August 30, 2012 - out of ICMU

Bet you never thought sitting was hard work!

I had a good visit with Gretchen on the way in to work.  Not a lot but a little bit.  I answered some email before she woke and then right as I was getting ready to leave she woke up so I stayed a few minutes more.

Once I got to the office I received a call from Siskin asking if I was still interested in having her there.  I told the woman that ideally we would like to skip therapy all together but yes, Siskin is our goal.  I told her that a case manager (not the one I dealt with at first) indicated that Gretchen might not be accepted by Siskin so I needed to have a backup plan.  We talked a bit and she is beginning the paperwork to get Gretchen into Siskin when the time comes.  Following that phone call I am wondering if that case manager that asked me to pick an alternate was pushing LifeCare (I asked for recommendations and she listed several LifeCare centers and then, as an afterthought, mentioned St. Barnabas (in such a way that indicated she didn't approve of that choice).  Could be a coincidence, just seems odd.

Timing is everything!  After work I was stopping by to see Gretchen and had just gotten out of the car when my phone rang.  It was Gretchen's sister asking where I was and telling me they were about to move Gretchen out of the Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU).  I told her that as soon as I could get to the elevator I would be up (this morning I trudged to the building but now I was making double-time with about 18 pounds of laptop and gear on my back).  They were just finishing disconnecting Gretchen so that they could move her when I arrived (she is still hooked to a bunch of stuff and it takes a long time to unhook with the various alarms that go off).  They put me to work lugging her charts - what do I look like, a Sherpa...oh, wait, with the pack on I probably did - and it was off to the 7th floor.  I really like riding in the "staff only" elevators because in those elevators people exit to let a bed on, even if it isn't their floor.

Along the way I learned that Gretchen had just finished a stint of 3 hours sitting up in a chair.  That may not seem like a lot to you desk jockeys out there but if you have been lying in bed for almost three weeks you will be whooped at the end of it.  And Gretchen was.  She talked to me for a bit and interacted with the new nurses (three of them were working as a team and they did a great job of situating Gretchen).  We also discovered that she is probably allergic to latex because she was getting sores around the edges of the pads.  I saw the sores and asked about it and they said the ones on her have latex so they ordered some without.  I know that I had mentioned the latex allergy at least once but I guess it never made the chart (I even asked about the monitor pads in ICU...).  Pray for her continued strengthening so that she is able to get up and do more!

Okay, what is a blog without a controversial post now and then (see, I really should have left this in GoogleDocs).  It has been suggested that we follow James 5:14-15 and have the elders anoint Gretchen.  This creates a quandary.  I suspect our elders are hesitant about anointing for sickness and, if it were to be done, I believe the context indicates it should be the elders in authority over us (the elders of our congregation) so that rules out having someone else do it.  Should we violate the authority of our elders for this (I won't stop someone from anointing Gretchen but unless my heart changes I won't ask for it either)?  There are only two places in Scripture that I can find that reference anointing for healing, Mark 6:13 (the disciples cast out demons, anointed the sick with oil and healed them) and James 5:14-15 but there are many instances where people were healed without any mention of oil.  Besides, James 5:15 clearly indicates that it is the prayer of faith that will save the sick (there is some discussion over whether "save" means heal or save).

So, I am comfortable believing that God will (or will not - I am trying to fully submit to his will in spite of my desires) heal Gretchen, regardless of whether or not she is anointed with oil.  Am I right?  Am I wrong? Pray for my wisdom (and continued strength).