Crying Out is Katie’s Release: Katie’s Story, Part Nine

Katie has a lot of people praying for her.  I, for one, would certainly welcome a miracle.  But, when I urged Sam to have the assessments for in-home services, my objective was to see if Katie would qualify for assistance based on her level-of-care needs as they were in the present.

The tendon release treatment put a big wrinkle in this idea.  Katie was now either “out of it” or crying out in “pain.”  I was worried that her current condition represented a new baseline and that having her living at home would be unbearable for Sam.

At this time, medications are being reduced and the casts have been replaced by braces.  Only time will tell if Katie makes progress with this course of treatment.

Sam was finally able to get an answer from Katie explaining why she cries out. “It’s a release,” she said. Now, knowing Katie, that just makes sense. Since Katie has always been a really hyperactive lady, being increasingly “locked up” within herself must be torturous beyond imagination.

Sam began talking to me about asking the provider to reassess the situation to see if the care plan was feasible in Katie’s more challenging condition.  Frankly, my initial reaction was that the objective of the care plan was to provide both Katie and Sam with an improved quality of life, and I questioned whether bringing Katie home in this state would be any sort of improvement for Sam.

But after further thought, I recognized that this is really not my judgment to make.  If Sam wants Katie to come home, maybe the change of environment will be an asset to her recovery.  Sam has become increasingly frustrated with Katie’s care at the nursing home. He wanted to move ahead with the plan. A meeting was scheduled with the provider agency for October 23^rd.

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