Mother

My goal was to post Tuesdays and Fridays. However, life has interfered.

As I mentioned before, My Mother fell. They really do not know what caused her to pass out and fall. She remembers getting up to make some toast and that’s it. She was admitted to the hospital Monday (February 1st) with a heart monitor because of some atrial fibrillation.

The cardiologist on Tuesday did not think the problem was her heart or atrial fibrillation. After various testing, it was determined that she did not have a blood clot in her lungs – a good thing. She does have labrythitis which is causing her to be so dizzy which makes her nauseous.

MRI/MRAs on Wednesday came back clear – no stroke or other issue. She couldn’t withstand the back MRI the same day due to being in extreme pain. So, she had that done Thursday and it was finally determined that she has a lumbar compression fracture – L3. All during her stay in the hospital, she couldn’t do much of anything or refused to do so.

The doctor also changed her meds and gave her a pain patch for her back – Vicadin. The doctor said this was common and that she can recover; but, she must try.

She was disoriented and experiencing hallucinations Thursday night and Friday morning. The doctor said Friday morning that it is not a good situation because she is not making progress and is going backwards -- she is refusing to stand up. She is on powerful pain meds and oxygen. She could suffer from pneumonia and/or blood clots. So, it was not a good situation.

My brother had texted me the above information Friday morning. I instant messaged Dan and he didn’t respond right away. So, I called him and he answered. I asked him if he could get off work ASAP because I wanted to get home (to Houston) ASAP. He managed to get off work right away. I hurried and finished packing for the long haul (I was going home that night to stay long term anyway). We were out of there and on the road around 9:30am.

About two hours before we arrived at the hospital, they managed to get her to stand up for about 10 seconds. That was a miracle considering she wasn’t feeling well. My brother said it took a bunch of coaching and help; but, she did it!

She did not look good to me when we arrived at the hospital -- she was white as a ghost. But, I imagine that standing up and taking a bath exhausted her. However, she was lucid and responding well to conversation. There were times when she wasn’t quite all there though. That could be due to the various meds she was taking and being exhausted.

She was prepped and traveled approximately an hour via ambulance to the Rehab facility late that afternoon. It was a rough ride for her; but, she was lucid even though she was in pain. But, she still had moments of weirdness.

Saturday morning was not good. She was sick, nauseous and in pain. But, they got her to stand up again for about five seconds that morning. The physical therapists wanted to evaluate her before starting Monday. But, she was somewhat okay that afternoon.

Sunday was the roughest day for her and on all of us. She was constantly nauseous and she hadn’t eaten decently for days. She is taking meds for the pain and dizziness. The nurse got approval from doctor for a special nausea meds that will work better with other meds she’s taking. We’re convincing Mother to take the anti-nausea meds as it does help her. It was a real bad day. My poor nieces who came down to see her for the weekend were upset. This was the last view they were getting of her before they had to leave to return to their homes. It was not looking good for any of us. As for me, I was feeling devastated because she just was miserable and wanted to die.

My brother is awesome because he made a special effort to be there real early Monday morning (4:30am) and got her to take those anti-nausea meds. She’s did a LOT better. And then, he managed it to where it is given to her on schedule via Doctor’s order Monday. Before, it was that they ask her and she’d say ‘No’. Now, she has to take it no matter what.

She had her first physical therapy session Monday. She did a lot more than expected. She got up and into a wheelchair. They wheeled her into the therapy room. She did ‘leg lifts’ and she managed to stand up for approximately 15 seconds. I was thrilled. She was so exhausted from the session that she pretty much slept the afternoon away.

The Nutritionist came in Monday afternoon and basically fussed at her about not eating. Mom said she doesn’t like sweet food. I piped up and said she can’t eat pineapple because it makes her mouth sore. (She was served pineapple at least twice that I know of). The doctor made note of that and then said she has to eat a least half her dinner. Thank God someone of ‘authority’ said so because she wouldn’t listen to us. I had fussed at her during lunch and basically said that she needs to eat to have strength to do the therapy sessions and ultimately, get out of there and back home. That is the goal anyway.

And today at therapy, Mother was awesome! She did so much. She walked! She did a lot more than expected. So, there’s hope. She is so funny – fussing, cursing and telling the therapist(s) off making all of us laugh. She is back to her normal self, which is so good to see. She also ate decently this evening.

As I mentioned before, I will be staying here for the long haul. I will be here with her at the Rehab facility during the day and she will be here at least three weeks. The one thing this place stinks about is that it has no wireless internet capability. So, I cannot get online. I could take short trips to McDonald’s down the road to get online if I have to. But, so far, there is no need. I’ve been slowing going little nuts without getting my daily news, blogs, and facebook fix. But, I’m surviving. I brought the scanner to scan in pictures and slides. I also brought books to read and some ornament kits to work on.

I chat with Dan every evening and I got to see my kitties last night! We can see each other via webcab if we choose to do so.

So, I’m doing well. Mom is currently improving and doing well. We all are glad of that because we were so worried there for awhile…


Note: Maxine is my Mother's favorite character. So, I'm using this is in honor of her. And, it's so true! :-)