Moving Day!
Today, we said goodbye to Highland Hospital in Oakland, and Robb was transferred to the California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC). Highland was great, but this place is like a Spine Spa. We love it.
Robb rode in an ambulance to CPMC. I had an option of riding with him, but wasn't sure how I would have gotten back to my car at the end of the day. Despite getting shunted onto the wrong off-ramp, I found the drive to the hospital very simple.
Robb and his drivers had a bit more of an adventure, as they had somehow been given the address of the wrong "campus" of CPMC. They got as far as wheeling Robb into the third floor of another branch of this hospital, on Buchanan and Sacramento. Whoops! But there was no harm done. I was pretty confused when I arrived at CPMC before the ambulance.
Continuity of Care
One of the things we had to deal with at Highland Hospital was not working with the same staff for more than a day or two. I don't know if I could count how many different nurses were assigned to Robb. Each time he got a new nurse, he had to tell them all about his situation and his needs. We were "on guard" at all times, and Robb found that very exhausting and disruptive.
At CPMC, we understand that he will have one nurse assigned to him during each eight hour shift. So he will see the same people every day. They will get to know him, and will be very familiar with his case. We've already met two of the nurses, Steve and Irena, and Robb likes them both very much. (Robb keeps referring to Irena as Olga and Masha, which are the other two sisters in Three Sisters. I think it is funny that when he's so tired, he's making such literary mistakes...)
Robb's room mate is a very nice man named Bill who is recovering from a stroke. He's in fantastic shape. You would never know that there was anything wrong with him. He and his wife must be under a lot of stress, because this afternoon, their eighteen year old son called to say that he had just had a car accident. Nobody was hurt, but I can only imagine how difficult this must be for the family.
Today was mostly about getting Robb settled, and starting his assessment process. The doctors have taken Robb off of morphine, and switched his medication around a bit, and Robb seems much more cheery.
The Friend Report
Kara stopped by, which was a delightful surprise. She and I had a nice catching-up talk while Robb had his first meeting with Dr. Chase.
Mimosa and Thea came by with all sorts of packages. The Artistic staff at Berkeley Rep sent a great selection of tshirts. Thanks, everyone! All that eating in bed takes a toll on Robb's wardrobe. And, on the subject of tshirts, Robb and I finally noticed the hilarious brand name on the shirts that the Costume Shop sent. I asked for tight-fitting tshirts for Robb to wear under the brace, and they sent Under Armor brand. Brilliant!
Thanks, Joan and Bob for the great package from LL Bean. This was very much appreciated by both of us.
Thank you Abigail for the awesome bonsai tree. We have a beautiful bonsai garden near our house that we really love. (They have a tree that was given as a gift to President Lincoln, and that's not even the oldest tree in this collection.)
The Food Report
Good bye and good riddance to horrible hospital food! Highland Hospital served food made by the same company that packages airline food. Plastic plates, plastic forks.
CPMC serves delicious food on real china and gives us real metal cutlery. I know I have gotten into the habit of saying "we" when I should probably be saying "Robb." But in this case I really mean it. They send food up to Robb, and if I request it, they'll send me a meal, too. (I've got to check if this is covered by the Workman's Comp, before I get too used to it!)
And as if that wasn't enough, Greg sent a list of his favorite restaurants and carry-outs in walkign distance. Now that I don't have to be so hyper vigilant about Robb's care, the thought of leaving the hospital to pick up some food seems like the greatest luxury in the entire world.
Robb rode in an ambulance to CPMC. I had an option of riding with him, but wasn't sure how I would have gotten back to my car at the end of the day. Despite getting shunted onto the wrong off-ramp, I found the drive to the hospital very simple.
Robb and his drivers had a bit more of an adventure, as they had somehow been given the address of the wrong "campus" of CPMC. They got as far as wheeling Robb into the third floor of another branch of this hospital, on Buchanan and Sacramento. Whoops! But there was no harm done. I was pretty confused when I arrived at CPMC before the ambulance.
Continuity of Care
One of the things we had to deal with at Highland Hospital was not working with the same staff for more than a day or two. I don't know if I could count how many different nurses were assigned to Robb. Each time he got a new nurse, he had to tell them all about his situation and his needs. We were "on guard" at all times, and Robb found that very exhausting and disruptive.
At CPMC, we understand that he will have one nurse assigned to him during each eight hour shift. So he will see the same people every day. They will get to know him, and will be very familiar with his case. We've already met two of the nurses, Steve and Irena, and Robb likes them both very much. (Robb keeps referring to Irena as Olga and Masha, which are the other two sisters in Three Sisters. I think it is funny that when he's so tired, he's making such literary mistakes...)
Robb's room mate is a very nice man named Bill who is recovering from a stroke. He's in fantastic shape. You would never know that there was anything wrong with him. He and his wife must be under a lot of stress, because this afternoon, their eighteen year old son called to say that he had just had a car accident. Nobody was hurt, but I can only imagine how difficult this must be for the family.
Today was mostly about getting Robb settled, and starting his assessment process. The doctors have taken Robb off of morphine, and switched his medication around a bit, and Robb seems much more cheery.
The Friend Report
Kara stopped by, which was a delightful surprise. She and I had a nice catching-up talk while Robb had his first meeting with Dr. Chase.
Mimosa and Thea came by with all sorts of packages. The Artistic staff at Berkeley Rep sent a great selection of tshirts. Thanks, everyone! All that eating in bed takes a toll on Robb's wardrobe. And, on the subject of tshirts, Robb and I finally noticed the hilarious brand name on the shirts that the Costume Shop sent. I asked for tight-fitting tshirts for Robb to wear under the brace, and they sent Under Armor brand. Brilliant!
Thanks, Joan and Bob for the great package from LL Bean. This was very much appreciated by both of us.
Thank you Abigail for the awesome bonsai tree. We have a beautiful bonsai garden near our house that we really love. (They have a tree that was given as a gift to President Lincoln, and that's not even the oldest tree in this collection.)
The Food Report
Good bye and good riddance to horrible hospital food! Highland Hospital served food made by the same company that packages airline food. Plastic plates, plastic forks.
CPMC serves delicious food on real china and gives us real metal cutlery. I know I have gotten into the habit of saying "we" when I should probably be saying "Robb." But in this case I really mean it. They send food up to Robb, and if I request it, they'll send me a meal, too. (I've got to check if this is covered by the Workman's Comp, before I get too used to it!)
And as if that wasn't enough, Greg sent a list of his favorite restaurants and carry-outs in walkign distance. Now that I don't have to be so hyper vigilant about Robb's care, the thought of leaving the hospital to pick up some food seems like the greatest luxury in the entire world.
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