LOL! 
I’m Happy that you are able to do many things that you like to, while you are away from home Lois. That’s so important in the healing process. Good to know that you are feeliing Better and that you will be home soon. The Butler did it!
Gerri:
414-978-3633. For the time being. I probably will be transferring to a third facility for rehab.
Lois
Know you must miss your home & fishies. I’d be climbing the walls! How long in rehab & do you know when you’re leaving? So sorry, honey. You’ve really been through it:(
OK Guys and Dolls:
This is Lois speaking! Down at the hospital library for a while again. Just had a nice shower today for the first time since before June 15!!! Those sponge baths don’t do it!!!
Sory to say that I won’t be heading home any too soon just now. I refuse to go home with an open wound like the one on my foot and they know it. I cannot take care of myself and stay off my feet. So for the time being, once I am past the point of more nursing care, they will send me to a rehab facility. I don’t know how I’ll get there since I am dead broke and an ambulance cannot transport my power chair along with all the stuff that seems to have accumulated from home. They have already discontinued my IV as a first step in showing me the front door.
Well, I certainly hope I can get my mail soon … I’ll be swimming in paper and such!!!
Gotta go for now. Love ya all!
Lois
Glad you’re making progress Lois! Hang in there!
Yeah Lois, hang in there! Keep on smiling and keeping your good humour 
NEWS UPDATE:
Looks like I’ll be leaving here on Saturday for another facility. I told them in no uncertain terms that I would not go home until it was healed. I cannot stay off my feet if I am home alone.
Fell the night before last in my bathroom. My ankle just went “wibble wobble” and CRASH! Didn’t really hurt myself but they made a big production of it. I had to go to bed right away and they kept me up taking my vitals every 15 minutes for a while and then hourly for a few hours and then every two and then four hours for 24 hours. Talk about resting!! HA! Didn’t get but maybe one and a half hours sleep Monday night. Then I am not supposed to get up even to go to the bathroom without two people there! They threatened to put a bed alarm and chair alarm on me so I couldn’t get up without setting off the daed thing!! I told them I wasn’t a senile old lady that didn’t know where she was and that I would wait for an escort of they ever answered the daed call button. Told them that when I had to use the facilities, I HAD TO USE THE FACILITIES NOW … not 20-40 minutes later. My nurse [this a.m.] balled me out for getting out of my chair last night and going to the bathroom. My night nurse squealed on me!! So, today, they sent in the big guns … the Director of Nursing and someone else came to speak to me and made it clear that if I didn’t stay put, they WOULD put an alarm on me!! Siiiiiigggghhhhhh!
I do have a wound care specialist taking care of me. What I will have in Rehab is anyone’s guess!!
More good news … I’ve lost 13 pounds since this all started. In fact, the 13 pounds came off in the last two weeks. I am eating good but must be eating right!!!
Well, gotta run for now. Love ya all. God Bless and take care!
Lois
Lois, I am so glad you are doing well and kickin’ and screamin’!
Glad to hear that you are on the road to recovery Lois! Take care and keep us updated when you can! We miss you!!!
Hospitals–jails for sick people. An alarm! Next they’ll be chaining you to the bed. If they do this, keep moving around & set off the alarm every 5 minutes until they get sick of it:) When I was in the hospital, they had some alarm on one of my lines. If I moved my arm, it went off & nurse ran into my room. That got real old for the nurses & they none too nicely told me to keep that arm still. Could I help it if I moved my arm when sleeping? Told them to take the obnoxious thing off me & we’d all get some rest.
!3 lbs–that’s great! Maybe think of your stay there as a spa!
Hugs.
Lois
I can’t believe I’m about to mention this but…
I saw it again today on TV where maggot therapy saved a womans foot that had a bad diabetic ulcer…it was her last resort because the infection had gone to the bone…I was quite squeamish watching it of course but found it fascinating as well…it does work…have no clue how to find a dr. would do it…saved her foot and 7yrs later still going strong…
praying for you daily
Love and hugs!
I have a friend who was a researcher on maggots for wounds! Made me a bit queasy hearing him talk about it, but it was also intriguing because maggots only destroy the bad tissue. Leeches have also made a comeback–seriously.
Lois, instead of flowers would you like us to send maggots:)
Chances are that if you want to send THE Lois a shillelagh it won’t get to her before moving day.
HI!
You guys are all right. Maggots have been used for eating necrotic tissue. I am quite fascinated by the idea but sure won’t ask for it!! Jaimie, I think I saw the same show a few monhs back; you know, the one about the woman and her heel wound. It isn’t gross and you shouldn’t feel squeamish about telling me about it. A very viable therapy. But, before I do that, I think I’ll ask about hyperbaric therapy.
TWO representatives from different rehab centers have visited me today. Now I am drowning in dread thinking about which one I should pick. One has no private rooms at the moment but will put me on a waiting list; they have a van of their own to drop residents off for DR appts.; they let you out on day passes if it’s safe; both have computers and WIFI; staff here has heard some negative comments about them (but seemingly minor). They also have a full staff of wound care professionals. On the other hand, their rooms are smaller than the other. The other one has larger rooms but are all semi-private; they have no vans; will let you out on a day pass; has computers; staff here has heard good comments about them; on the another hand, they don’t do wound debridement.
I think I’m leaning toward the first, though. Since I am broke, the prospect of going to the wound DR and paying $3.25 each way is not setting well with me.
Well, I should get going. Love y’all a lot. Thanks for being my friends.
Lois
Thanks Debb.
Talk to you all when I get settled wherever I am going.
Lois
Hello All:
It’s me again … purple lady!!! I’ ve arrived at the rehab center. It was late Saturday afternoon when I checked into the Mount Carmel Residential and Rehabilitation Center. It is located in Greenfield, WI. That is a “suburb” city of Milwaukee. It is HUGE; with 476 residents (or so). I’ve been kept very busy today (Monday) with intros all around, initial assessments in physical therapy and occupational therapy and … I even got a perm today!!! Yeah! I feel human again.
There are a few problems, though. Even though I do have a private room, it is not ideal. There is no telephone jack in there, so I can’t get a call directly to my room. The phone number to the facility is 414-281-7200, ext. 4009. That will get the cordless phone in the nurses’ station and they told me I could get calls there (minimally). Normally, I would let people call my cell phone, but I received so many calls on my cell this month, my 300 July minutes were used up before the 10th. I can’t afford to pay another $40 to the cell phone company until August. I’ ve asked administration to put a jack in, but I don’t think it is in the budget. They may decide to move me into a semi-private room just because I cause trouble!!
To add fuel to the crap fire, the secretary from Select Specialty Hospital dropped my darn AccuChek when I told her to leave a bag alone and I would put the paper in the medical records. As if I wouldn’t look at them anyway!! I didn’t find out that it was broke until I tried to test for supper and I got an E-5 message. Called Roche and they walked me through a number of things to do but to no avail. They have to send me another!! I called Select today to bash a few heads but had to leave a message.
To top all of that off, all my Quick Sets have been recalled and I don’t have the name of the foundation that sent them to me. That info is at home and, of course, I am not!! I’ve tried calling Medtronic to get in touch with the person who set me up with the financing, but we keep missing each other and my phone doesn’t always work in all the rooms … like the PT gym. I hope I don’t run out of what I have.
Well, being this is my first full working-day, I’ ve done fine so far. OH … in case you want to brighten my day with a missive, the address is:
Lois La Rose
c/o Mount Carmel Residential and Rehabilitation Center
Pine 319
5700 W. Layton Avenue
Greenfield, WI 53220
Hope to hear from you.
Love,
Lois
Hey Lois - what a friggin’ ordeal you are going thru’. I wish I had some MM Quick Sets to send to you. I have given away most of the MM bits and pieces that I had stocked up on during my trial run to a friend who is unemployed with no private insurance. How is your foot fairing? LOL on the purple lady - you are just too cute for words.
How ridiculous not to have phones in private rooms, or any room! Better to have phone jacks in semi-private rooms so roommates can be bothered by ringing phones? Hope the rest of their equpiment is more up to date.
Sorry about your Quick Sets. If I had some I’d send to you, but I’m an old-fashioned girl on injections.
I’ve dropped my AccuChek many times without it messing up. Guess I’d better be more careful.
Get outta there as soon as you can. We miss you!
Sendings lots of hugs.
HEY GUYS AND DOLLS:
I made boo-boo. My unit name is SPRUCE, not Pine. Please sends cards, letters, flowers and gifts to Spruce. (Just kidding folks!!)
I will have a phone jack installed in my room on Thursday. Will let Robyn and Gerri know of it when I get a number.
Sorry for the mistake … old age, you know!
Lois