Betsey has had a significant setback over the last several days. On Wednesday (May 25), she fell while using the toilet. She bumped her head and, more significantly, dislocated her left shoulder (the side that is paralyzed). She was brought by ambulance to the hospital and ended up spending three nights there. They put her shoulder back into place right away but it remains very sore, and pain medications have been making her groggy. Perhaps due to the trauma of all this, she has been experiencing several other, relatively new problems: she seems to have lost the last bit of mobility she had in her left leg, her right side is much weaker, and she has been having sharp pains on her right torso, maybe due to nerve damage from a case of shingles a few months ago. Various tests were run at the hospital, and they couldn’t find any other new problems. Yesterday (May 28), she was transferred to the rehab unit of a nursing facility (address below). We’re not sure how long she’ll be there, but the goal is to get her ready to come home. We have a formal meeting on Tuesday to talk through her care plan/goals. Right now, it’s taking 2-3 people to get her out of bed, given her pains and mobility issues.
I'm hoping she can be weaned off of pain medications soon. She’ll need to be more alert to be able to participate in therapy. She is not really able to communicate much by text or email. If you want to send her a card, the address is:
Elizabeth Shay, Room 107
ManorCare
2800 Palo Parkway
Boulder, CO 80301
SInce this report was sent, we learned that the Tuesday meeting was postponed, as was a scheduled MRI tomorrow. Our hearts go out to Betsey and to Rob and Katie, as they deal with this new situation, after a fairly long period of relative stability in Betsey's condition.
I love this photo that was taken the last time we were with Betsey:
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| Betsey and Me |
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