Pleurodesis Part Deux

I haven't heard back from Dr. Hunsicker yet. Hopefully tomorrow. I wonder if she reads this blog?

Anyway, I got to talk to Mom today for a few minutes. Jennifer was at the hospital, and we worked out a way for her to call the cell phone without needing a calling card. (It's a long story, but it works..........) Mom asked me where I was, and I told her that I was at the office, and she just said that she was a little unclear on time, which is understandable. She went on to some other conversation and then came back to me, and said, "I'm a little spacey, don't I deserve to be a little spacey?" (It may not be a direct quote, but the sarcasm was definitely there which means to me that the lights are still on inside.) I talked to her about family, and Pauline (mother of her childhood friend, Gail, whom she's been recently reacquainted), and she understood what I was talking about and knew that they were going to do the Pleurodesis again this afternoon. She confirmed that her pain was still manageable, and then signed off.

I still pressed her to eat more, but it's still unclear how well that's going. I'm hoping to convince Dr. Hunsicker that while a feeding tube may be out of line at this point, I think she should still use the IV solution that she or Lynn mentioned. Any kind of nutrition at this point has to be valuable.

Not that anyone wants to think about this, but I'm also going to be talking to Hunsicker to make sure that the hospital is aware of Mom's wishes. She told me after Dad died that she signed papers with a "do not resuscitate" order. It was nothing I pressed her for, it was just something she told me after I had to sign papers to authorize them not to put Dad on the vent on that last day. I'm assuming that whatever papers she signed were more explicit about what circumstances were to be considered. I don't know how legitimate these are in New York, but in Michigan with my Dad and Loretta, it seemed like the doctor's just followed the family's wishes, and it was much better to know the patient's wishes when they had a clear mind.

If I don't hear from Hunsicker tomorrow, I'll plan to call and speak to the nurse tomorrow evening to get the latest status.