Grandpa had 6 tests today of which we don't have results yet.
Thank you to Crystal who dropped everything to go stay with Grandpa in the hospital so Char could stay with Grandma.
Crystal answered questions to nurses and doctors and kept Grandpa company until Dan arrived. Thank you Dan for taking "sick days" to care for Dad/Grandpa and getting the medical information.
Dan says Grandpa's color is good and he is smiling. There is still some tingling in the left arm and in the leg, more so than usual. He still can not walk.
At this point they think he will at least be staying one more night in the hospital until the physical therapist says he can leave.
Michael is on his way to Irvine as I write this. Dan's return flight is open as needed.
Thank you to Charise for taking care of Mom while Dad is away.
Thank you everyone for your prayers. We will keep you posted.
Love,
Aunt Pam
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Say a prayer for Grandpa
Dear Family,
Grandpa needs your prayers today. (Grandpa and Grandma have moved to Irvine for the winter months, living in Kriss's house with Charise and Bill.)
Grandpa is in the hospital in Irvine. He has had a TIA mini stroke during the night.
Last evening he had some numbness but thought it would go away. In the early hours of this morning he woke and couldn't stand, was numb along the whole left side of his body, including drooping mouth and eye.
Char rushed him to the hospital and within 10 minutes they were giving him a CAT scan. The results there were normal.
Within the first hour his eye and smile were improving and he was able to move his leg. Not stand, but wiggle it.
The hospital admitted him and is going to run tests today. Full body scan amongst others. Dr said that many that have mini-strokes are back to normal within 24 hours but that it is a sign of things to come, so they want to find out all they can through the tests.
Dan has earned many sick days and this qualifies so he has booked a flight this afternoon arriving at 1:33 Alaska Air into Orange County. Crystal is headed to the hospital to sit with Grandpa until Dan can get there, so Charise can stay home with Grandma.
We will try to keep you updated through email.
Grandpa loves you all so very much.
Love,
Pam
Grandpa needs your prayers today. (Grandpa and Grandma have moved to Irvine for the winter months, living in Kriss's house with Charise and Bill.)
Grandpa is in the hospital in Irvine. He has had a TIA mini stroke during the night.
Last evening he had some numbness but thought it would go away. In the early hours of this morning he woke and couldn't stand, was numb along the whole left side of his body, including drooping mouth and eye.
Char rushed him to the hospital and within 10 minutes they were giving him a CAT scan. The results there were normal.
Within the first hour his eye and smile were improving and he was able to move his leg. Not stand, but wiggle it.
The hospital admitted him and is going to run tests today. Full body scan amongst others. Dr said that many that have mini-strokes are back to normal within 24 hours but that it is a sign of things to come, so they want to find out all they can through the tests.
Dan has earned many sick days and this qualifies so he has booked a flight this afternoon arriving at 1:33 Alaska Air into Orange County. Crystal is headed to the hospital to sit with Grandpa until Dan can get there, so Charise can stay home with Grandma.
We will try to keep you updated through email.
Grandpa loves you all so very much.
Love,
Pam
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Today was a bad day... but we knew there would be bad days.
Today was a bad day. It was hard, overwhelming, and discouraging.
We started off with the Hospice Care Nurse coming in for an evaluation and basic physical. What we thought would be about 45 minutes to an hour really turned into over 4 hours. Grandma's condition is much worse than it was a year ago. Her blood pressure is dangerously high. the problem with this is that it could cause a stroke. That would make her life so miserable.
Her lips are a dark purple. She does not get nearly enough oxygen. They delivered a full oxygen system this afternoon that they want her to use full time. Grandpa and I are going to try it a nights to start with and see if Grandma will leave it on her face. Grandpa would rather she have quality of life over quantity of life, and I can't say I disagree. That is certainly what I would choose.
The bed we have had for her for this past week was way too high. They delivered a new hospital bed this afternoon. (By the way, I am quite impressed with the Hospice program. The nurse left us around 2:00 p.m. and the new bed was at our house by 4:40 p.m. Impressive!) When the nurse said it was a necessity, I looked to grandpa Bodell and asked him if he was okay with that. I knew that his greatest joy each day was morning snuggles with grandma. He put on a "brave face" and said, "Hey, if that is what it takes, then we will make it work." But, I knew he was really disappointed.
I asked the nurse to tell us why, in detail, we needed a hospital bed. She explained that grandma is not getting enough oxygen laying down flat each night. Grandma needs to be on an incline. Grandpa has been a very good sport and we are giving it a try. Bill went over to our old house and got our single bed that Brighton used to use for grandpa to sleep on. We will see how that works. Both beds are snug up next to each other, so that they can snuggle all night. Grandma's bed lifts and lowers to help us get her into bed easier.
Grandma has spilled her drink every day for the past 3 days. Today, I finally got smart and started using a cup with a lid and a straw for her. She is very much like a special needs 2-year old. And heaven knows I know how to deal with that! :)
Grandma will not swallow her pills. I don't know what to do about it. I am going to try to mash them up in her food tomorrow. It took Bill and I almost one hour tonight to get grandma into bed, and to swallow her pills. We finally gave up. There was no way she was going to swallow ANYTHING! Not water, not anything! She was VERY determined.
She also refused, REFUSED, refused to help us get her to stand up. For the past 3 days, she has been great, but then all of a sudden, NO MORE! She would not do anything at all. Thank heavens Billy was there to lift her like a rag doll... but I have no idea what I will do when he is not around. I also worry about his back. Let's hope these "bad days" are few and far between.
But on the plus side... I have my grandma Bodell in my house! It is an amazing feeling that she is just downstairs. I love her so much I get giddy in my stomach when I think of it! I am so lucky and blessed to have her under our roof! And I can't even begin to talk about Grandpa tonight, because my emotions are very close to the surface, and I have cried hard already today, just being honored to be among this great man. I hope to be able to write more about him tomorrow.
I don't know if I got everything, but I am exhausted, so i will hope to write more tomorrow.
I love Maydene Brown Bodell so much. She is one of the greatest examples of my life!
Love,
Charise
We started off with the Hospice Care Nurse coming in for an evaluation and basic physical. What we thought would be about 45 minutes to an hour really turned into over 4 hours. Grandma's condition is much worse than it was a year ago. Her blood pressure is dangerously high. the problem with this is that it could cause a stroke. That would make her life so miserable.
Her lips are a dark purple. She does not get nearly enough oxygen. They delivered a full oxygen system this afternoon that they want her to use full time. Grandpa and I are going to try it a nights to start with and see if Grandma will leave it on her face. Grandpa would rather she have quality of life over quantity of life, and I can't say I disagree. That is certainly what I would choose.
The bed we have had for her for this past week was way too high. They delivered a new hospital bed this afternoon. (By the way, I am quite impressed with the Hospice program. The nurse left us around 2:00 p.m. and the new bed was at our house by 4:40 p.m. Impressive!) When the nurse said it was a necessity, I looked to grandpa Bodell and asked him if he was okay with that. I knew that his greatest joy each day was morning snuggles with grandma. He put on a "brave face" and said, "Hey, if that is what it takes, then we will make it work." But, I knew he was really disappointed.
I asked the nurse to tell us why, in detail, we needed a hospital bed. She explained that grandma is not getting enough oxygen laying down flat each night. Grandma needs to be on an incline. Grandpa has been a very good sport and we are giving it a try. Bill went over to our old house and got our single bed that Brighton used to use for grandpa to sleep on. We will see how that works. Both beds are snug up next to each other, so that they can snuggle all night. Grandma's bed lifts and lowers to help us get her into bed easier.
Grandma has spilled her drink every day for the past 3 days. Today, I finally got smart and started using a cup with a lid and a straw for her. She is very much like a special needs 2-year old. And heaven knows I know how to deal with that! :)
Grandma will not swallow her pills. I don't know what to do about it. I am going to try to mash them up in her food tomorrow. It took Bill and I almost one hour tonight to get grandma into bed, and to swallow her pills. We finally gave up. There was no way she was going to swallow ANYTHING! Not water, not anything! She was VERY determined.
She also refused, REFUSED, refused to help us get her to stand up. For the past 3 days, she has been great, but then all of a sudden, NO MORE! She would not do anything at all. Thank heavens Billy was there to lift her like a rag doll... but I have no idea what I will do when he is not around. I also worry about his back. Let's hope these "bad days" are few and far between.
But on the plus side... I have my grandma Bodell in my house! It is an amazing feeling that she is just downstairs. I love her so much I get giddy in my stomach when I think of it! I am so lucky and blessed to have her under our roof! And I can't even begin to talk about Grandpa tonight, because my emotions are very close to the surface, and I have cried hard already today, just being honored to be among this great man. I hope to be able to write more about him tomorrow.
I don't know if I got everything, but I am exhausted, so i will hope to write more tomorrow.
I love Maydene Brown Bodell so much. She is one of the greatest examples of my life!
Love,
Charise
Thursday, September 23, 2010
the life and times...
I had originally created this blog to be able to record fun memories of Grandma and Grandpa Bodell, but after the past few days, I have realized that I would rather have it be an honest accounting of their lives and times. I want to have a place to record the daily joys and struggles they are going through each day. Sometimes I feel like I can only journal the good things about my life, because I don't want to be too "complainy" but then I need to find a place to express my full feelings. So here is the real report on the current life and times of Jim and Maydene Bodell.
I don't know if anyone else reads this... I just want to be able to record my thoughts. But please, of you read this, go on and do a post about your feelings or any thoughts on Grandma and Grandpa Bodell.
I don't know if anyone else reads this... I just want to be able to record my thoughts. But please, of you read this, go on and do a post about your feelings or any thoughts on Grandma and Grandpa Bodell.
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