Nancy was moved upstairs to the fourth floor today to the Advanced Care Unit (ACU). That was twelve days in the ICU. I visited in the morning in the ICU where they were in preparation for Nancy’s departure and the arrival of two new patients. They could not get her moved yesterday because of the lack of appropriate space upstairs.
When I returned at 4:30 the move had been accomplished although (in Nancy’s mind) with less than a smooth handoff to the team in the ACU. The crew that brought her up were needed back in the ICU, she was in good shape and properly taken care of, and the ACU is, by definition, a little less intensive – care wise.
Luckily (I think) an acquaintance stopped in to see her at just that time and took on some of the welcoming function she seemed to want. Nancy and I had talked about visitors or no and she wanted to put it off for at least one more day.
Her voice is just strong enough now that she can be heard and understood. I don’t think she is ready for her cell phone yet. The in-room phone triggers long distance charges so she will soon demand her cell phone back. In anticipation of that I spent an hour in the AT&T store buying one of the darn things and switching her account (it would have expired on 12/18) to my new one. They have to do a credit check and want both people there because they have to call an AT&T center someplace for such a transfer. So we had to wait on another female clerk and have her ready “to be Nancy” if need be. Being my first cell phone my homework for tonight is to figure out how it works.
I did not encounter any of the doctors today and the ACU nurses were not yet really acquainted with Nancy so they didn’t provide any new information. I expected that, so no problem.
It is cold but there is no snow – that’s good with the driving I’m doing.
My sister lives south of Cleveland OH and they had 60 mph winds but the big snow is farther east. I’ll post this and then check and see how it is progressing.