Taking a Walk on the........Northside

While it appeared to us that we had lost the battle, we did not lose the war!
On Monday, Paul started to go downhill very quickly and we realized that the cycle had to be stopped. He was not able to eat or handle his tube feedings very well at all. The doctor who saw Paul on Monday gave him a wide spectrum antibiotic to cover what they thought might be strep throat or respiratory infection. We brought Paul home and he was absolutely wiped out. We also noticed that he had lost the ability to walk well since his tendon on the back of his left foot had started to stiffen up. When we left Shepherd, the nurse had asked me if I wanted them to dispose of the casts made for Paul lower legs and feet, and I decided that we should keep them just in case. And we did need them. Jon and I got them on Paul as soon as he was settled back in bed after the doctor appointment. We did not want to add any more issues to his down turn in health. By late afternoon Monday, I knew something was just terribly wrong and I called the hospital where he was at originally, to see how busy their ER was at that time. Paul did not have the strength to get back in the car and wait hours upon hours in a waiting room. They told me they had 2 traumas coming in and 30 patients waiting. So I decided we would take him to Northside Hospital where his internist is associated. Northside Hospital was my first choice, but I thought maybe it would be better to go to Gwinnett Medical where all his previous records were. The fact that Gwinnett Medical had a packed waiting room in the ER made the decision easy for me. (We had an appointment to see his internist on 2/20/06 anyway, for a physical to keep track of Paul's overall health as he works through his brain injury.) There was a 2 hour wait there, but Paul sat up in a chair, shivering very badly. He was wrapped up in a fleece jacket, ski jacket and a blanket. He just sat there calmly, never showing any sign of impatience. When we got to a room, they got an IV of fluids going, took blood and also catheritized Paul. Paul had not spoken any words all day, but these procedures had him expressing out loud that he was in pain. I felt so sorry for him, because through it all, he was still shivering. Yet, he kept giving us a smile whenever he looked at Jon or me. He held on for a long time, through xrays and the waiting for the diagnosis. (He did not sleep, as I am sure he was afraid to fall asleep only to be woken by a needle stabbing him somewhere!) By 2 A.M. they determined that he had pneumonia in both lungs, with the right side being worse. That really surprised me since Paul was not experiencing any breathing difficulties or coughing. I always assumed if he got pneumonia again, it would be in the left lung since it was so badly damaged in the accident and would be more suseptible to infection. He also had the beginnings of a urinary tract infection. They administered antibiotics immediately and admitted him. The hospitals are full all over town due to the flu season and so we waited until 5:30 A.M. to be taken to a room in an area for short stay patients. He is still in a holding pattern in this room until he can get a regular room. The nurse said that the hospital is experiencing lots of patients who are having to stay longer than normal and that is why Paul has not been taken to a regular room. He is in a room used for recoveries.

I had to call Shepherd Pathways to let them know Paul would not be at his Wednesday therapy. This was the 5th day Paul had missed therapy. I was concerned about how weak Paul had become and that he was missing important therapy. As it turned out, Northside is more of a rehab hospital than an acute care facility. So, no worries then. They had a speech therapist and physcial therapist coming in before 11 A.M. The speech therapist said that the pneumonia was caused by food getting into the lung and the concern was that Paul might have problems swallowing and would continue to aspirate food into his lungs. She had an xray taken with barium to see if there was any problem with Paul's swallowing. She was happy to report there is no physical reason that Paul cannot swallow and when he does, nothing is entering the lungs. This means we can continue to work with Paul eating his food by mouth, as this was not the reason he aspirated food into his lungs. One more thing we can check off the list. It was determined that he must have aspirated food when he had vomited last Thursday morning. What had started as a stomach flu, as I had suspected, resulted in pneumonia from the food getting into the lungs. Paul didn't have the ability to cough it all out at the time, so the infection set in. The urinary tract infection was starting because of the lack of fluids Paul was able to keep down in the last couple of days. While I was pushing the fluids, Paul was having a really big problem with reflux issues. This was causing his throat to be so sore and the fever was causing him to have stomach upset when food entered his stomach. He had a really vicious cycle going on. The nutritionist came in and discussed getting Paul back on a 24 hour feed that has a lot of protein to help get his strength back, so that was started this afternoon. He will be able to eat by mouth any part of his meals he would like, but they will not depend on that for his nutritional intake for the next couple of days.

The physical therapist also came in and took Paul on a walk down the hallways, wrapped in a blanket and coat to keep him warm. This made Paul look like he had a lot more weight on him than he does, but the very skinny legs below were the tell tale signs Paul is just not as 'beef' as he used to be. He did walk well and that is because Jon had gone home early in the morning and had brought back the molded casts for Paul to keep on to help him stay ready for walking. He lost all his strength on the way back to his room, and his legs were very wobbly. He fell right asleep after his 'Walk on the Northside'. She also gave us some excercises we can help Paul with to gain strength in the muscles around his left shoulder blade. He can lift his left arm when he is laying down, because his shoulder is supported. When he is sitting, he can barely lift it above his shoulder. We will work on this area to help him gain maximum recovery. We will also schedule an orthopedist appointment to have his scapula, shoulder and possible nerve damage in the forearm monitored.

Then the best part of the whole day occured this afternoon, when Paul's neurologist from Pathways called to check up on Paul. The funny thing about all this was that as we were trying to decide where to take Paul, I immediately felt the most comfortable with Northside, as I knew it is a good hospital. It was also because Paul's internist is associated with Northside and I knew he would be checking up on Paul. Dr. Schulman saw Paul about 5 years ago for Paul's 16th year physcial. He was in the group that my family had been using. We have not had anything serious since then, except when Paul had a concussion as a Freshman in high school. We went to Northside ER at that time, but Paul was sent home and we didn't need to follow up with Dr. Schulman. Here we are 5 years later, and I am talking to Dr. Taubin at Pathways. I explained why I took Paul to Northside, even though this hospital had no real connection to his accident. I just wanted to have a good internist on call to see him, since we are in the process of assemblying a team of doctors to cover all his needs. When I mentioned the name Dr. Schulman, she chuckled and said "that is my husband". I had to laugh as my mind immediately knew God's hand was weaving, weaving, weaving still. Once again, that line we have used before.... coincindence, I THINK NOT! We now have a husband/wife team for 2 of the most important parts of Paul's care. And we had no prior knowledge of this connection. How can anyone doubt the existence of God when so many of His marvelous deeds are there to be seen. How blessed are those who seek, knock and ask to know and love God more perfectly.

I can't help but wonder if this 'walk on the Northside' didn't help keep Paul from taking a 'walk on the Wild side'. It doesn't matter what the reason or purpose of God's will is in this- we're going to keep walking right beside Paul as we all find our way to better love and serve our Lord. And wait in joyful hope we watch this all unfold.

Today is the feast day of St. John Bosco. Here is a comment I found about him.

John Bosco educated the whole person; body and soul united. He believed that Christ’s love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do — work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting our love lead us.

It is a truth that continually plays out in our lives so visibly as we try to keep on this pathway set before us - search for God and Jesus in everything we do and let our love lead us. Praise be to God in this day.

Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero

p.s. - Thanks to my brother Jim who wrote so eloquently in the last posting. That is one of my favorite things about this site - so much to learn and so many wonderful perspectives that are being shared in God's name!