doctor says ed needs more visitors / stimulation

We talked to Ed's doctor at Monaco Parkway, and he said now that Ed is free of infection, he needs more stimulation than we are giving him. (For reference, Ed is at Monaco Parkway Health and Rehabilitation Center at 895 S. Monaco Parkway, Denver 80224, room 117 - just walk in. Main desk telephone number if you need directions is 303-321-3110.)

The doctor recommends that people come and not only talk or read to Ed, but also rub his face, shoulders, arms, and/or calves so that the sensory nerve endings are stimulated as well as the auditory nerves. I'd recommend starting with rubbing his cheeks, since he really likes that. Ed does often "flinch" and draw back when his arm or leg is first touched, but that is just a protective reaction, so please don't be put off by his initial reaction.

It would be especially good if folks could visit Ed at times other than when I visit him. I'm usually there about 5 PM - 7 PM on weekdays, late Saturday afternoon, and about noon-2 PM on Sunday. It's always nice for me to see y'all, but it would do Ed more good if we only overlap visits a little.

Since Ed is still unresponsive, it might be easier if folks took something to read, or went with a friend.

And of course, prayers and good wishes are always appreciated!

Thanks! Marian

ed is in room 117 at monaco parkway (not 128)

Ed is in a different room this time - same hallway, but on the other side.

Seems to be stable - no fever or anything ugly, thank the Lord!

ed doing better, back to monaco parkway friday

Lungs and fever doing good, diarrhea getting better, so he's good to go. Now let's just keep him that way (or better of course)!

ed is still at select hospital, reasonably stable

Ed has been doing somewhat better about keeping his temperature normal (yes!), but he developed diarrhea after the last change in medications, so they're checking to make sure that it is not caused by any new infection. They have been using some "positive air pressure" devices once a day to make sure that he is breathing deeply, and that usually results in his getting rid of a lot of lung secretions, so I would expect that this will need to be incorporated into his daily routine when he is eventually released back to Monaco Parkway.

It sounds like they will keep Ed at least several days more at Select, which we are quite pleased about.

ed back in hospital - now in select hospital

Ed had a recurrence of the bacterial infection, so this past Monday he went back to Rose medical center. The Rose case manager was very helpful and noted the concern that it is difficult to make sure a patient like Ed is stable when they send him back to Monaco Parkway rehab, so the case manager suggested that an LTAC (long term acute care facility that is in-between a hospital and a rehab center) such as Select hospital (at Presbyterian / St. Luke's where he was in February) might be able to provide a longer stabilization period.

We thought that was a great suggestion, and they verified that insurance will cover it, so today Ed was transferred up to Select Hospital. They settled him in very nicely, although his temperature did pop up to 100.7 degrees, confirming the concern that he is not really stable yet.

More to come after we have a chance to talk with one of the doctors...