A day in which some Lessons-Learned yesterday were applied and others fell, in the manner of the Depends briefs on the return run from the Nurse’s Station at the end of Wing 1 North after all this .

You can dispense with the details or skip to the end to see whose end is in the Depends, but there are some useful notes contained if you are ether pushing someone through this or learning to do it yourself. So there that is, but perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves.

OPENING GUNS: We started the morning still in the wake of a turbulent 26 March Report which sadly turned into an afternoon Daily edition.

The lessons learned yesterday collided in real time just as they did in older days during Fleet operations on the World Ocean. The medical system has it’s own swirls and eddies. The somewhat hysterical meeting with Chief of Therapy produced direct response from her chain of well-intentioned folks early bright. A bold-face note with some specifics was taped to the headboard.

That resulted in an inspection of sleeping arrangements and protective boots which over the night had increased pain on foot injuries which had to be explained over the advisory note taped over the head of the bed along with various system discontinuities introduced to fix yesterday’s problems.

Communications are key, but there is another step in that, which is “effective communications.” The morning and afternoon seemed to work on several of those.

NEW LEVEL OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: But the new communications involved a nurse who proclaimed her authority over a new therapeutic sector she asserted was “occupational.” That rapidly produced a tub of steaming water, washcloth towel, lotion an deodorant with the assertion she would be return to do my back. This produced some mild consternation to the stout woman who normally does the bed bathing and a fresh gown without necessary lanyards to secure at the next

This is not a complaint, just an observation that level of care had changed quickly, with trousers produced with the admonition that they slide on better when the adhesive socks are first removed. This was accomplished to the nurse’s mild surprise but only to the mid-section rise over butt which confronted the Foley urinalysis device and reservoir and the prim announcement that it had been a good demonstration.

Then, semi-attired, off to the gym after mounting the wheelchair without using the walker as an intermediate stage. So, that is a time saver.

After a partial self-wheeled transit to elevator shared with nurse and another chair rider, we plunged into a busy morning gym in the overload of regular facility workouts by the long-term care patients and those like me hopefully arcing through Rehab to Release.

LINKING LEVELS: The plan apparently had been to link up with Therapist Mohammed for walking exercises. An hour of what would have been three of my yoga routines and 500 reps of upper body rotations with two pound weights in the wheelchair left me clinging in sweat after my clean-up, but again, no direct complaint. At the count of five hundred slow reps on the upper body an announcement came that walking with Mohammed would have to be conducted after lunch. A return to quarters, lunch and period of unconsciousness ensued.

After awakening for medication, I tried to slice through email and prepped for the impending business call as Mohammed appeared at bedside for a new level walking experience. In this one, he attempted to have me mount one of the Woodbine walkers, but I demurred, pointing at my walker brought from home. I insisted I had previously been adept at the device and it would save therapy time. Mohammed agreed (reluctantly). From a seated position on the bed, we raised the stretcher on “flat” to to level “high” and I leapt to my feet and began walking.

Well,sort of. The leg motions felt familiar though the upper body morning exercises took a toll on my ability to maintain a full upright posture. Mohammed trailed with the wheelchair in case I felt a sudden need to be seated. We advanced as a train past the nurses doing preparation to the end of wing 1F without incident and cheery greeting to the ladies who had observed me only in the horizontal. Nearing the central station near the lobby, I prepared to turn around and head back. Instead, Mohammed directed me to take a seat on the trailing wheelchair.

Since I was ready to plow on, I assumed I was a little ahead of the therapeutic schedule. schedule. After a couple minutes rest, I was told to stand and we headed slowly back down the passageway to the site of the Depends failure referenced above. At issue is one best taken up with Depends marketing, or training at Woodbine, which is that adhesive closures casual slapped across recumbent patients might no suffice for vigorous motion in the passageways,, /mine were heaped in an embarrassing jumble atop my socks which required nursing intervention and general amusement to everyone but me.

That may have been the highest entertainment of the day and served to demonstrate a change in levels of care. Another came at 4:31 in room 138 when an attendant appeared for “wash,” which apparently is not scheduled for morning but a shower in the evenings of Thursdays and Mondays. Not having had a shower since January and having been cleansed that morning, I declined this opportunity in order to be properly prepared for Monday, last day of March.

That should leave me properly prepared for the Fools of the First and the excitement of whatever will happen on the second.

These are exciting times, moving up the therapeutic levels. Or down. I forget directions these days!

V/R,
JR