A day delay

I don't remember what happened last night when I got to the hospital. I am certain I talked to Faye for a while. Then she left. I stayed up with Dad. He was ready to turn in for the night. I turned off the TV and was trying to get him comfortable and he gave me a snarky answer. The night nurse gave him some lip about it. She took out the garbage and put a note in our file to skip the 4am garbage collection. I liked her right off.
I arranged pillows and a rolled up blanket on the reclining chair and laid down. I had the mp3 earphones around my neck, but I never used them. Dad fell asleep first, or at least I think he did. It is hard to tell sometimes. There were several visits during the night, but less than before. Dad woke up and started pulling at his gown and heart monitor and such. He was in a highly anxious state. I fought with him for 20 minutes to keep his gown on and leave attachments alone. He kept saying he wanted to wear pants. His head bandage was gone. I rang the nurse to get another one, but no one came. Finally an alarm went off and the nurse appeared. I thought it was because a lead was disconnected but she said it was the bed alarm when I leaned on the edge. She was unimpressed by his behavior, and said they all do it. So I guess had I not been there, Dad would have thrashed alone in the dark until he set off an alarm. Even then, they would just fix it and leave. He calmed down after I convinced him he could pee through the catheter and he did.
He had just gone to sleep, when a lady came to take vials of blood – about 6am. I begged for mercy and she said she'd come back later. (Two hours later a man came and took Dad's blood.) The diet dept called for a breakfast order and I said same as yesterday. The hospitalist came in. I told him how well Dad did yesterday and asked about the results of the ultrasound. He said he didn't know. He had a student with him. Breakfast arrived and I had to get Dad's dentures ready. He was very specific in how he wanted them handled. Then he would insist on me doing steps I had already done because he didn't remember I had done it. A lady came in at 9:30 and said Dad should fast between 10 and 2 for a CTA which required dye. I asked what that was about and she said I would have to talk to the doctor. She brought the hospitalist back. He explained that Dad had blood clots in both legs and they were looking for clots in the lungs. He said they also scheduled a procedure for putting a filter into the inferior vena cava, going through the inner thigh. I was disappointed and frustrated that rehab was being moved back by a day (or more?) So Dad stopped eating about 10:10. The diet dept called for his lunch order and I said he was having a procedure at 2. They said to call for lunch when he got back. I forget what we did then,. I think I joined fleece strips together by hand to make a ball, and he slept.
But someone came at 12:30 to take him to angioplasty. I said it hadn't been 4 hours. The lady talked to the nurse who said it was for the filter procedure not the CTA. So I gathered my most expensive possessions and followed Dad to Radiology.
I sat by him in a curtain room. He said his mouth hurt. He was not allowed to have water, so I offered to take out his dentures. I wrapped them in paper towels. A radiologist explained the procedure of inserting a filter going through the neck to the inferior vena cava. He said the neck was a better spot than the leg. He also needed me to sign consent forms, knowing that I did not have power of attorney. I had to check the box that they would use means to resuscitate Dad if needed. He said we would be given an appointment 6 weeks hence to remove the filter.
I waited until they took Dad to do the procedure. The nurse explained how to get back to the room and I waited there, reading. I also made out a lunch and dinner order from the menu. I was told it was a 15 minute procedure and he would be brought back immediately following it. But the time dragged on and I got worried. 2 pm came and left. It occurred to me that they kept him for the CTA. And that is what happened, but I did not see him again until almost 4. He was hungry, wet, and upset at being left somewhere all alone for a period of time. I immediately ordered him lunch, but the diet dept said it was supper time and they would send it by 4:30. And they did. By that time the nurses got him cleaned up and in a new gown with clean sheets. He was sitting up and arguing over the proper prep of his dentures. It took awhile to get him to the eating stage. I asked them if he could be walked later and they said yes. He ate his supper while I tried not to be emotional. I was tired and hungry. He gave me some of his carrot and celery sticks, saying they were hard to eat. The cod and spinach I had ordered for him were so small that the plate was mostly empty. It was a good thing I had food on the side.
Finally the nurse came to check on him and I asked again about walking him. She said how about in 10 minutes because he was eating a fig bar. She left and he got ancy because time was so short. I explained that there was nothing for us to do to get ready. He wanted his shoes and socks on, so I put them on. Then he insisted I sit in the hall and flag the nurse down to tell her he was ready. I refused because I was tired and there was no chair. Then she showed up, ready to take him. I got the walker and she disconnected him from the IV (oh yeah, he came back with an IV that was running incredibly slowly. It was faster to have him drink water). She clipped the urine bag to the walker and put a gown across his back. We took him into the hall and let him walk as he wished. He walked a lot. Then we put him back in bed. But then he wanted to sit on the toilet, so we got a potty chair next to the bed and sat him on it. The nurse left. He was not happy with what he passed. (more later, gotta run)