Falling

Last Thursday we went for a drive higher up into the mountains, past Cottonwood Lake on a dirt road. Doug drove, first time in a long while. We went up until the road got too narrow and rocky and we saw more ATVs than cars. we found a place to turn around and came back home. It was fun to get out.
Friday we got the road dust off at the car wash. Good friends picked up a take-out dinner from a restaurant and delivered to us. Very kind and enjoyable!

Friday night about 10:00 Doug fell. He knows not to do this, but he bent over to turn off a floor fan before I could stop him. Next thing I know he was sprawled on the floor. He was conscious but dazed. He didn't seem hurt but he couldn't get up; couldn't get his legs under him. Best thing to do most of the time is let him stay on the floor for a few minutes. Finally I pulled a kitchen chair over to him and he slowly managed to get onto the chair. After a few more minutes on the chair, he held onto me and was able to walk to the bedroom.
I waited until 7 a.m. and called hospice to report the fall. Doug and I had a serious talk - no more bending over! We are very thankful he was not hurt. Hospice is sending us a walker.

Saturday and Sunday were nice quiet days.
Sunday night (last night) Doug fell again. It had started to rain and blow, lightning too. I woke up about midnight and Doug was sitting up on the side of the bed. I said "What are you doing?" He said he wanted to close the window. I told him to stay put and I closed the window. He had a bad fall several years ago and it was decided he has orthostatic hypotension. Fancy term for low blood pressure that can result in passing out if he gets up too fast. Pretty common in older folks. So he has learned to sit for a few minutes before he gets out of bed and stands up. That has worked well. Why he has suddenly forgotten to do that is anyone's guess.
I thought he was going to lie back down in bed. Then I heard a loud thud! When I turned on the lights, he was sitting with his butt up against the closet door. When I touched him he was cold, clammy and sweaty. So I pulled his pillow onto the floor and helped him ease into a lying down position. He said he wasn't hurting anywhere but he had a goose egg on the elbow and torn skin. Finally he was able to roll onto a rug and I used that to pull him closer to the bed. He felt much better to the touch. With my help he was able to get onto the bed. I bandaged his elbow. At 3 a.m. he woke me up and said his back was hurting and asked if I would give him some morphine sulfate - one of the drugs in the hospice kit. I wasn't sure how much to give so I called the 24/7 hospice number. One of the operators answered the phone immediately and said he would get one of the nurses to call me back.
Well - I had forgotten that I had my phone set on 'do not disturb' from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. So the nurse's call to me didn't go through. She called our son who is listed as an emergency contact. So I reset my phone! Duh! Anyway the nurse told me it was okay to use the morphine and how much to use. She asked if we needed a nurse to come right out. I said no need for someone to come in the middle of the night. Neither of us got much sleep but Doug's pain was less.

Today he is better but the morphine makes him too drowsy. So the hospice Dr. wrote a script for a different pain med and the drug store delivered it today.

The chaplain Deb who is also a physical therapist came today. We had not met her yet. Turns out we know her mother in law who goes to our church. Deb is very kind and caring; we had a nice talk and she adjusted the walker to Doug's height. Deb loves dogs - Nikko snuggled right up to her. So far everyone we have met from hospice has impressed us. Compassionate and capable.

Doug and I have made a deal - no more getting out of bed without waking me first! I pray that his brain will wake up before his body starts to move.
We have had enough excitement for a while. We are both very tired.
Tomorrow his nurse is coming out.

Love to all.