Grandpa was released on the day we arrived. We waited all day for the paperwork to be completed and were quite restless. It is amazing to me that it takes so long to allow someone to leave the hospital! The Cody hospital only has 25 beds! That is including the beds in the ER and Labor & Delivery!
We took him home and he just seemed tired. He was confused regarding his medicine and expected to return to the regimen he was on prior to going to the hospital. Instead of checking his sugars twice a day and using an established amount of insulin, he had been changed to four times a day and using a sliding scale of insulin. The amount of insulin was based on what the sugar levels were. The written instructions told us to call the doctor if the sugar levels went above 300 or so.
I checked Grandpa’s sugar at about 5:00 pm believing that Aunt T and Aunt Donna would arrive back from getting groceries very soon. His sugars were in the 200s and I dialed the correct dosage into the’pen’. Unfortunately, I did not pay close attention to how to operate the pen before leaving the hospital, I just remember Aunt T identifying that is was like hers, so I felt assured she would know how it functioned. I attempted to inject the insulin into Grandpa but wasn’t sure if I was actually succeeding. When Aunt T arrived, I had her look at the pen and describe how it worked. Unfortunately, it operated a bit differently than her pen and neither one of us was sure how much, if any insulin Grandpa received.
Instructions on the bottom of the insulin prescription said that if there were any questions, we should call the ER. So I did. They did not know exactly how to operate the pen and told me they would contact the third floor nurses and have them call me back. That did not happen. So I called the WalMart pharmacy where Grandpa gets his medicines. The pharmacist was stuck knowing how the medicine works, but not how to operate the pen! He suggested I call the 800 number for advice. So I did. They were closed on the East Coast! So, we went to bed hoping that Grandpa had received enough insulin to survive the night.
The next morning, my sisters and I were to meet with an Adult Protective Services investigator. It wasn’t very productive, but we shared our concerns. Following this, we attempted to contact Grandpa’s doctor. We walked into his office and Aunt T somewhat irritated those at the front desk. When Aunt T speaks with a certain ‘tone’ you just know not to mess with her.
The nurses were nice enough though to arrange some time for us. We spoke to the nurse and gave our concerns informing her that Grandpa lives alone and has been alone for over a year. This appeared to surprise the nurse. She left the room and brought a different person back with her. Stacy Jensen, (I can’t recall her official title) asked us to join her in her office. Stacy grew up around the block from where we lived during grade school/early high school. She shared info regarding what the office had observed between Grandpa and his wife. She also gave us suggestions about who to contact for help.
The fact that someone other than Grandpa’s wife had power of attorney came as a pleasant surprise to the Dr’s office. Stacy even made some phone calls and rearranged the doctor’s schedule so we could visit with him on Monday because Aunt Donna and I had planned to travel home on Sunday. We figured one additional day wouldn’t be too bad. All I needed to do was bring the Power of Attorney to their office so a copy could be made and inserted into Grandpa’s file.
We decided to go to the trailer and check on Grandpa first. We found him moving into his bedroom and back into his bed. His aide was there helping him. She had lunch on the stove and they were preparing to check his sugar level. I explained where we were going and that we had some other contacts to see. His aide said she was fine being with Grandpa for the afternoon so Aunt Donna and I headed back to the Doctor’s office to give the copy of the Power of Attorney.
When we walked into the doctor’s office, Stacy met us at the front desk and said ‘I can’t believe you are here! Margaret is on the phone right now about your dad and she is going to take him to the ER. I said, “We just came from his house, what happened?” Stacy explained that his blood sugars measured above 598 and at a critical point. We said we would meet them at the ER.
We took him home and he just seemed tired. He was confused regarding his medicine and expected to return to the regimen he was on prior to going to the hospital. Instead of checking his sugars twice a day and using an established amount of insulin, he had been changed to four times a day and using a sliding scale of insulin. The amount of insulin was based on what the sugar levels were. The written instructions told us to call the doctor if the sugar levels went above 300 or so.
I checked Grandpa’s sugar at about 5:00 pm believing that Aunt T and Aunt Donna would arrive back from getting groceries very soon. His sugars were in the 200s and I dialed the correct dosage into the’pen’. Unfortunately, I did not pay close attention to how to operate the pen before leaving the hospital, I just remember Aunt T identifying that is was like hers, so I felt assured she would know how it functioned. I attempted to inject the insulin into Grandpa but wasn’t sure if I was actually succeeding. When Aunt T arrived, I had her look at the pen and describe how it worked. Unfortunately, it operated a bit differently than her pen and neither one of us was sure how much, if any insulin Grandpa received.
Instructions on the bottom of the insulin prescription said that if there were any questions, we should call the ER. So I did. They did not know exactly how to operate the pen and told me they would contact the third floor nurses and have them call me back. That did not happen. So I called the WalMart pharmacy where Grandpa gets his medicines. The pharmacist was stuck knowing how the medicine works, but not how to operate the pen! He suggested I call the 800 number for advice. So I did. They were closed on the East Coast! So, we went to bed hoping that Grandpa had received enough insulin to survive the night.
The next morning, my sisters and I were to meet with an Adult Protective Services investigator. It wasn’t very productive, but we shared our concerns. Following this, we attempted to contact Grandpa’s doctor. We walked into his office and Aunt T somewhat irritated those at the front desk. When Aunt T speaks with a certain ‘tone’ you just know not to mess with her.
The nurses were nice enough though to arrange some time for us. We spoke to the nurse and gave our concerns informing her that Grandpa lives alone and has been alone for over a year. This appeared to surprise the nurse. She left the room and brought a different person back with her. Stacy Jensen, (I can’t recall her official title) asked us to join her in her office. Stacy grew up around the block from where we lived during grade school/early high school. She shared info regarding what the office had observed between Grandpa and his wife. She also gave us suggestions about who to contact for help.
The fact that someone other than Grandpa’s wife had power of attorney came as a pleasant surprise to the Dr’s office. Stacy even made some phone calls and rearranged the doctor’s schedule so we could visit with him on Monday because Aunt Donna and I had planned to travel home on Sunday. We figured one additional day wouldn’t be too bad. All I needed to do was bring the Power of Attorney to their office so a copy could be made and inserted into Grandpa’s file.
We decided to go to the trailer and check on Grandpa first. We found him moving into his bedroom and back into his bed. His aide was there helping him. She had lunch on the stove and they were preparing to check his sugar level. I explained where we were going and that we had some other contacts to see. His aide said she was fine being with Grandpa for the afternoon so Aunt Donna and I headed back to the Doctor’s office to give the copy of the Power of Attorney.
When we walked into the doctor’s office, Stacy met us at the front desk and said ‘I can’t believe you are here! Margaret is on the phone right now about your dad and she is going to take him to the ER. I said, “We just came from his house, what happened?” Stacy explained that his blood sugars measured above 598 and at a critical point. We said we would meet them at the ER.
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