Roller Coaster ride Thursday

Got to work "late" for me, but by 8:30 a.m. and settled in for what I thought would be a full day of work and then back to the hospital. We had a Middle School Fair our department was hosting so I was working on the "stuff" for that. But my father called at 2:30 or so and shared, "they are moving your mother to ICU, you might want to get over here". No details. So I took the nametags and box of "stuff" and handed them to the event coordinator and said, "sorry, but see ya"...and ran out of the office and headed to the hospital. I arrived to find out that it was not as dire as it sounded. Mother's heart rate was getting too high and "the drip" they wanted to administer could only be done on the 2nd floor - no idea why. So that meant ICU or Heart Step Down section and there were no beds in the Heart Step Down... When I got there my father and brother were there - neither had seen mother since they moved her into ICU, but when I arrived my father promptly said, "I am too antsy, I am leaving and I don't think I will be back tonight." Hmmm...and my brother had to go pick up his daughter from school and then to a teacher conference at her school - so that left me. Not a good thing in a hospital setting. My brother did get to see mother in ICU and then left. They have the rule of 10 minutes each hour only for visiting so I spent a lot of time walking around. I was there from 3-8 p.m. and got to be in her room for about an hour. I was there when one of the doctors came in and when the "Chet to Bob" nursing switch happened at 7 p.m. The doctor opened the door that there was still some time to go in the hospital and then going home might not be the best option for the rehab and PT that will be needed. And Chet reported that the "drip" seemed to be regulating the heart rate.

During one of my breaks, I drove over to my parents house to pick up my mother's Sudoko (sp) book that she requested. Father was in the TV room watching the news and I hope had a good night of sleep last night after not really sleeping the last three nights and more good news NOT on the road driving last night. I also dropped the news that maybe mother would be going from the hospital to a rehab place and not home. Wanted him to have that in his mind for a bit so he could get his head around that. We also need to keep the 3 day hospital stay prerequisite for Medicare to pay for the rehab place. I have sister #4 researching the logistics of that with her doctor friend. I don't want to eliminate any options for my mother due to paperwork...

NOTE: This has been very interesting to me to try and figure out how I would be able to opt out of the medical system if a trauma occurred. I hope I go early and fast but that is not secret to any of my readers.

Back to the hospital. I wonder how many times my mother is going to be snatched from the jaws of death before the real thing happens...her strength and high threshold of pain (developed over a life of raising 6 kids and being married to my father since 1949). So we will see what happens today. She might be moved again.

So at 8 p.m. I got to stay while Bob gave her his beginning of his shift overview, another EKG, another dose of pain medication, more "humidity" for her oxygen? and then she was settling in for sleep. I forgot to mention the addition of oxygen to get her to breath better and the fact that the latest CAT scan showed there was fluid on/behind/in (I don't get the logistics of this) her lung and not blood which they were afraid of with her cumidan (sp) use. Right now they are concerned about her heart and pneumonia. Then I headed home.

I got home in time to listen to the debate on the radio. That way I would not be distracted by the visual "stuff". I got a bit tired of the "Fargo" accent of Sarah. I do not think there was any real slips but no real home runs.

Talked to all the sisters again yesterday. Sister #3 is headed up today which will probably lead to medication needs for me, my father and my brother. Sister #3 and my brother are not a good match especially when the setting includes my mother and the hospital. I hope it will all go well. My mother could be a background event today next to my siblings dealing with each other. Other sisters plan to come by tomorrow. Sister #5 still has a field hockey game at my school tomorrow, but will try to arrange it so she can drive herself up and send her players back on the bus and hang around. Sister #4 will drive through on Saturday also. Sister #1 is contemplating a trip from DC after work today but that might be a problem with her work schedule and the fact that she does not drive at night? We will see.

I am thinking I will fill what time I have during the weekend with work - tricky time of the year to lose concentration but the good news is that with my semi-retirement job, I am not really that crucial to the works. The reason I came home is in full play right now.

Beautiful scene on the way to hospital yesterday. It was a beautiful fall-ish day and I road by a field of pumpkins and it was beautiful.

So we will see how "my plan" works today. Work, Walk, Hospital. Wish me luck.

Pretty sad to see a parent so weak. But at the same time I get mad about the system. As I said, it has given me lots of thought about "letting go" and when the time is right to "go to your reward". When the morphine does not stop, I think it makes it a bit hard to make decisions? Very unsettling to me.

Have a good Friday and keep good thoughts for this very family weekend for a very dysfunctional family during a trying time...