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Jimmie Lee Smith (Brawner)
Feb. 22 - Update on Charles
After Charles' spinal surgery Jan. 23, he was sent to a physical rehab hospital - Warm Springs in Allen. Charles started running a fever there about his 3rd day and he was diagnosed with pneumonia. They took him off the antibiotics he'd been taking (ordered by MD Anderson to keep infections from returning) and started him on 3 new ones. By the weekend (seems things always get worse on weekends when main doctors are not on call) his fever spiked and he went to Baylor ER. They affirmed his pneumonia diagnosis and sent him back to Warm Springs as they said they would keep him on IV antibiotics, which was already being done at rehab. Two weekends ago, when Charles' temp spiked to 102.5, we made our 2nd ER trip from the rehab to Baylor, only to be sent back because "what the hospital could do, so could the rehab." A week ago Monday, rehab's doctor came in and said Charles was too sick to be in that facility and needed to go to a "real" hospital - DUH - we'd been trying. But, he wanted him to go to McKinney Medical Center and we wanted back at Baylor where all of Charles' doctors practice. Took hours and an act of Congress to get Charles' Primary Care Doctor to write the orders and get him out and back to Baylor. Besides his pneumonia, they finally found out last Friday, he had RSV (a viral infection that was contagious, so everyone going in and out of his room had to wear masks, etc). He came home on Wednesday (after being gone a month). We've decided NO MORE REHABS - HE GETS SICK EVERY TIME. So, we will have home health here, but they haven't started yet and it will be very limited visits, so it puts a lot of burden on our shoulders, but we figure (with MD Anderson's feedback & support) that he's better off here at home than in rehab. So, he's got that brace he has to wear each time he leaves his bed, has to use a walker and I've got to hold on to a safety belt with him every move he makes, so he doesn't fall. It has turned out to be much harder than I thought, but we'll be in a learning curve until we get on a schedule with the home health people and we'll just have to make it work and learn to work with each other better. So, today the physical therapist comes for the first time - think he stays only 45 minutes. There will be an occupational therapist at some point and they will help with showers. My son-in-law, Joe, came and put a hand-held shower in Charles' shower as he has to use a seat while he's in there. It's just one thing after another we're learning together - he's done it all along with the therapists at rehab and in the hospital, but I wasn't always around to watch the routine. We go to the surgeon for a follow-up next Friday and then find out for sure when he can get out of the brace and be able to travel down to MD Anderson. Surgeon had said 2 months, so I cancelled and rebooked all his appointments for April 10-14, but that's an awful long time to wait for the MRIs and CTs to see how the radiation worked on the cancer on his spine. We might have to get them done here sooner and send them to MD Anderson for reading.
So, please say many, many prayers for us as we try to get through this phase without driving each other crazy. Charles has quite a long time to spend in physical rehab getting his body strength back so he can walk and just be "Charlie" again.
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Sharon Lee
