The Official Joyce Update Blog

These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  10:05 a.m.  Dusty:  Joyce had already been taken for her stress test by the time Dusty arrived. Just returned to room by 10 a.m. Joyce had been attempting to get up and move about on her own during the night, so she has been rigged with a bed alarm to alert nurses station when she was trying to get up on her own. 10:06 a.m. Dusty : Aaron, tech, will send results off to doc for review and doc will be in to provide update. 10:07 a.m. Dusty:  Joyce being hooked back up to sensors in room and vitals being collected by her day nurse (Sylvia). 10:08 a.m. Dusty: Joyce reported to have slept well, was woken around 7am to prep for stress test. O2 @ 94%, pulse 85. BP 126/76. Temp 98.1 10:23 a.m.  Dusty to Jess: "Mom, you're in the hospi...

  These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  9:46 a.m.  Dusty: Ambulance  summoned following Joyce abruptly announcing she thinks she was dying, reported trouble breathing, and had severe chest pain, they are taking Joyce to ER.  9:48 a.m. Connie: Are they going to Moscow or Pullman? 9:54 a.m.  Dusty:   Moscow to start with. I am heading to ER now. 10:10 a.m.  Dusty:   On-site at Gritman, they are still getting Joyce admitted and checked. I'm in the ER waiting room and will get access to her when they come get me.  10:37 a.m.  Dusty:   In ER with Joyce, waiting for doc to update on Joyce. BP 150/68    Pulse 93. 10:43 a.m.  Dusty:   Nurse Kim reported doc is now reviewing PRH records that just arrived are "working backwar...

  These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  8:49 a.m.  Dusty:   Dusty back on site at PRH, ICU staff busy in two different rooms with patients, update forthcoming once they realize Dusty has snuck in. 8:50 a.m.  Dusty:   Joyce awake and watching television,  stretched out in recliner. 8:55 a.m.  Dusty:   Dietician (also named Joyce, calling her Joy going forward  to differentiate) arrived to visit with Dusty. Joy have been tracking Joyce's food intake and noticed decline in food being consumed. Reviewed health log family has been keeping. 8:56 a.m.  Dusty:   Dusty informed Joy that mom eats slow and if she takes too long eating one meal it will throw off her appetite for other meals. Joy acknowledged that as she has time stamps for mo...

  These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  8:39 a.m.  Dusty:  Dusty back on site. Joyce working on eating omelet and peaches for her breakfast. Doc and head nurse dealing with other patients in ICU needing attention, they will check in with Dusty when able. 8:40 a.m.  Dusty:  Joyce knows who Dusty is and appears to be in good spirits at the moment 8:50 a.m.  Dusty:  Cindy (nurse) and Megan (CNA) stopped by. Joyce was on BiPAP from 1030pm to ~330am before Joyce wanted it off. Joyce's oxygen saturation stayed up after BiPAP removed so it was not restarted. 4 units of insulin was administered to Joyce after Dusty left last night. 8:54 a.m.  Dusty:  Medicine administered Lisinopril (blood pressure), torvastatin (?), aspirin, carvedilol 9:56 a.m....

  These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  8:33 a.m.  Dusty:  Dusty back on site at PRH. Checking with Sam (Nurse), BiPAP system worked and Joyce "back to normal" 8:49 a.m.  Dusty:  ICU is short staffed today. Sam is being assisted by LCSC nursing student intern. Alyssa today. Joyce is very responsive and back to what family would recognize as baseline normal. Joyce knows who Dusty is but cannot recall which of her sons is the oldest. 8:50 a.m.  Dusty:  Sam informed Dusty that the BiPAP was kept on Joyce until about the time she returned to cover morning ICU shift. 8:54 a.m.  Dusty:  BP 155/67     Pulse 82     Oxygen level 90%     CO2 saturation 19     Joyce responding to interrogatives and able to talk fairl...

    These entries will be a bit odd as I (Jess) will be transcribing text messages from Dusty of the events as they happened and he had time to reach out to myself and the family. I will have him come back and edit/add more when he can.  8:24 a.m.  Dusty:  Dusty arrived to PRH, Day nurse Janine on phone with X-ray. 8:25 a.m.  Dusty:  In Joyce's room. Breakfast just delivered. Janine off phone now. Morning meds administered to Joyce. Joyce reported to have "slept some" last night, "Little better than her first night" according to Janine.  8:26 a.m.  Dusty:  Planned X-ray will be to check Joyce's lungs.  8:27 a.m.  Dusty:  Janine checked Joyce's vitals (lungs and heart) with stethoscope. X-ray is because docs want to rule out pneumonia. Dusty reminded staff Joyce habitually breathes shallow. Janine confirmed they know.  8:28 a.m.  Dusty:  X-ray will confirm if pneumonia or if Joyce's shallow breathing is ...

Dusty called Joyce during his walk home from work (8/20/2020) ~4:45 p.m. Joyce was alert and talkative initially, slowing down toward end of phone call.  Joyce reported that she rode the stationary bike as part of her physical therapy today instead of going for a walk down the hallway and did some upper body exercises with her arms.  Dusty reviewed his day with Joyce and reported on the UI's activity level increase with the return of students and the general concerns over that population returning. Dusty informed Joyce he will be up at Camp Grizzly Friday night to help with the Service and Induction Weekend projects. Dusty asked if Joyce ended up having her blood drawn at Gritman today and she reported that she had not left the Aspen Park facility or had her blood drawn. They concluded that the previous blood draw from last week must have given the St. Joseph Cancer Center the information they needed for Joyce's upcoming appointment. She briefly was unaware of where she was, s...

NOTE:  Joyce has been moved out of the quarantine hall and is now in Room 208. Her new phone number is now 208-892-5855. --- Joyce had her teleconference with her primary care provider (Dr. Collins) today, which happened to occur as Dusty was calling Moscow Medical around 12:15 p.m.  Dusty spoke with staff member Wendy at Moscow Medical (unaware Joyce was concurrently meeting with Dr. Collins at that time) about the discharge summary notes Gritman had setup for Joyce about her potential spinal cancer. Dr. Dickinson was listed as the radiation oncologist Joyce was to have follow up. Dusty inquired if that appointment had been scheduled. Moscow Medical staff was unable to determine from Gritman documents if the oncologist appointment had been scheduled but took down Dusty's phone number to call him back with updates once Dr. Collins finished with Joyce's teleconference. Wendy anticipated that Dr. Collins would most likely arrange the oncology appointment with Dr. Dickinson given...

Dusty and Jess called Joyce this evening around 7:50 p.m. She was having her blood sugar levels checked, with a reading of 256 ("too high"). The nurse excused herself while the phone call continued and returned with insulin. Joyce was thankful that the needles for blood testing and insulin injections were so small. Tramadol was administered to Joyce for pain control.  Joyce reported her pain level was around a 2 out of 10 at the time of the phone call. Joyce claimed that she did not have physical therapy today, believing that the staff might've been too busy to get her on the schedule today. She said that tomorrow she will begin a new regimen with a therapist assigned to her to work on some specific and new exercises. Joyce has continued to sleep in her recliner for comfort but is considering attempting to try sleeping in the bed in the coming days. She stated she will discuss that option with the day nurses as they are more knowledgeable about what she should and should ...