[lilput]

My parents lived in New Orleans East for 38 years until Katrina hit. On their way back from seeing the house for the first time, the traffic stopped and my dad couldn't stop in time. My mom had broken her neck at the C-5. She was in good spirits before and a couple of days after the main surgery about a week ago. (Monday 10/10? time escapes me) She was getting ready do move to a rehab facility when she was rushed into surgery again for an infection. She is angry because they didn't put her on antibiotics and put a drain in after the surgery. She feels it's "them" against the patients. She has to fend for herself. She isn't telling them all she is feeling because they don't understand and is afraid of what they will do to her if she does.
The worse part of the whole event for her was the respirator tube in her throat. It was at a point where she always felt like she was gagging. I think she is afraid to let them know just how hard it is for her to breathe because of mucus congestion because she is terrified they will put her on the respirator again. She is giving up.
Any ideas?

We have over 100 praying for her

[hillarymcarter]

I'm so sorry for your loss...the hurricane and what has happened to your mother. I am from Louisiana so I can understand all the different emotions you are feeling right now. What hospital is your mom in? LSU shreveport has an excellent trauma unit. We went to rehab in Jackson, Mississippi at Methodist Rehabilitation Center and it was amazing. They are very caring and they have wonderful therapists.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I just went through all of this myself less than a year ago with my husband so I can understand your emotions.

[lilput]

She is in East Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Parish. When the accident happened, they were renting a house in Columbia, MS. The house is still being rented by them even though they are not there now. The thing is that they considered the one in Jackson and the other one they are considering is Touro in New Orleans. They are waiting for Touro to be approved to open again. It hasn't been decided which one she will go to, but it is so good to hear a good reference for the one in Jackson.
Today, her spirits were better. She still feels she has to fend for herself in ICU. She said a nurse said she didn't have time to help her because she had paperwork to do. It might be a mixture of fact and pain drug effects.

The good news is that I found out today that she can move her legs, I knew her arms are strong, but she cannot sit up unsupported, open and close her fingers, and she can barely wiggle her toes on her right foot. We look at it as the beginning of a good result as long as she doesn't have many more down days.

Thank you so much for caring enough to respond.

[hillarymcarter]

I've heard good things about Touro also. My husband's surgeon at LSUS actually recommended Touro to us because he is from New Orleans. If she is moving her legs Jackson might be the better option because they have treadmill-gait therapy. This is therapy where they strap you into a harness, put your on a treadmill and "retrain" your legs to remember how to walk. If you go to the methodist rehabilitation center website they have a video of how this therapy works. I hope everything works out for you guys. At least you have two very good options for therapy.
If it makes you feel any better, my husband was very paranoid when he was in ICU. He told me horrible stories about some of his nurses. I didn't know which were true and which were the drugs talking so if he told me something bad about someone I would just talk to the charge nurse and let them know that Bruce didn't feel comfortable with certain nurses. They would make sure those nurses rotated around Bruce so he didn't have any of them. Even if nothing is really going on, in her mind it is and it will make her feel better to have nurses she trusts.

[Joed]

I also had some very strange thoughts, etc. in ICU. And one of the nurses was just plain mean...even to the point that I was afraid of her.

But I think it is a combination of unfortunate reality and the drugs. Always best to err on the side of caution though. There are some nurses who should never have gotten into their fields...they just don't seem to have the real heart for it. But, thankfully, most of them are wonderful and of those, some are better than gold.