I don't dislike the rehab center where Mom is staying, but they don't have enough staff members to take care of everyone on the weekends. I found out that on Saturday Mom was left to fend for herself for about an hour, and no amount of her pressing the call button seemed to bring help. That's really not acceptable hang time for a recuperating heart patient. On several occasions while I was there, I tried using the call button myself and got no response; the only thing that worked was to trot down to the nurses' station and ask for what we needed in person. They are going to be sick of me doing this by the time Mom's ready to go home, but if showing up and pointedly asking gets the desired results, that's what I'll do.
Today I got Mom cleaned up and dressed for an outing, put her in a wheelchair and sprung her from the clink for a few hours. She enjoyed the drive and getting some sun on her face, and I took her home for a few hours, where she spent some time with Miss V, binge-watched episodes of
The Waltons and ate a homemade hot lunch. However, by the time she was ready to go back to the rehab center, she was close to exhausted -- she hadn't sat upright for that many hours since her surgery, and she said the experience made her realize that she really wasn't strong enough to be at home full-time yet. As soon as she got back, she changed into her nightgown and got straight into bed.
The good news is that Mom is improving day by day. She doesn't need any pain medication to sleep through the night, she goes to physical therapy every day, and although she's still weak, she's much stronger than she was just a week ago. She is positive and in good spirits, and determined to do what it takes to go home.
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