I am a little disappointed that I could not hit my discharge date of Friday. I am not surprised as I was in no condition to be discharged yet. Everyday gets easier now and I will be out today or tomorrow barring some thing weird happening. I walk more and more everyday. I have a rash on my arm from the PICC line and so far it has come back negative, but this lets the rash heal. I suspect it is from the swabs not drying properly before they put the bandages on, leading to moisture.
In the morning I had a new nurse and my blood pressure was super low. It was low all day, but got better throughout the day. She was a nice nurse. Went for a walk to visit a friend that works here. Nice day overall.
When I got to see the doctor he checked my bandages and made sure there were no clots in the tube. My diet was changed from clear fluids to full fluids. So instead of Jell-O for my main course I got cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup as well as Boost. The boost is thick and takes some time to drink. There is so much food waste. Once it enters the patient room it has to be thrown out. I eat less than 50%. I do not drink the tea or milk. They always bring me juices I do not want.
In the afternoon we got to see the dietician and she gave us good information and had a good chat. In short do what your body tells you. Watch sugar levels as that may cause dumping. No more sour patch kids as a snack. One day I will. It is suggested 2 weeks of soft liquid, then pureed for 2 or soft texture before going to regular in 4 to 6. I can eventually get back to a normal diet but I have to chew my food a lot. Or I can puree it. I need to focus on soft did for awhile. We got chatting about sourdough bread and she asked who was feeding my starter. I put it in the fridge too slow it down and I have 2 in there and 1 in the freezer. Mel is not great with live things. Every pet she had ever owned is dead now. She killed multiple plants already this year. She is known as being a killer at work with eliminating employees. I did not want to add to her count with my 150 year old San Francisco starter. He will not stand a chance. In have not named the starter yet.
The amount of negativity on the floor is astounding. Patients can be so demanding. Luckily I am in a room with someone who is not too high maintenance. He is jaded by the system and is angry at times, but then he self reflects and apologizes to people if he thought he overstepped. Last night patients were complaining and nurses were doing their best to accommodate, but you could feel the frustrations from then as well.
I also had an interesting incident yesterday. My bed broke when I was trying to rest. The head and feet were elevated and the whole bed suddenly dropped flat. It was quite painful and I swore which surprised Mel as I very rarely use profanity. Better me though as an opposed to someone older and in worse condition. The nurse ordered me a new bed. While resting on the flat bed parts of it went up which was interesting. It was either a bed malfunction or Mel was trying to get out of caring for me in the next 4 weeks. I will let you decide for yourself which is the more likely answer.
I am much better today and look forward to going home today or tomorrow.