[Caring] Steve and Maggie

[Ron Rees]

I received (and others) the following email from Sam, Steve Meyer's son today.  Also, Anita Newhart is home from the hospital after knee surgery.  She lives alone, so, think of her if you make a pot of soup or make some frozen meals that she may like.  Cathy

Hello all,
Some updates:
--Friday night around 11pm, Dad had a fall at Waterview Pointe. He hadn't been sleeping well and they put him on Ambien to help him sleep. They think he may have sleepwalked or wandered (Ambien is wacky stuff). They took him to the ER where he got four stitches above his left eye. He has a horrendous-looking black eye that was swollen shut yesterday but there was no concussion or more concerning/long-term injuries.
--also Maggie heard (to our shock and amazement) that Dad's insurance had reversed itself, granted their appeal, and will extend coverage for WVP another 30 days, till 12/29 (I think. Will check w/social worker Bridget in the AM.) I will try to move back Dad's assessment for assisted living to sometime closer to the end of coverage.
--I got in to town yesterday afternoon and was really encouraged by how well Dad seems to have progressed (aside from looking like he lost a fight.) He seems cognitively back to normal and was very present and oriented.
--Around 10:30 last night, Maggie was complaining of chest/back pains, nausea and chills. We had hoped it was heartburn from a glass of wine, but Mylanta didn't help, and we called the MMH nurseline, which after some triage questions, recommended that we call 911 and that she go to the ER in an ambulance. They said her EKG looked abnormal and "weird," and did a cardiac cath. The cardiologist told me that it exactly matched the pictures they'd gotten just prior to her heart surgery in August '22, and that the two arteries he'd been concerned about from the EKG were "pristine." No signs of blockage and she didn't have a heart attack. They admitted her for observation while they wait for test results.
--I got back to Glenwood around 4am and caught a few hours of sleep. Went to WVP after to tell Dad what had happened with Maggie, and we had a long good talk where I could fill him in about how Maggie had been doing. He agreed to do will/power of attorney/etc paperwork and sign it; I'll call lawyers tomorrow, after we know more about when Maggie might get out.
--Dad had slept through the night (without Ambien) and looked good, sitting up when I arrived. He was tired when I left 45mins to an hour later, and I helped him to bed.
--i went over to the hospital to see Maggie, and she feels pretty lousy - very weak. She had chest and abdominal CT scans that were unremarkable - no masses or embolisms or clots. They did an echocardiogram and we're waiting on those results - cardiologist should be seeing those tomorrow and she can probably get out then. She continued to have nausea but meds are helping with that. She's scared to eat but I got her to have a cup of applesauce which she's kept down. She's also very anxious about some vivid dreams when she napped for an hour this afternoon ,and was worried that she might be psychotic. The nurse didn't seem worried and suggested that since that by all indications her heart is fine, this whole thing might be some combination of anxiety and maybe acid reflux. I'm going to try to convince her to build up her strength by eating dinner and I hope she gets more rest, as she's been having so much trouble sleeping.
--I'm slated to go to Atlanta Tuesday (need to leave Mtta around 8:30am to catch a 12:47 flight from Columbus) for a work anniversary celebration on Wednesday, and then I had been slated to fly from Atlanta to Raleigh Wednesday night to see my mom for a few days. Depending on how Maggie is doing, when she gets out of the hospital, and her needs, I may have to cancel part or all of that.  I'm trying to figure out if I can go to Atlanta and back to Columbus, or if I should just stay in Marietta and extend my rental car and fly back to NYC next weekend.


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