Okay it took me 20 minutes to find a parking spot at the VA. This campus is HUGE but I'm circling and going up and down the parking garage for FOREVER before I find a couple walking to their car.
Now I'm in a panic because its 10 minutes to his appointment. I'm sure hes here already but I don't know where. I stop in the first building I find and they direct me to a different building. BINGO! Go to the next floor up. I burst out of the elevator and ask the closest person - wrong way turn about and walk the other way and I hear HEY! Turn and there he is on his way to the potty. Whew. He could care less...lol.
We sat in the waiting area and exchanged stories. I cut his finger nails. They called him in maybe 5 minutes late. First you go to a nurse to take vitals. Took his weight and he got up like a normal person with purpose - hes gained 5 lbs :D Took his blood pressure after he sat back down and of course its low because - well he just stood up. I explain, they ask if he wants a flu shot I requested we wait until after we speak to the doctor. On to Dr Avins...
Love this man. This is the first Dr we have seen that knows him, and he obviously cares for him. He had reviewed meds and confirmed everything is okay. Interstingly Richard had a pack of papers from Tunnel which I rifled through and it is essentially his intake orders from VA to Tunnell, but lists all his meds. I look for the Ropinerole, which he was concerned he was not getting and find it. It says 2 tabs twice a day but if hallucinations get worse drop to 1 twice a day. So hes getting it but I think needs to be dropped. I took care of that later in the afternoon at Tunnell with Dr Avins' blessings.
His most recent (I think as I have not verified) was that he was out of bed at night and fell, and some gorgeous black man from the Ivory Coast named 'Electricity' who was a volunteer helped him. He has a bed alarm that sounds if he gets up, and well the name is hilarious. I start laughing about the name and he says I know I kept wondering - did they get the bills mixed up? the day he told me I asked his social worker and he said no he didn't know anything about that,but I keep forgetting to ask a nurse who actually has his records to look. I think this is more confusion of dream and reality, but he definitely thought he saw an aloe leaf...again Im giving him alow water which he loves so its connected to reality but twisted.
Anyway....... Dr Avins says he is much better than he expected. Asked what his personal concerns were and Richard reported his speech - forming the words and finding the words, and lethargy - no matter how much he sleeps he wants to sleep some more. That's also a big portion of why wants no visitors because they always wake him up... Dr Avins was expecting to see more cognitive issues and was glad to not see that. He noted the mechanical function issues were a direct result of the bleed. Richard has to steady his left hand to get to the target.
He asks about how many steps he could take before tiring and Richard says 50 or so. Dr says that is more than prior to the bleed? Richard confirms. This is news to me and an unexpected triumph.
Dr reinforced the importance of nutrition and fluids. When I returned to him later in the afternoon he said he was downing his thickened water in one fell swoop, and there was an empty cup on his table to prove it. He asked for an aloe water on the way out of the hospital and that empty bottle was there as well.
Really overall a great appointment. We're set up for endoscopy on his swallowing and pushing up the neurology dept appointment to check his meds and get his botox shot. We got a flu shot on the way out.
Of interesting note he is directed to not take ANY aspirin or other blood thinners, and he referred to me as his Texas Tiger in conversation LOL!
Dr Avins also referred us to the head nurse who will arrange free transportation for us next time.
So he left, an I left, and my GPS had me routing THROUGH Golden Gate Park on the way home. Buck was howling in the back of the truck at the smells so I pulled over and we walked a couple fields so he could get his dog on.
I wanted to bring Richard a good fresh burger, but didn't want to get there an have him say he'd save it for later so I scouted a nearby place and went straight to him. Hes.....sleeping. Hes exhausted from his travels. He wants to stay sleeping, so I let him. I told him Shari is going to come see him tomorrow. This was like a 2.5 hr venture on the bus there and back for naught, but I thought he was really on today and Im sure that level of activity is the most hes had in a while.
On my bus ride back a man that looks just like Jerry Garcia gets on and his entire rear is covered in crap - and I mean this literally. Wet, fresh and stinky crap and to my horror he moseys along and sits on a bench. All I can think (besides someone spray some perfume) is OMG I ride this bus every day please dont let me ever sit in someone's slosh they have left behind.
The bus driver evacuated the bus AT MY STOP...and everyone got on the next one which was less than a minute behind.
On a happy note I got 5 steps towards the house to realize the holy grail parking space is open and ran to get my truck on the corner and move it to the holy land. I passed Jerry Garcia and his stinky trousers walking the sidewalk along the way....
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