I dont even know where to start!

I will first start off with some fantastic news. Dad has been weaning since Sunday morning which is like 76 plus hours and is still doing great. I find it interesting that he has been able to wean this long after I threw a semi fit in Monday's meeting saying that I didn't think they were challenging him enough and a lot of times I thought he was getting put back on the ventilator for stupid reasons. Now look at him. Of course, I can't take all the credit, he is doing a great job and this may be coincidental. Who cares, he is doing it!!!!

Martha, Scott, and Jordan stopped at the place in Rock Island on Monday night. Sort of a surprise swing through during dinner hours. Jordan text messaged me that Scott thought the place was 30 years behind everything else, they didn't offer respiratory care 24/7 and blah, blah, blah. Well, I shut that idea off and so did Scott. I might be recapping some stuff here too, so sorry if I am.

I called Harmony House and the gal there was SO great and said they would get him in ASAP and even went as far as saying she was trying to find a way to get dad in there by moving around some patients. I told Martha to call her and she did. I didn't talk to Martha about it until after work and after the fact that I talked to Valerie, dad's case manager at RML.

I talked to Valerie about 5 o'clock. I told her that we basically were wanting to veto Rock Island, due to lack of 24 hour RT therapy and overall felt unenthusiastic about them being able to treat him successfully. When I told her that they didn't offer 24 hour care she said she didn't know that and also vetoed that idea. So I asked her what happens if we can't find a place that can handle him, and have to wait for a bed elsewhere. She said that insurance would pay for him to stay at RML, however, they will eventually start pushing her to find another facility. I said, "Well, that's good then because there isn't one, we will have to wait for Harmony House to open up." That's when she said no, that there were other places in Illinois that she would feel perfectly comfortable sending him to.

That is where I was confused. At some point during all this, I had it in my head that the only places in the Midwest he could go to was, Waterloo, Rock Island or Omaha. She was just trying to find places closer to US. Well, that gives us more options, but we had all our bets on Harmony. I called Martha after talking to Valerie and she said that Natalie at Harmony told her that they wouldn't even be able to get him in until FALL OR LATER!!!!! Those words NEVER came out of that woman's mouth when she was talking to me. I swear I am so SICK of talking to people who OMIT facts or aren't forthcoming with me!! ARGH!!!

So, I called Rock Island today and I spoke with the director there. She basically said that the person who showed everyone around didn't really know what they were talking about. She said that the facility was an old building, but she assured me that they have up-to-date amenities. They do have a full time RT on staff, but since this is a skilled wing, the nurses there HAVE to be trained it all RT responsibilities. They have physical therapy and occupational therapy that comes in and works with the residents. They also have a dedicated wound nurse who can does water lavage and can use a wound vac if necessary. So, I felt a lot better about that place after our conversation.

This is ultimately Dad's decision as to where he goes. I think we should explore all options and put him in the absolute BEST place for the 130 days that the insurance will pay for to ENSURE he gets the MOST out of his treatment and could potentially have a more successful outcome. If we take him to a sub par place that makes him "comfortable" then, he wont thrive there. So, in the next few days or week even, we should have a better idea where Skippy is going.