Ed has now begun physio at the hospital and has been standing for a short period and up in a wheelchair for about an hour - a great beginning for him. He was stronger today but more time is needed for him to be able to manage with our help at home. The LHIN has been really excellent with home care services but he is still not quite ready to be in our charge for 22 to 23 hours of the day.
I think I can see a path forward; yesterday I wasn't really seeing one. Geriatric Rehab has been suggested and I think that is a good forward step for him. He can get into some sort of routine with exercise that he can then bring home with him and the LHIN with its outpatient services and us can help him to continue with that. Surgery was discussed and I do think that the surgery mentioned would be a good step forward but I think a few things have to happen to ensure the best outcome. I think he needs to have his vaccination for COVID-19 and the resultant recovery period for him since he has cirrhosis secondary to sarcoidosis and also sarcoidosis of the lung and every vaccination for anything in the past five years has resulted in his needing a recuperative period. Once that is completed then an anaesthesiology consult will go a long way towards helping to alleviate concerns with regard to the two hours of anaesthesia he has to be under since he has cirrhosis.
He has fractures of the lower spine and doing a vertebroplasty procedure sounds like an excellent way to relieve him of the pain spasms which he experiences on occasion and cause him to collapse (and the spasms stay with him for days before they gradually lift). He would then be able to make use of the muscle power he has built up biking and walking. A fall sets him back and he needs to recover each time. In the meantime a very controlled atmosphere so that he does not suffer falls is absolutely necessary and I really need to think this through completely. The Hospital Bed and his desk are both in good positions, the bathroom is close by but will buy a portable one as well just to give that extra assurance if the spasms flare up again. I think we will rent a wheel chair but I need to know the best one for his case. The ramp will be built once the snow has disappeared. The kitchen is close by and he does have a walking circuit around the main floor once he is able to manage that.
Off to the hospital later in the day and will chat with the doctor once again. I am nervous to go ahead with the vertebroplasty in his present condition and not having his COVID-19 vaccination. At the moment he is not in pain. It takes a jolt to his system or a sudden turn to get the spasms started and he avoids both but unhappily he has had a couple of falls in the past three months. It has been good to have the specialists looking at his case.
The announcement by Premier Ford would mean that Ed would be in the next eligible group which can register starting the 22nd of March. I am hopeful that he will get his vaccination very soon. Being in the hospital, he is no longer eligible as a chronic care patient receiving home care. I am feeling somewhat more enthusiastic that all of this thinking through could come to pass.
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