We’ve graduated! Vernon has been transferred upstairs to the PSCU (Progressive Care Stroke Unit.)

It was so strange to find Vernon’s  old room empty after all these weeks.

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It has actually been a pretty intense week, getting lots of information on next potential centers for Vernon’s care.  Every day the options change.  Last week I fretted over the hospital in Santa Ana being a long daily drive (45 minutes away) but this week I have been handed new options in downtown LA or San Diego (1- 1.5 hours away at GOOD traffic times.) Suddenly Santa Ana seems pretty doable.  Apparently Vernon is a rare case (and rare recovery, lets not forget) with a unique combination of challenges. None of the long-term placements have worked out so far, so we continue on at the hospital.  Fine with me. It’s pretty great there anyway.

There is a combination of three major challenges in our way when it comes to Vernon’s next placement: his trach, his daily dialysis, and our health insurance. They haven’t been coming together very well for us yet.

BUT TODAY WE WERE TRANSFERRED UPSTAIRS. The hospital deals well with all three of our challenges…and is still close to home!

I had such stress in my belly until I arrived at the hospital today. I had grown to love our cozy time at the SICU, all the nurses we met, the special care, the decorated room, our routine. And all this new info, all these potential decisions and then-rejections were difficult to handle. I had learned to live in the moment in the past two months, and now I was constantly being forced to come out of it and think about the future with every new placement idea that came our way.

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This is floor 4. His new ward. Justice (one of the words in the wallpaper)  was the first thing I read when I came out of the elevator.  Let’s claim that word in this next season of Vernon’s story.  Justice.  The legal issues come to mind, of course (I won’t be blogging about them) but also I hope for justice in his healing.

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There were 4 bags full of goodies from our other room, transferred over to this one. In seven weeks, its surprising how much stuff can accumulate. Lots of sticky-taped pictures to un-stick. This new room is great though.  Vernon has a new view…and a bathroom and shower! So if you visit, you never have to leave!

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Even though this room is a bit smaller, it feels good to move.  It does feel like a graduation. Just like with any move, we begin to decorate (at least I do) right away. It just feels better having your own stuff on the walls, even if it is less of it in different positions. Vernon also has a new bed, less intensive, a bit smaller to fit into his downscaled room.

Weirdly, being there this morning lifted my spirits immensely. We are moving forward. I used to live in NYC and I know that moving from a bigger place in Brooklyn to a tiny place in Manhattan is still a move up. It felt like that. The view was higher, the floor was busier, his ‘housewarming party’ of visiting friends and musicians today felt a bit more crowded but also more exciting.

If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, Vernon!

 

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