Odd that this thread popped back up on my radar when I actually have major news for the day. Today I took the day off because my wife's son is coming home.
The reason it's exciting is around Christmas, he got the flu. But he didn't bother going to the doctor. On January 2nd, he finally went to the a doctor and they told him to go to the ER. The ER said he had the flu and it had turned into pneumonia and admitted him. The next day, they transferred him to a different hospital in town and stuck him on a ventilator, a dialysis machine and an ECMO machine (it's removes the CO2 from the blood and replaces it with O2). Then he finally died for a while. About 15 minutes as I recall. Fortunately they were able to fix that. Then he was in the ICU for 2-3 months. A few weeks ago he finally left the hospital and went to a skilled nursing facility. Now his 20 days are up there, but he still has a big bed sore wound and he's still not really back on his feet. The plan was to stick him in the next level down from a skilled nursing facility for physical therapy, but due to his wound and wound vac, the next level of rehab won't take him. So he's finally coming home.
It seems at this point he'll have a nurse come in 2-3 times per week to deal with his wound and to help with physical therapy. It's my understanding that once his wound is better, he'll then qualify to go back into the system and be placed in a rehab center where they can concentrate on getting him up and moving again. Hard to say if he'll actually go to a rehab place or not. I know he's anxious to be back home. And it would be just like him to pick comfort over his own well being. He's one of those people that makes decisions without thinking through the consequences and then goes full steam ahead until he hits a brick wall. He's not big on examining his options up front. He's more a doer than a thinker. I could write a book on the dumbass stuff he does.
He probably would have gotten better care, but while he works for Nike and Nike offers fantastic insurance, he didn't sign up (again, he tends to make stupid, irrational choices in life). He was extremely fortunate that OHP (Oregon Health Plan aka Medicaid) decided to cover him. But while OHP is better than being uninsured, it still isn't as good as "normal" insurance, so now he's stuck in limbo since no one will accept him in his current condition and with his insurance.
So anyway, he returns home today. And we have to find a way to move a grown man (he's in his '30s) from the car up 5 steps to the living room. From there's it's another 6 steps up to where the kitchen is. Finally just 5 more steps up to the level where his bedroom is. I expect that to be an ordeal. I suggested we stick him on a hand-truck. It would take minutes to get him to his bed, but his mom shot down that idea for some reason.
I have no clue why we don't have a wheelchair to get him in the house. He'll have to made do with a walker and frequent breaks I guess since he's not climbed a step in 6 months.
On the plus side, he's actually made incredible progress. He's been a success story from start to finish. It seems most people who need an ECMO machine don't typically survive and of those who do, they typically face more serious issues (like losing limbs). That machine was the reason he was originally moved from Hospital A (Providence St. Vincent's) to Hospital B (Legacy Emmanuel) on day 2. Hospital A didn't have the equipment or staff to run it and they're one of the bigger hospitals in town. He managed to come through that intact. His biggest ongoing issue is that it's
possible he might need to be on oxygen the rest of his life. There was a lot of damage to his lungs. It's one of those "wait and see" situations. Regardless, he's come quite a long way from being dead, so it's a joyous day.
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