11/04/12 - SIU

Julie called this morning to say that she was being transferred to the Spinal Injury Unit (SIU) this today.  She has done 3 days off the ventilator with the speaking valve on demand.  So it was up to the hospital to assist with the transfer by moving all her personal items down to the SIU, it is amazing how much we have accumulated in the 34 days Jules has spent in the ICU.  Before we left the ICU the nurse said she thought that Jules would have the tracheostomy in for another one to two weeks.  She is really looking forward to the day it is removed.

The move disrupted the daily routine and as a result lunch wasn’t taken until after four o’clock.  With only a cup of coffee since breakfast Jules was very hungry and devoured a meal of sushi followed by fruit juice and a cup of tea.

The transfer/admission procedure into the unit took a couple of hours with interviews with doctors, nurses, and therapists to go over Jules history.  The ward has six beds and there appear to be three or four nurses plus assistants on duty at any time.  It is not the one on one attention of the ICU.  The mattress on the bed is air inflated and designed to minimise pressure problems and patients do not require turning so frequently they can go up to 8-12 hours.  This will help in getting a good night’s sleep.

Visiting hours are the same as ICU from 11AM until 8PM

A big step forward is a mouth control unit for calling the nurse and operating the television.  Jules picked up very quickly how to switch on, change channels and adjust the volume.  She had a good chat on Skype with Darrel.  We checked and replied to her email read the paper and did the crossword.  I had two powernaps in the waiting room while she was in discussion with the medical staff.  The waiting room is much more comfortable than the ICU room.

With the bed inclined for her to be in the sitting position she gradually slid down the bed during the afternoon until her feet reached the foot of the bed.  The pressure of contact with the end of the bed was hurting.  They are going to get a longer bed tomorrow.  She still has some shoulder pain from the physiotherapy although it is not as bad as it was in the ICU.

Dinner was interrupted by the charge nurse telling us that Jules bed was to be moved to the other side of the ward as there was another admission.  The patient with MRSA, needed to be isolated in the ward.  This distressed Jules as she was concerned about the potential for infection.  I have since checked on the internet and it seems that the hospital has very good protocols for MRSA management.  At PAH the infection rate has been falling over the past twenty years.  Apparently MRSA is a problem in hospitals worldwide; in the developed world it is generally well managed.

After the bed was moved Jules settled down, she was tired and had some discomfort during the day with all the speaking, coughing and adapting to the new regime.

Tomorrow we are hoping that the rehab physiotherapy will start in earnest.

Norm