It has been a week since Margaret came home from hospital following her heart attack. It has not been an easy week for her as she is in a great deal of pain and her feet and legs have become very swollen.
Last Thursday she was visited by "that woman" akna the Bluecare RN. She was quite upset by the thought of the visit but when the RN called she was very good. I updated the RN on Margaret's condition and medications and she had been briefed by the social worker at the Sunshine Coast Private hospital. She had a brief talk with Margaret and was very gentle and kind with her. She also persuaded her to let her shower her. This was a surprise as Margaret normally wont let anybody shower her. A carer is calling today, Tuesday, to shower her and I hope Margaret is as cooperative. The RN commented on Margaret's swollen feet and agreed that I should increase her diuretics, Lasics, to two tablets a day (80mg).
On Friday Helen and I took Margaret for a blood test and had intended to take out to lunch afterwards but Margaret wasn't up to it. Instead we bought a take away roast chicken, chips and a couple of salads. We ate these alfresco on our back patio with Margaret sitting in her wheelchair. It was a great success especially as we had a bottle of sparkling white wine (which we can't call champagne) with the meal.
Saturday and Sunday were normal days by which I mean Margaret was in a great deal of discomfort, very tired and confused. Helen and I spent the days catching up with the housework and washing while attending to Margaret's needs. She gets very worried if left alone for any period of time. We have finally got her to push the intercom button on her phone when she needs help and we keep an wireless extension nearby through out the day. Occasionally we answer it with "Room Service!".
Even with the increased diuretics Margaret's legs continued to swell up and she was getting more and more breathless.
On Monday I took her to see he GP for the bloodtest results and advice on her continuing care. The first thing he did was to increase her diuretics to three tablets a day (120mg) which was where she was before her heart attack. He said that she was showing signs of pulmonary edema which has caused congestive heart failure in the past. He described her blood test results as terrible, but normal for Margaret. While they held at this level Margaret was relatively safe. The eGFR was 25 and creatinine level of 140. She will have another blood test in a couple of weeks.
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