Six months in hospital, Galium scan & possible move to SNF tomorrow, J-G again?

At the moment, here's what's up...
It's been six months in the hospital today.
Galium scan is on deck for tomorrow and if the results come back clear, Denise will likely be moved to the Foothill Nursing & Rehab Center tomorrow. It turns out that the facility that the USC doctor thought about moving Denise to wasn't on either. We really think that the hospitalist tried her best to argue our case, but the decision was out of her hands. The facility was not contracted with Denise's medical group nor with the insurance company, and the decision makers felt that Denise's condition didn't warrant the care of that USC doctor (a critical care/trauma specialist). That's probably true enough. But she's not a regular patient, either. Her history lays that out quite clearly.
There are a few silver linings. It's not a holiday weekend. The transfer would happen on the watch of the hospitalist that's been following Denise, instead the doctor covering for her. They're willing to shuffle transfer times so that I will be off work and can accompany Denise during the transfer. Also, I received an email from one of Denise's good friends. Her uncle knows the administrator at the SNF and had good things to say. I'll take good news wherever I can find it.
Now here's an interesting "what if" situation...
It's been brought up that perhaps another try at a J-G tube would be helpful. If Denise's intestines can absorb food, then use them. That still involves an entry point for infection, but after some time, the TPN could be stopped, which infection-wise presents a double-whammy (entry point for infection and lots of sugar for bacteria to play in). As noted in last night's blog post, TPN presents other risks, too. This idea came from the same school parent that had the idea of moving Denise to USC, where he's a surgeon. And this stuff is apparently right up his alley. We'll be asking about exploring this possibility tomorrow. It probably wouldn't make much difference about her going to the SNF, but at least she would go with an alternate feeding method already in place that they can start up when she's been there for a few days.
Keep pulling for Denise. All sorts of interesting things are happening fast.

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