A Very Long Week

A Very Long Week was Originally Posted on March 11, 2015 by lavarock

My Mom visited my younger Sister in Florida for a while, then Pam returned her to my older Sisters in Virginia. This is a 12 hour drive each way. She stayed overnight and came back. That was a couple weeks ago.

Mom is 94, having just celebrated her birthday. Well, a few days ago, Mom fell and broke her nose. My older Sister Paula took her to the emergency room in Virginia where Mom was watched then admitted, but said she had no pain.

While in Florida for those few weeks, Pam had first-hand knowledge of Moms faculties. She was a bit cloudy at time and slightly confused, but coherent and very laid back. However when she was in the hospital she was another person. very out of character she would try to keep getting out of bed, she flailed her arms, did not recognize her daughter or other relatives. She also spoke of animals or things on her hospital bed, seemingly hallucinating. She said she would throw a nurse out the window and another comment to a nurse as “if you want to see a monkey, look in the mirror”.

These things as I say, totally out of character.

The hospital doctor kept telling us that Mom should not be kept taking to the emergency room when she is dehydrated. She needs to go into hospice. HUH? We brought her into the hospital for a broken nose and she started hallucinating. THIS IS NOT NORMAL! If the injury did not damage her brain, what is causing it?

I asked if they gave her any medicines and it appears not. Then they started her on her BP meds and other things, but the diuretic she was on was mistakenly left out. We are not sure why she is on the diuretic anyway, but its a long story. She has a regular doctor and a couple of emergency room visits in Virgina, and a couple urgent care visits when she was in Florida. Nobody seems to have access to her medical records at a place other than where she is being treated. In fact, the Virginia hospital where she is and was treated for a broken hip years ago, cannot even find her records when she was there before.

Mom’s regular doctor does not appear to have privileges at that hospital and only received preliminary medical information about this. The hospital said they would send her doctor all the treatment info when Mom is released. However the hospital doctors are the ones who decide what after release treatment she gets. Thus they push for hospice and she might have had to go there until her regular doctor could intervene.

Well they had Mom on an IV to combat the dehydration but for 48 hours, Paula sat with her, keeping Mom in bed, but neither was able to sleep. Meanwhile Pam decided to drive from Florida to Virginia again to allow Paula to go home and get some sleep. She had been there for those 48 hours, in a chair in the hospital room.

Pam got there and while on her regular meds began getting some sleep. We tried to get the hospital to give her something to sleep, but all they wanted to prescribe was Ambien. We were not happy with that choice and said no. 

Mom started coming back to normal and was placed on a Alzheimer drug . When Pam left yesterday, Mom was pretty much back to herself. The drug may be helping and in fact may help her with the minor confusion she was initially having weeks ago. She was improving with out it, so time will tell.

As I write this, I am watching Pam’s progress on the cellphone app LIFE360. I see her track on a map and called her when she pulled over to eat. Without bothering her via a call, I know she is a 1/2 hour or so from home right now. It would be possible for me to call her at about the time she opens the door at home to enter. After driving almost straight trough again, I’m sure she wants to get plenty of sleep before she goes out to work again.

I feel at ease with how my medical is handled. I have all my procedures done within the Kaiser HMO system and Kaiser doctors have a representative at the local hospital. Thus even there they have access to my medical history.

In the case of my Mom, hindsight would tell me now that our family should have a folder with Moms medical history and send it with her. She has seen so many doctors and been prescribed and taken off many medicines. Sometimes these doctors have to guess, so I can’t blame them all in this case, but I think the hospital doctor could not grasp that Moms demeanor changed with that fall.

Anyway, I think all has returned to a semblance of order and I will get an update in the next few days and will pass along any progress.