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For the third week in a row I get to spend time at the hospital. I think ER and I are at that stage in our relationship that it needs to clear out a drawer for me to store my things.
An ambulance came this morning to pick up dad and take him to the hospital. He did not sleep much last night. At about 4 am he was asking for oxygen. About 7 am he came into my room and said he couldn’t take it any longer and that it was time to go to the ER. He didn’t want to risk having to sit in the ER waiting room so we called an ambulance. He was running a high fever. His blood work came back a little anemic, but otherwise normal. His chest x-ray showed the pneumonia. So he is on a heavy dose of antibiotics and in a couple of days he will come home again. I just hope that he can stay well this time. He has got to want it though.
Mom had another good day, relatively speaking of course considering the trip to the hospital. I was adamant that she wear a mask in the ER and told her I cannot handle both of them being sick at the same time. She does not need to bring home anyone else’s germs. She tried her best to deal with a mask and we ended up having to compromise and I let her wear it just under her nose instead of over it, but her mouth was still covered. I also didn’t want to be there all day and told her she has to get home to rest so she doesn’t wear herself out. I tried to get her to stay at home altogether, but she was having no part of that. When I was talking with her about it, she said she knew what I was doing and that I could talk until I was blue in the face, but that she was going to the hospital. We spent about 7 hours at the hospital before I could convince her it was time to go.
She wanted to go back to the hospital tonight to check up on dad. Dad had already told me not to let her talk me into bringing her. I said that I would try. So when the subject came up this evening, she wasn’t hearing it. She wanted to check in on him. Fortunately she got tired just trying to get ready and I was able to convince her that she was too tired to go. That she could just call him and that we would go see him in the morning. Finally she agreed and sat back down.
Although she was awake today and didn’t have much pain going on, her memory was kaput. When she called my dad tonight she was telling him about my older brother showing me some pictures. While my older brother did stop by the house for a while, there were no pictures involved. I am not sure where she got that. Last night she asked me if I had gone to see some of my friends, but they live in a different state. Her long-term memory is still there. She knew that we had been to the ER 4 times with my dad, whereas I only remember 3 of the times. She knows who everyone is. She knows that she is having memory problems. She just cannot recall things that happened in the recent past well at all. She also seems to be making up some short-term memories like the picture thing and she kept insisting that there was something I was supposed to do tonight. She also is ‘forgetting’ how her feet get back on the floor after I get after her to keep them elevated, but I think that might just be selective memory 🙂
She asked today why she can’t remember so well. I told her it was just how things are right now, but that I would take short-term memory loss mom over zombie like mom any day. I told her I was very pleased and happy for her that she has had two lucid and relatively pain-free days so far. I reiterated that it needed to stay that way at least until dad was better. I told her once dad is better, then she can get sick again. She laughed.
I hate to say it, but dad being in the hospital is a relief for me. I can hopefully get a full night sleep tonight. Napping when I can steal a few moments, like this afternoon until the phone rang, is the pits.
Speaking of the phone ringing, it was Valley Radiology calling to set up an MRI for my mother’s brain. They wanted to get it scheduled right away and I told them that we will have to wait on that. We took an appointment slot for late next week, but I need to get back in touch with the oncologist to see when they are going to schedule the abdominal CT scan to check for tumor growth. The MRI, which mom hates, may end up being a moot point if the CT indicates tumor growth since they will stop treatment at that point. We also are expecting a consultation sometime soon with hospice to discuss options and getting prepared for when the time comes for hospice to take over care. That is a sobering thought, but it has to happen at some point.
Well I think that sums up the day. We shall see what fun stuff tomorrow brings!