on but we didn't have to. He was being a very good patient. Liz and I said hi and he held our hands, then told us he loved us and asked us to leave. I think in addition to being exhausted, he's probably a little embarassed about being in a hospital gown and having so many things attached to him (IVs and such). Liz and I went back to the family room and one by one the rest of our group went into his room then were promptly kicked out by Pop. It became a challenge and when Jaeden (our 11-year-old cousin) went in, he timed his stay and was in there for a minute and 16 seconds. We left around 5 and traveled up the coast for home after making a stop in La Jolla to watch the sun set over the ocean (I'll post pictures on Facebook when we get home).
Last night when we were all sitting around talking, Grammy was supposed to be sleeping but she felt that she had to call the hospital one last time before she went to bed. When the nurse answered the phone, he said "That's amazing, Bruce just said he wanted to talk to Donnie". God at work again, that's for sure. She came out into the sitting room for us to listen to their amusing conversation as he was a little loopy but also back to his old humorous self. He made a few poop jokes and when Grammy asked how he was doing, he said "well, I'm not dead." He wanted her to come in this morning for the shift change to meet his new nurse. Grammy laughed, said goodnight and he told us again he loved us. It's amazing how quickly he went from 100% sedation with a breathing tube down his throat to being able to speak and joke with us while only getting oxygen through that thing in his nose. Hallelujah indeed.
Liz and I are going home today. We're waiting around now to leave for the hospital so we can say our goodbyes. I'm just happy that he'll be able to say goodbye back. Mom prayed all week that he would be awake before we left for home and that prayer was definitely heard. I am not looking forward to going home- this short trip is just further proof to me that I'm ready to move here and stay a while. It makes my 10 grad school applications seem way excessive since I know this is where I want to be but I guess I have to see those through. I do not want to go to work tomorrow but at least I have Friday to look forward to (another day off for a wonderful adventure- more on that later, I'm sure). Mostly, I just wish I could stay.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for Poppa and Grammy Donna. I feel so much better leaving today knowing that he's going to be okay.
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