Hangin' On

Today, I feel like I'm hanging on to a life preserver that is ready to sink itself.

Yesterday, I noticed that Mike's toe (the same one with the recurring infection) went from black to green. The whole side of his big toe is the color of grass. I didn't want to panic because the podiatrist had come on Saturday and I know she did something to the toe. I decided to wait until today. Well, Mike woke up with his toe still green and a 101.2 fever.

Now I'm not sure if one has to do with the other, because he also seems to have a cough. Needless to say, I am quite concerned and upset. What was even more upsetting was that it took 2 calls and 1 hour for me to get a call back from Hospice. After the nurse on the phone went through everything with me, and assured me that I was doing "everything right", she said that they didn't have any nurses available to come and check Mike, but that she would call back shortly to check on him. That call was 10:30 and as of now (12:23) we have not gotten a call back.

I'm disappointed because the whole purpose of signing Mike on to Hospice was to know that someone would be there for us and come and evaluate him if necessary. I'm sure if I had said it was an emergency, things would be different, but when I was told that we would have access to 24/7 care, I wasn't told that it was limited to emergency situations. Of course, if I don't hear back from them, I WILL call them to see if someone could come and check his lungs BEFORE it turns into something more serious. As for his toe, the podiatrist is coming later today to look at it and possibly change medications. The Hospice nurse indicated that that would be the best way to handle his toe since the podiatrist has been following it the whole time.

I am once again, SPENT. The only good things I seem to be able to hang on to right now is the fact that we have a home to live in and that me and my children are in good health. Everything else around me, at this moment, seems to be falling apart.

Update: I called Hospice back and they have agreed to send someone to check on Mike sometime after 5pm today. The podiatrist is also coming around that time. Mike's fever went down after the Tylenol and I hope it stays down. I worry because with Mike, a fever is usually always a sign of something bigger. As I mentioned, I just really want to keep Mike out of the hospital and if something can be caught before it gets worse, than that's my goal. If need be, I think they can also order blood tests.