Yesterday, my parents and I went to visit Aunt Rita for her birthday. She was still in the hospital, but as of yesterday morning, she was slated to be transferred yesterday afternoon to a nearby inpatient rehab facility to start PT.

When my parents and I arrived, the status of the transfer was that we were awaiting the doctor's official order on paper before the transfer would go through. Transport was on standby.

Later on, the social worker came in -- the same person who Maryann and I met last Thursday -- and told us that the doctor's order had not come through, so she had cancelled the transport and the transfer was rescheduled for Tuesday (today).

Good thing that Aunt Rita placed a dinner order with the lady from Dietary, when she came in. She originally hadn't wanted to, on the premise that she didn't expect to still be in the hospital room by dinnertime.

However, last NIGHT, what did the hospital do? Transfer Aunt Rita to the new facility. Sigh. The good news is, the place is right near the hospital so it's not particularly far from home for her. It also comes highly recommended, per some people we talked to yesterday (including the chaplain) who are familiar with the facility. Hey, as long as they have a proper PT program and can get Aunt Rita back on her feet, literally and figuratively, I'm in favor of them.

I am, btw, still concerned about the way Aunt Rita's blood sugar seems to fluctuate. It's one thing for her numbers to be all over the place when she is on her own at home, because there were times when she wasn't eating on the most regular schedule (especially during the past few weeks when the back pain was particularly bad). However, when she's IN THE HOSPITAL, eating only "legal" foods in recommended portion sizes on a regular schedule, I expect to see blood sugar numbers that reflect those facts. Unfortunately, during all three of my visits, the numbers were fluctuating and some of them were higher than they should have been. My gut instinct is to start asking if the insulin dosages need some adjustment.

On the other hand, being in the hospital and spending the vast majority of her time in bed or in a chair is not exactly the way to burn off the calories/use up the carbs one is eating. Perhaps once she's getting PT and her activity level increases, we'll see those changes reflected in the blood sugar numbers. But for what it's worth, if the blood sugar is still high, it's time to start analyzing whether the doses need a tweak.

I hope she likes the rehab place. If it's as nice as the one my mother-in-law was in about a year and a half ago, I'll be very pleased.

I'll be figuring out what's up between the various Philly-based family members so we can determine when the next visit will be.