The Rehab fiasco

Well after haggling back and forth over the weekend, all day Monday and Tuesday morning; we decided to stay at the original facility. I was starting to feel uncomfortable with the pushiness of the other facility and every time I talked to them they would say something to the effect, "I worked there for 15 years and I am so glad I came here; they just don't do a good job there." I just don't think that it is good business practice to put down the competitor and it certainly is not ethical. I spoke to patients in this facility and they are all very happy with the care and say that they are especially happy with the therapy departments. I was told by one patient that "you shouldn't have come in on a weekend, the weekend staff only work weekends and don't usually know how everything works". Then she told me that the progress they have make with her in the therapy department is remarkable and that she couldn't be happier with the results. She said "they work you hard but it's worth it!" I asked Marc to make the final decision as to whether to change facilities and he opted to stay here.

I am very impressed with the therapy staff: occupational, physical and speech. They focus primarily on neurological problems and are very experienced. I especially liked the way they encouraged Marc when he really didn't want to continue. The nursing staff has come around and are very attentive to Marc now. I guess being the squeaky wheel helped some.

I am discouraged with Marc as he doesn't seem to have the drive that he has always had. It concerns me a great deal. I just think he is so tired of being sick that he would just rather lie in bed than get up and try to do anything. That just isn't Marc! If any of you out there have any ideas on how to perk him up I would appreciate any and all suggestions. I left today for about 4 hours, ran some errands, got a haircut and had lunch with an old friend. I think it was good for Marc not to have me hovering while he was in therapy. I am hoping that he will try a little harder if I am not there. I am going to go back to work on Thursday, so he will be here without anyone but the staff to watch over him during the day. I will continue to spend the nights here, so I will at least be with him a few hours every day. I think it also did me some good to get away for a while but I just can't help worrying about him while I am away. Care giving to a loved one is so difficult, it is so hard to be objective and you second guess all of your decisions. Marc was my rock and now I have to make decisions that may effect the outcome of this illness. I pray every day that I make the right decisions. I want more than anything for Marc to pull through this hurdle and not have any more obstacles.

I did talk to the Dr. here this afternoon and told him I would really like a full evaluation to figure out just why Marc is having the respiratory issues as he has never had any in the past. He is scheduled for a sleep study on July 1st and the staff pulmonologist will be evaluating him prior to that. I just hope they can figure out the cause of this last episode. We don't go back to MD Anderson until July 27 and 28 and will not have another MRI until the 27th. I pray that the MRI remains clear.

Thank all of you for your comments to the blog and the encouraging e-mails. I will try to post more later in the week.