That's right, the boweevil.
You know the one, don't you?
The one from the song... remember
"looking for a home
trying to find a home"
Yeah, that one!
No, not me. At least not right now. I'm not looking for a home, but I'm looking for a temporary home for my Mom.
She's doing great, although this whole experience has not been a fun event for her. She has been in the hospital over a week and still not allowed to eat. I mean really eat. And for most of the days the only thing she has been allowed to put in her mouth is ice chips. Drat. Can you imagine. Mom has always been tiny, but we may have to start hunting for her among the blankets.
Things were going good for a while and they had introduced her to a liquid diet at the end of last week, but things seemed not to be going through. So they took away her jello and broth and put her back on the ice chips, just as a precaution, in case they would have to take some type action. After 2 days of tests they have given her the jello back again, so hopefully, that means they will not have to take do intrusive treatment.
That means we are back on schedule. They have been expecting to release her from the hospital tomorrow or Friday. I'm guessing later since she will have to be eating solids and handling them before they send her out. But, she will not be able to go home. So we have been looking for a respit care facility for her to stay for a couple weeks until she can get her legs back under her and get around a bit. ...then home to where we can take care of her.
I've made a few calls and the Social Services employee at the hospital has been working on finding a care facility for Mom. We have a couple spots available and now she just has to choose one. The one is here in Albion, although she has always been adamant that she would never go there. Ownership and care in this facility has changed a lot over the years and she may actually opt to spend a couple weeks here. The other place open is in Jackson which would be a bit of a commute and difficult for her friends to visit. In the meantime they will keep her on a list for a place in Marshall, which was her first choice.
We will see how it all works out.
In the meantime, I just can't get that humming sound out of my head..............
uhhhmmmmmmmmmm.... looking for a home, trying to find a home.....uhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
come on, hum with me.
addendum
well, all that humming paid off. Social Services just called to let us know that a spot became available at Tendercare in Marshall. This was the place she had wanted to go but they did not have any space. So, looks like we've found a home. Last word is Mom will be released tomorrow or Friday. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Painting a bleak picture
Mom fell. My daughter found her when she dropped by to take her to the clinic for her weekly blood work. Mom said her "legs just gave out". She was calling Jamelah when she fell but the call was incompleted. The phone remained on the counter and she could not reach it.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
Mom has a medic alert bracelet and she pushed the button. We don't know if the distress signal was not completed because her phone was off the hook, but she tried repeatedly to get up, reach a phone and was left completely helpless until Jamelah arrived. She had been lying there about 30 minutes.
Once Jamelah was there she hung up the phone and tried to call 911 but the medic alert system had Mom's phone blocked. Luckily she had her cell phone with her and was able to get help. About that time the medic alert system kicked in and the asked if help was needed.
The ambulance was soon on the scene and checked Mom out carefully. Thankfully no broken bones, indication of a stroke nor a heart attack. She was very weak and unable to move on her own so they transported her to the hospital and we met her there.
It turned into a very long night. The ER was packed out and the staff was rushing about trying to help everyone. For Mom, the testing began. She had bloodwork done, an xray, ekg, cscan.. and I don't know what all. They were concerned she had pneumonia but because she complained of a sore stomach and was very sensitive when touched they checked her gall bladder. Bingo! She had a severe infection and they admitted her to the hospital.
The next day the doctors began their visits. It was determined that she would need surgery as quickly as possible. That takes place today. Last night we met with the doctor and he very carefully explained all the obstacles Mom faces as she goes into surgery. He seemed to tick them off on his fingers beginning by saying
"...at your mother's age she is very delicate anyway..." then added she has a bad heart (pacemaker implanted last year) breathing problems, low platelet count and it seemed his list of defects was endless. He wound up saying that with all the complications there was a possibility that Mom might not make it through surgery, (a possibility) and a probability that she would have a very difficult time in recovery after surgery. His expectation was that she would be admitted to ICU from the recovery room.
He around at us waiting for our reaction. We just looked back. Then he again wanted to stress the seriousness of the situation.
"Well," I said, "we believe. There are a lot of churches and people praying for Mom. So, we will believe. She is in God's hands." He just smiled.
and Mom said, I've got at least 3 churches praying for me now. Since then the number has grown to... oh, I don't know, about 7. Four people have emailed me today to let me know they are putting Mom on their church prayer list. What more could we want. We have a great hospital a good doctor and all this faith surrounding her.
No matter how bleak the picture the doctor had to paint to just prepare us... she is in God's hands and we will believe.
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