Sunday morning: My father is a little bit alert and affectionate. Dr. Diamond comes in to examine him one last time. He shows me how to clean my father’s mouth and gums; says it’s important to keep mouth free of bacteria. He tells me if my father gets stronger he’d be happy to operate on the Zenkers and remove the peg. He recalls doing just that to a woman in her late 80s.

Soon after he leaves Dr. Nawaz comes in and sees my father awake and alert. He tells me he will be taking his son on a vacation this week so Monday will be the last day I will see him. Dr. Shamim will cover. He is putting in an order to evaluate my father for physical therapy on the top floor. If my father “passes inspection” Medicare will cover it. It will “buy him a great week here. Go up and take a look at the physical therapy unit. You’ll be impressed.”

My friends from work Bernie & Melissa visit around noontime and during their visit Anita walks in. She tries to talk to my father but he’s sleeping and she has a hard time arousing him to look at her. She examines the peg and says it looks good.

Early Sunday evening my father wakes up and looks at me, touches me when suddenly his O2 goes from the upper 90’s to the upper 80’s. He’s going back to sleep. As I call for help nurse Ron Gibbs comes running in. Says he just happened to see and hear the pulse O2 alarming on the monitor at the nurse’s station while he was getting history and came in to see what’s wrong. He suctions my father and the sat rate goes right back up. He tells me it was a plug that just got in the way of his windpipe. He asks when my father was extubated. When he hears that it was 6 days ago he says there is an error in the history. He had it down as only 3 days – which would have put my father at great risk of needing reintubation. “I was about to call for an anesthesiologist. I’ll correct the history.”

When Ron comes back to the room I point out that my father has not received any Levaquin today. He checks and says he has a call in to the nurse prior to the last one to find out if she gave it to him. He says “this wouldn’t be the first time she’s forgotten such things. By 8:00 pm he verifies with the pharmacy that they have an extra dose and he has the drug delivered. He tells me he will make note in his record that this med was given 6 hours late so that it is not administered too early on Monday.

Later Sunday night my father’s bed is in the raised position. He is looking at me and kissing me when Dr. Heinz walks in. I tell my father “look, it’s Dr. Heinz.” She says hello to him and examines him with her stethoscope. When we go outside to the hallway I ask her how my father is doing. She says he’s doing great. I tell her what Dr. Weiner said the previous Monday when he was extubated and how stunned and hurt I was. “Did he have a right to talk like that to me, in front of my father, no less? And look how he is defying Dr. Weiner’s expectations.” She replied, “I appreciate what you are telling me, but there is not much I can do. He is my boss.” I told her I merely wished for her to listen and to be aware. She thanked me.