We visited with Estelle twice yesterday. Dan and I went together in the late morning.early afternoon and Dan returned by himself later in the day.
Estelle was alert and talkative both times. She was being brought out into the common area when we arrived in the morning and the nurses made a place for the three of us in the hallway since the dining/meeting area was pretty full already. It is hard to talk with Estelle when there is alot of extraneous noise or activity going on around her. Her voice is weak and she does not always seem to hear us well unless we talk at a louder than normal voice - both of which make communication difficult even under the best of circumstances. The more alert she becomes the more she notices and is distracted by any activity which would not normally concern her. She also seems fearful of it, to be honest. She asked several times if we would stay until she left and would we "see her off." While there was some confusion as to what she might have meant, I think she simply felt that she was not in her room, which has become her home, and she did not quite know how or when she would be returned to the safety of that room/home and did not want to be left alone until such a move took place. I know when we were in the hospital on Tuesday that she kept asking me to be sure I did not leave without her.
Anyhow - we had a nice visit. Estelle took phone calls from Marlene and Viv and seemed to enjoy both of them very much. Dan also read her a New Year's card from Viv and a letter from Meryl which she pronounced, "Lovely."
She wanted Dan to play guitar for her and, since he did not have it with him, he promised he would return later in the day to do so....which he did.
The feeding tube seems to be remaining in place. I did not get a chance to check the site because she was in the hallway but they do have her hand splints back on and she was not picking at it this time so I am hoping it remains firmly attached and working well.
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