Finally at 1:00 am Monday night Sue was transferred by ambulance from St. Mary's Health Center to Barnes-Jewish Hospital downtown (Big Barnes). I do not know what the long delay was all about, but thankfully she is now in the hospital where her physicians work and where she has been countless times before. It took almost an act of Congress (well, not this Congress) to get her moved, but it happened. She is in the Shukar Unit which is kind of an overflow, catch-all kind of place. She was there one other time, and the care was excellent, as it is proving to be this time.
Today she had upper and lower GI tests, an EEG, a scan of the shunt in her head, and those are only tests we know about. In spite of so many days in hospital, so many tests, two central line ports for IV's, and so much disorientation, Sue is in good spirits, undaunted by this new challenge.
St. Mary's Health Center is an excellent place. Sue's house physician there, Dr. Rajagopal, agreed that Sue needed to be in Barnes for continuity of care and for the specialized expertise of the staff. In all Sue's many hospitalizations, I have never witnessed such devotion and kindness as everyone at St. Mary's exhibited. The mission statement of the place is "Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God." Every person in the place seemed to have signed onto the mission. Really, it was quite extraordinary. Only at the Apple Store have I ever seen employees so singly focussed on a common goal--just not so dire.
St. Mary's is part of the Franciscan Sisters networks of hospitals, one of which is St. Joseph's in St. Charles where mother spent far too much time decades ago. St. Joseph's is also the hospital where my husband died in 1985.
In other news, Sue's loving caregiver, Linda, took the "ice bucket challenge," the fund raising project that is taking the country by storm. Linda posted a video on Facebook of her grandchildren dumping pails of ice water over her head. Linda's beloved brother-in-law is suffering from ALS, a truly horrible disease for which there is, as yet, no treatment. Early on in Sue's illness, at least two physicians thought she had ALS, which put her through some years of hell. ALS is the only diagnosis for which there is no six-month waiting period for Social Security disability--that because Senator Jacob Javits of New York died of the disease.
Today she had upper and lower GI tests, an EEG, a scan of the shunt in her head, and those are only tests we know about. In spite of so many days in hospital, so many tests, two central line ports for IV's, and so much disorientation, Sue is in good spirits, undaunted by this new challenge.
St. Mary's Health Center is an excellent place. Sue's house physician there, Dr. Rajagopal, agreed that Sue needed to be in Barnes for continuity of care and for the specialized expertise of the staff. In all Sue's many hospitalizations, I have never witnessed such devotion and kindness as everyone at St. Mary's exhibited. The mission statement of the place is "Through our exceptional health care services, we reveal the healing presence of God." Every person in the place seemed to have signed onto the mission. Really, it was quite extraordinary. Only at the Apple Store have I ever seen employees so singly focussed on a common goal--just not so dire.
St. Mary's is part of the Franciscan Sisters networks of hospitals, one of which is St. Joseph's in St. Charles where mother spent far too much time decades ago. St. Joseph's is also the hospital where my husband died in 1985.
In other news, Sue's loving caregiver, Linda, took the "ice bucket challenge," the fund raising project that is taking the country by storm. Linda posted a video on Facebook of her grandchildren dumping pails of ice water over her head. Linda's beloved brother-in-law is suffering from ALS, a truly horrible disease for which there is, as yet, no treatment. Early on in Sue's illness, at least two physicians thought she had ALS, which put her through some years of hell. ALS is the only diagnosis for which there is no six-month waiting period for Social Security disability--that because Senator Jacob Javits of New York died of the disease.
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