General Update #42

6:31 p.m. - Kandi stopped by to say goodbye to Joyce as she will be off for the next couple of days. Joyce thanked her for all of her care, thoughtfulness, and concern over the last few days. 

Joyce discovered earplugs on her table and asked why they were there. Dusty informed her that they were provided when she was lodged in 226 as it had a noisy HVAC right over her room. The staff at the time were concerned it would disturb her sleeping. Joyce stated that she didn't even notice it. Dusty stated it was barely noticeable but suggested that Joyce's bad hearing may have spared her from noticing. Joyce nodded agreement and smiled.

6:34 p.m. - Amanda, night shift nurse, arrived to check in with Joyce. She promised Joyce that she would get her into bed at a more decent time this evening. Amanda explained to her nurse's aide, Landon, that they had gotten busy last night and so were delayed in getting Joyce her shower and that then caused delay in getting Joyce into bed. Joyce assured them it was okay, she liked sitting up in the chair.   

Dusty asked Amanda if Jackie had heard back from Dr. Brown about Joyce's vision issues. Amanda departed to go ask while Landon took vitals. Blood pressure was 138/80. Temperature was 97.1 degrees. Oxygen was at 92% with pulse of 90. Landon departed.

Amanda returned and said that Dr. Brown hasn't gotten back on the subject of the prism/spiderweb/distortions across Joyce's vision yet. Amanda asked Joyce if she was still seeing the vision distortions and Joyce confirmed that she was still seeing them even now. Joyce then stated that she had been affected by this for sometime now, perhaps months. Dusty told Amanda that Joyce had only just told him she was experiencing it this afternoon, this is the first he was hearing of it being an ongoing issue for months now. Amanda asked Joyce if she sees the vision distortions all the time or only some of the time. Joyce indicated some of the time. Amanda departed. 

Joyce scolded Dusty for telling on her to the nurses, saying that she only wanted to have an appointment scheduled for going to the eye doctor, not tell them she was seeing things as they might think she is crazy. Dusty stated that they would not think that Joyce is crazy and instead they would try to determine if something was going wrong for Joyce physically. Dusty stated Joyce should have told him or another family member that she was having vision distortions over the last few months sooner as he did not know it was going on if she had been having them. They would have followed up with a doctor or made an eye appointment sooner. 

Joyce then went on to say to Dusty that she could see spider webs "right now," and "they are not magical ones! I can see them from the ceiling right there!" Dusty looked where Joyce indicated but saw nothing. Dusty stated that cobwebs were not generally permitted in hospitals. Joyce stated that they were not cobwebs but dark spiderwebs, just dark. Joyce then looked down at her table and stated that they were on there as well and so she grabbed a facial tissue and attempted to wipe them off from the table's surface to show Dusty. After they would not wipe away or lift up onto the tissue, Dusty pointed out that there was nothing there and that what Joyce was seeing was something that only Joyce can see. Joyce responded that "well, I have weird eyes, then." Joyce continued for a few more minutes to try and wipe the "black spider webs away," then beckoned Dusty to come and look closer to see the "spiderwebs." Dusty came over, Joyce turning on the room lights with her control pad, and still no "dark spiderwebs" were seen by Dusty. Joyce insisted they were there, becoming confused. Dusty inspected the tabletop while Joyce ran her hand around on it. Dusty confirmed no dark shapes or images present. Joyce traced out what she was seeing, making a rough circle and asked Dusty if he could see it. Dusty stated no. Joyce lamented that she must be going crazy. Dusty reminded Joyce that nurse Jackie said it could be related to her high blood pressure levels, so it might be something physiological rather than psychological. Joyce asked if high blood pressure could make a person see things. Dusty expressed uncertainty, reminding Joyce he was not a healthcare professional and his limited medical training was in first aid from scouts and skeletal forensics from anthropology. She laughed at that, admitting that probably didn't make him an expert on "crazy eyes." Dusty suggested to Joyce that they wait to worry about things until Dr. Brown followed up with them. Joyce agreed though she continued to rub and pat the tabletop for a few more minutes, studying whatever phantom images she thought she saw, then fell asleep in the chair. 

7:53 p.m. - Joyce asked Dusty what kind of surgery they did on her today. Dusty informed Joyce that they removed a large kidney stone from her left kidney. Joyce states she only remembers being pushed around in rooms. Joyce stated they "put you about half out and you just know you're being moved from room to room." 

8 p.m. - Amanda arrived to follow up about Joyce's vision issues. Jackie followed up with Dr. Brown and Dr. Brown said that she would follow up with Joyce on it tomorrow morning. Amanda asked Joyce about her pain levels. Joyce said that if she does not move, she could make it through the night, but if Joyce moved then the pain spikes. Amanda asked Joyce if she would like the pain medication now or before bed. Joyce indicated she would like to wait until bedtime. 

Amanda gave Joyce Levaquin (antibiotic) orally. Amanda commented that Joyce's bruises are looking better, starting to yellow out. Amanda joked with Joyce that Joyce should tell the people over at Good Samaritan that she was out in the protests or something to get some serious street cred. Joyce stated that she would prefer to go home instead of to the Good Samaritan. Amanda talked up the care and quality of Good Samaritan and how they would help Joyce get back home faster. Amanda said that two of Gritman's nurses also work over at Good Samaritan and hoped Joyce was sent there instead of Aspen Park. Amanda joked that Joyce might discover she is a champion bingo player and clean out all the other residents at Good Samaritan.

Amanda asked Joyce about her pain levels again. Joyce stated that if she doesn't move then the pain levels are low. If Joyce moves, it spikes to a 6 or 7. Amanda asked if Joyce normally wears oxygen at home. Joyce hesitated so Dusty confirmed that she did.

Dusty inquired about giving Joyce an enema to aid with bowel movement. Amanda stated that she does not think that has been done but Relistor was administered at least twice to Joyce. Joyce received a suppository last night and will receive another one again this evening in the hopes that finally triggers a movement. The Miralax and other stool softeners will also be administered, which draw moisture into the bowels and hopefully soften things up to aid in movement. Joyce reported no belly pain at this time which is also good.  

Amanda let Dusty know that the nurses all got a laugh from his note taking as Dr. Keizur is a man of few words and direct when he speaks and Dusty transcribed down what few things he said earlier in the day "It dropped his jaw, and that doesn't happen." Amanda departed room around 8:25 p.m.

8:34 p.m. - Landon arrived to take Joyce's blood sugar level. Reading was 232. 

8:46 p.m. - Joyce stated to Dusty that someone had "used the room before her" due to the pillow "not being here yesterday." Joyce wanted to know how someone could have come in to use the room if Dusty had been sitting in there all day. Dusty clarified that she wasn't even in the room yesterday as they moved her into 202 this morning. Joyce then realized that the extra pillow must have been brought in for her at some point. Dusty hypothesized Joyce's confusion was from being sleepy. She agreed.  

9:10 a.m. - Joyce commented that she has not had pain pills yet and she is not horribly in pain, so she is hoping that means that this will be a better night for her. 

Dusty packing up to depart Gritman, will plan to return around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Message(s) from Joyce:

The view out on the Gritman building from Joyce's current room in 202 reminds her of the Moscow High School building's shape and angles more than of Gritman. She likes the current view better than the one she had in 226. The very tops of the semi-trucks's trailers going by always caught her eye and made her think there were birds swooping by or some critter running past the window. 

Joyce really liked Merle Haggard, a western singer, was one of her favorites. Also Johnny Cash and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Joyce always liked "Weird Al." Seeing "Weird Al" in concert with Dusty, Mollie, Len and Russell when he was in Pullman, Washington one year was fun for Joyce. "He put his leg up over his head and jumped around on the stage! His songs and his costumes. It was quite a show." 

Joyce's girlfriends from her youth were Dolla and Patty Booth (sp?). They lived up the road at the next intersection in the road (Atlas Road) up at Rathdrum. Joyce lived four houses down from the intersection. One time they thought they were chased by a cougar, though not everyone believed them. The tree they were walking by in the dark, it was a great big fir tree that was so big and wide around, and there might not be any of those trees around here unless there is one up in the arboretum. The three of them were walking home and heard this long, big growl. They started running immediately. They were almost to Joyce's house at the time, and the cougar leapt down and came after them for a while but then turned and ran off into the field. The girls kept going to Joyce's house "at a furious pace. And I mean a furious pace because we knew we were in trouble." Joyce thinks they were around 12-years-old at the time. The adults were skeptical that it happened, but Joyce thinks the other adults who came out to see what was causing the commotion at the time realized that it was something that happened. There were a number of days that Dolla, Patty, and Joyce would not go past the tree in the dark. Dolla, Patty and Joyce would often go walking around in the dark. That's how Joyce got bit by the dog. There was a police dog (German Shepard?) that lived down the way, and it was vicious. It was a family dog, and it liked his family but he didn't like anybody else. The girls were walking on the road on the other side of the family's house and he came running out and grabbed Joyce's upper thigh and bit it. The three had to fight off the dog. The family came out and called the dog off. Alice took Joyce to the hospital to get sewn up. That memory is why Joyce is a little afraid of big dogs even to this day. Dusty asked if Joyce is afraid of dogs that she knows, too, or just strange dogs. Joyce stated that, in example, Carol and Courtney's dogs have been played with so Joyce is comfortable being around them...but she is still a little scared of all dogs. When you get attacked by a dog at an early age, you never really trust them again. You never know how far dogs are going to go if they decide they are going to go mean and you never stop feeling like maybe even tame dogs could turn on you. Joyce wasn't scared of Bumble or Deafy (sp?) or Muffin. Those were not scary dogs. German Shepard dogs are still intimidating to Joyce.  

Joyce noticed that it was raining and she hoped that Craig liked the rainfall she was seeing occur out her window. Then she said that she bets he might not like the rain. 

Joyce doesn't mind spiders. They like to hide from you. There don't seem to be too many aggressive spiders out at the farm. Snakes are still the worst to Joyce.

Joyce was bitten by a centipede once, over in the cellar room. Her foot did all kinds of stuff. Never saw anyone for it and so just toughed it out. Joyce's foot was sore for a long time. The centipede had got her as she was putting on her flip-flops. It did not like being crushed by a human foot and had strong opinions about that.

Joyce used to have relatives that lived in Boise. Alice's sister lived there for a number of years. Laura Seip. Husband was named Charlie. Joyce stated that Dusty traveled there once in his youth and met them and Dusty confirmed he vaguely remembered that. Joyce asked about Laura's kids and Dusty provided report on (Rosella) Darlene, Delores, Gerald, and Marilyn as he was able. 

Joyce asked if there was information about her uncle, James Rosenfeld, as they never knew what happened to him, only that the was MIA in WW2 and the ship name was never really known to the family. June thought he was on an aircraft carrier that was sunk, one of the ones that had the letter "y" in the name and went down with it. Dusty searched the U.S. POW/MIA Accounting Agency site for Nebraska casualty listings and determined that James (appearing in the records with a mis-spelled name?) was assigned to the USS Duncan as a Fireman 1st Class when declared MIA. Dusty guessed that maybe June was drawing from information about the Duncan protecting the USS Wasp a month prior, possibly from a letter James might have sent at one point? Joyce said she was uncertain where the notion came from. Maybe it was Alice who thought James was on a carrier. 

Graphic from Benson-Gleaves Class Destroyer History page.

Joyce indicated that she would like to finish the story about her uncle James (Jimmy) sometime, but is too tired right now.

Current location:

Gritman Medical Center, Room 202.

Current pain level:
6 out of 10 (about 7:16 p.m.)

Visiting information:

No change from previous post.

Currently only 1 visitor per day for Joyce, no exceptions. Once current visitor departs Joyce's room, no further visits for the rest of the day. No swapping out visitors (example, Dusty cannot remain on hospital grounds while Craig goes to sit with Joyce for an hour and then Dusty returns to room).