I had to write this down to get my thoughts straight, so I thought I'd share them with you.
Thursday, August 9,
2012
(evening) Mom has a
bloody diaper so I call 911 to get her to the emergency room. Earlier that morning when she woke up, she
got out of bed, walked around her bed and fell.
When I heard her, I went to her
room to find her on the floor with her head toward the closet and her feet out
by the bed. She was moaning in pain.
At the ER, they scan her intestines and run tests and find
colitis and a UTI. They also find a
pelvic fracture but neglect to inform me about it. They admit her to the hospital and start
antibiotics.
Friday, August 10,
2012
After 24 hours in the hospital, she is transferred to a
nursing home, Vista Cove. They are not
clear to me why they are putting her in a nursing home. They vaguely tell me so she can rest and recover.
Once the transfer company comes to get her from the hospital,
they ask me about a pelvic fracture.
They want to be careful with moving her.
This is the first I hear of the pelvic fracture.
The doctor at the nursing home tells me she will have to have
‘transfer therapy’ before she goes home.
Transfer therapy is retraining her how to get in and out of the wheel
chair. I scoff at this because she didn’t
know how to get in and out of the wheel chair before. How is she going to relearn it now? Later, I learn that Transfer Therapy takes
months. Insurance will only cover the
nursing home until Monday, August 13, 2012.
Monday, August 13,
2012 When it’s time to take her
home, they offer no assistance in getting her out of bed or advice on
homecare. I have to bring my own wheel
chair to transfer her. I am VERY anxious
about moving her, putting her in the car and caring for her at home. Conveniently enough, they say she can now be
moved and put in a wheel chair just like before her incident. This, after a weekend at the nursing home not
moving her from her bed at all.
Mom is recovering quickly.
By Sunday, August 19, 2012,
she is back to her old self. She’s
getting up twice a day for two meals, eating well and chattering away. She’s doing so well, I post about it on
Facebook.
The next day, she’s back in a slump, not eating very well.
Tuesday, August 21,
2012 I call 911 because she has a
fever and is not responding to me even though she is awake. She will only take water when I fill up a
straw and drop it in her mouth, but she wants it terribly.
In the ER, they find a UTI again. They give her IV fluids and antibiotics and
admit her to the hospital. The next
morning the doctor recommends I bring in hospice. I agree, but have no clue what that means.
Each time I have brought her in the hospital they ask me if
she has an advanced directive. I say she
does not. They tell me that my family
and I need to discuss it and get it in writing.
This time I have Doris call the boys so we can come to an agreement,
just so we can have it on record for future reference, so the doctor doesn’t
have to scold me again for not having it.
Wednesday, August 22,
2012 When I go to the hospital I
sign the DNR form and meet with hospice.
I have no idea what hospice is, what bringing in hospice means. Nothing.
I’m clueless. I’m learning as I
go. One thing they tell me that is a
huge weight off my shoulders is that they will be responsible for transporting
my mom home. We are so grateful for
this.
By 7 pm she is home in her own room.
Thursday, August 23,
2012
The circus begins….I don’t know if I’ll remember in the
right order. I wasn’t sure who was who
and what job they did. Diane, the RN
from hospice comes to check in. Angelica,
the aide, comes in to bathe Mom. Ron,
the pastor, from hospice comes in. I don’t really click with him. He’s too flowery, too showy. I ask if he can hook us up with a priest and
he says he will. I think it’s Diane, the
social worker, from hospice, comes in.
Lyndsey and Dick came over. Lyndsey brought me a vente, White
Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks, bags and bags of groceries, some
comfort food, some healthy goodies and everything in between. To top it off, she washed all the dishes in
my sink-a task each of us always avoid. She helps feed mom and we both (Lyndsey
and I) learn to change mom’s diapers and clothes the most efficient way from
the nurses that come by. Tommy
and Martha came by for a visit.
Diane, the RN, says she called in some medication that will
be delivered at midnight to my house. I
wait until 12:30 to call the hospice company to find out if I can go to bed or
should I keep waiting for the delivery.
Come to find out, the nurse never called in the prescription. It will be delivered the next day.
Friday, August, 24,
2012 Bob, Sally, Kathy,
Joe, Caquito, Rob and Terry come to visit. Kathy and Joe brought the
biggest casserole I have ever seen. We
were very concerned it might not fit in the oven. But, it did…barely. And let me tell you, it was delicious!!! Even though it was very large, it didn’t last
very long. Rob and Terry brought
a huge tray of cookies, a variety of all the flavors. I’ve had cookies for at least three meals
already. Forget about the snacks in
between. Billie, Michael, Andrew,
Mary and Cathy come with another huge load of groceries, filling the
freezer, refrigerator, cabinets and countertops.
Angela flies into Orange County at 4 pm from Virginia. On my way to pick up Angela from the
airport, I get a flat tire. Luckily, Bob,
Sally, Joe and Kathy see me pull off to the side of the
road. They pull over to the side ahead
of me, back all the way up and change my tire for me. I head back on the freeway to go to the
airport and I wasn’t even late to pick up Angela. As I’m waiting for Angela to get her
luggage, she says it will be a bit because the electricity went out in the
airport. We just had to laugh.
Angelica, the aide, came to bathe Mom.
Saturday, August 25,
2012 Doris and Al get
in around 3:30 am Saturday morning after driving from Florida. Nita, Pat and Marisa came
to visit. Manuel’s head is
spinning from all of this family so he pick’s up his daughter, Kathleen, and
goes on a bike ride. They both come back
here and Kat hangs out here for the evening. We received a ginormous fruit basket from Karen
and Wayne Hightower and family. Very
sweet and aromatic.
Sunday, August 26,
2012 Jennifer flies into
Ontario from Maryland @ 11 a.m.. Doris
cleans my living room floors, shiny and sparkly-like they should be. Billie, Michael, Andrew,
Mary, Cathy, Michelle, Katie, Giovanni, Dick,
Lyndsey come over. And Michael’s
feet don’t turn black as quickly as they did the visit before because of the
clean living room floors. Lyndsey
brings sandwiches from Cortina’s-Italian subs and meatball sandwiches (the best
I’ve ever had) along with caprese salads, 18 canoles,….cookies…enough to keep
anyone from going hungry all day. Doris,
Jenn and Ang go shopping for anything and everything else we might
need.
Monday, August 27,
2012 Still in my pajamas, Mikie
and Susie are over to visit with my mom.
I was in my pj’s until late in the day….they didn’t necessarily come
early. Later in the day, Nita, Pat
and Marisa come over. They bring
sodas and chips for the food pantry. Jennifer and Angela each take one bathroom
and clean it from top to bottom. A
gigantic task! The priest comes over,
unannounced, and gives mom a blessing.
Mom gets a fever of 103 degrees.
We cool her down with a cool cloth and ice chips. Diane gives her a Tylenol and the fever
eventually subsides.
Elvira, the aide, came to bathe mom.
Diane, the RN, came to check up on Mom.
Jennifer and Angela go shopping for more
necessities.
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