Dan and I stopped in just briefly after work tonight to visit with Mom. We'd talked to the doctor and nurses several times during the day - she had gone to the X Ray Department late this afternoon to have her feeding tube adjusted under fluoroscopy since they'd been having some trouble figuring out why it was leaking so badly.
Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique commonly used by physicians to obtain real-time moving images of the internal structures of a patient through the use of a fluoroscope. In its simplest form, a fluoroscope consists of an X-ray source and fluorescent screen between which a patient is placed. However, modern fluoroscopes couple the screen to an X-ray image intensifier and CCD video camera allowing the images to be recorded and played on a monitor.
It turned out that there was a slight bend in the internal tubing which was causing a portion of each feeding to back up in the tube and spill over. The radiologist adjusted the tube, straightened out the kink and it seems to be working fine now.
Mom was asleep for pretty much the duration of our visit - which, as I said, was brief due to our own continuing health issues. She is in isolation as is it - with gowns, masks and gloves being necessary for anyone who enters her room. I'm pretty sure that we both (Dan and I) have sinus infections which are not contagious but we still don't want to get too close to her or pass on any stray germs.
She is looking much better. Her color is good again, her skin is no longer dry, pale or sunken. The cellulitis is vastly improved with only the slightest bit of discoloring and swelling still visable. She does have some redness and swelling to her left eye which the nurse was getting ready to call the doctor about since it seems a bit worse than it did on Saturday but other than that, she looks about 80%better than before.
We did wish her a Happy Pesach from everyone who's called or asked us to pass on those wishes and she was grateful for the thoughts from everyone.
The plan is still to release her back to Woodbine sometime tomorrow with the antibiotics being continued via the feeding tube rather than IV. When a discharge time is planned I will meet the ambulance at the hospital and accompany her back to the nursing home and make sure she is settled back in properly.
May everyone have a good holiday - you are all in our thoughts.
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