Day 4 in Cayuga Medical Center, and the doctors are slowly weaning Richard O. off of the IV fluids. He has begun eating very small quantities of table foods and is now nursing without vomiting, so things are certainly looking better than they did a few days ago. However, I am still unsure as to when we'll be admitted to a feeding program, and that has me nervous.
While I am sure that our pediatrician is committed to helping us weather the transition from hospital to feeding center, it frustrates me that the wheels are not turning faster. Since Tuesday morning, virtually all of my daytime activity has been devoted to getting paperwork submitted, medical records faxed, insurance coverage verified, and intake procedures completed -- but I STILL don't have a firm admission date, or even a firm appointment for a consultation, which is making me crazy.
At the same time, we have weathered several communication breakdowns regarding Richard O's diabetes care here at the hospital. For reasons totally beyond my comprehension, the hospital will not talk directly to Joslin regarding Richard O's insulin dosage. Thus, I'm making all of the phone calls and talking to our CDE about how to adjust Richard O's insulin dosage, but on at least 3 occasions, the orders that the attending physician wrote did NOT match my instructions from Joslin. This resulted in some close calls, and the first time this happened, Richard was dropping so fast that he could have had a seizure from severe hypoglycemia had I not intervened directly and given him an injection of mini-glucagon. More on this in a separate post, though...
So here I am, marking time, and trying to keep my sanity under some rather trying conditions. I've made all my follow-up calls for the day, and am desperately hoping that I have a clearer picture of what's going on before the weekend sets in. If there's more that I can do at this point, I'm not sure of what it is. I do know that under the circumstances, I am doing the best that I can...and I pray that it's enough.
Friday, April 4, 2008
I am the warrior...
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2 comments:
I think I just posted the comment on the last post while you were typing this one!!
I see you're not home...I hope you get into the feeding program soon(I'm not sure what that is.)...but I do hope you get what you want and need for Richard O.
You are doing all you can to be the best Mom you can be!! I'm so sorry you have to be in the hospital right now. You are the warrior!!
Hi Katie, I haven't read your blog for a while and so I have just been catching up on your posts from the past few months. I know you are doing the best you can to cope with all the ups and downs. And like you mentioned in an earlier post, make sure you take time for yourself. Prioritize your own health and well-being so you can be the most productive warrior/wife/musician/mama possible.
Being a concerned optometrist and friend, please make sure you find a good pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist to check little Richard O.'s retinas at least annually, and I always request the most recent A1C to monitor overall control of BGL. Eye exams for diabetics are covered through your medical insurance even if you do not have vision coverage.
Good luck with the feeding program and I am sure you are excited to have insulin pump training next week!
Love,
Serena
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