A long overdue update...

Well, it has been a looooooooong time since I've written an update, so I think one is due. I think that joining Facebook has made it less likely for me to write blogs since most of the things that happen in my life are relayed via updates and conversations through comments, etc. Plus, my life has been pretty boring for the most part. But I still want to keep a journal of what's been going on in my life, and especially with my mom's health, so I decided at long last to write a blog, even if most of what I'll write has happened quite a while ago.

Since the last time I wrote my mom had two cataract surgeries in May 2009, one in each eye, which went very well. Sadly, she lost her 2-year-old cat Archie in February 2009. My dad left the front door open (Archie was a house-only cat) and he got out. He was missing for about 5 days when their next-door neighbor found him floating in his pool. I don't know how long Archie had been in there...it could have been from the first day he went missing to the day he was found. He had recently fractured one of his back legs and had surgery, so he was still healing and limping from that, which probably made it harder for him to get around. My mom was (and still is to a lesser degree) really broken up about that. But the scariest thing came in July...

In early July, my mom had been having a bit of pain around her chest area for a few days, but she thought it would go away...that it was just some little thing. I told her to call me if it got worse. On July 5th around 1pm she called me and could barely talk. She said her chest was hurting really bad and that she was having trouble breathing. I told her to call 911 and to have them call me back to let me know where they were taking her (it should've been her usual hospital, but sometimes if they're busy they'll take her elsewhere). I got ready as quickly as I could (I wasn't even dressed yet!) and hauled ass over there. I was really nervous because (aside from my mom possibly having a heart attack) I was having stomach problems and on top of that the scariness of it all made me feel really dizzy and I was afraid that once I got to the hospital I would start to feel faint and not be able to deal with it. 

I got to my parents' house after the ambulance had left...a neighbor happened to be driving by and he let me know that it had come and where it was taking her (everyone knows everyone pretty much). I went into their house, found my dad, and asked him what was going on. Being my dad (having a very poor memory), he didn't know a whole lot more than I already figured. I called Jeff to tell him that I was at my parents' house and he said that the EMT had called our house and was trying to get some info, but since I wasn't there they needed to talk to me. That never happened of course because I was already on my way to the hospital. I didn't take my dad because it could have been HOURS of waiting and I knew he wouldn't have been able to deal with that. Jeff was going to meet me there as soon as he could (it's very close to our house, but about 10-15 mins from my parents' house). 

So back I go the other way, and I was surprised at how well I handled it when I first got there after psyching myself out so much. I was able to go up to the desk adn give them the info they needed, and the whole time I was worried I was worried that I'd start to feel sick/faint when I got up there. One of the EMTs who brought her in happened to be behind the receptionist and smiled at me and said she was doing okay. Once I sat down in the waiting room I was feeling kind of nauseous and had to take deep breaths to calm myself down. It kind of came in waves, plus there were lots of sick people around me, which didn't help. 

I was told that I could go back to see her in about 10 mins. Jeff got there and we waited for a bit and it had gotten to be about half an hour. Even though I hate being one of those pesty people who goes up to the window and says, "I've been waiting and you haven't called me," I knew they needed info from me and also that my mom was expecting me. I went up to the window and the receptionist said I could go right in! So all that waiting and I could've just gone back. GRR.

My mom was doing okay when I went back into the ER area...she was just on oxygen and they'd give her some morphine on the way over, but she wasn't hooked up to an IV or anything. She was hooked up to a heart monitor of course. She generally has a very low pulse rate and the thing kept going off when it got really low. A nurse eventually came in and gave her some morphine and another pain med directly through an IV hookup in her hand, but never hooked her up to an IV the whole time she had been there! She was in A LOT of pain while lying there...I couldn't believe how long it took them to bring her something. They were SO SLOW there and it got REALLY busy at one point. I'd gone out to call Jeff (he decided to go to his office and do some work...we'd been texting on and off as well) and when I tried to go back in I had to TWICE wait 5-7 mins (so about 15 mins in all) because two ambulances had come in when I wanted to go back. The ER waiting room was TOTALLY full so I waited outside. 

Anyway, my mom...they took x-rays which showed nothing at all...her heart was fine and they were suspecting something with her ribs but that came back fine as well...no fracture or anything. They also did blood work and that came back fine. So the doctor thought it might be something related to pulling or straining something around her ribs. He referred to it as "chest wall pain," and also gave her some info about it. It can be caused by some kind of strain, trauma, inflammation, or injury around the ribs and muscles that surround the ribs and also the membranes near the lungs, which is probably why she had trouble breathing. It's usually not a big deal but the pain for her was VERY bad and I was wondering if she strained something by doing too much when it was already hurting (she was out hanging laundry before it happened). And with her having osteoperosis I worry tat a little strain fro someone else would be worse for her. The info said that it could take her up to six weeks to heal. 

The doctor sent her home with some Vicodin and told her to put a heating pad on the painful area, then to see her doctor in three days. And of course to get lots of rest, no strain on the area, no exertion, etc. So basically it was something that would go away with time and rest, not something that could really be treated. 

We were there for maybe 3-4 hours or so. I was actually surprised at how quickly they got us out, but in a way I wasn't because they were so busy and are always trying to get quick turnover anyway...it makes the hospital look better. But it was just CRAZY BUSY so the actual getting her stuff that she needed took longer than it should have. I don't even think she got an ID band for over an hour. 

I took her home and stayed for a bit and then let her rest, called her later on that night and twice the next day. She was doing okay...still in pain but only when she moved that area or touched it, or when she laughed, but not to the point at which she could barely talk, breathe, or stand like the day before. The meds were helping but were also making her tired and nauseous. She's had rib pain on and off for years but never anything like this. Rib fractures are really difficult to heal...most of the time the person just has to wait it out. 

So that was a pretty long and exhausting day, mostly mentally since we weren't there for 8 or more hours like we've been in the past. Oh my goodness the time I've spent in the ER over the past 3-4 years is ridiculous. 

My mom was completely better in about two weeks or so, and very much improved by the end of the first week. As painful as it was for her, I'm glad that it was something "minor" and not another heart attack. I was very glad that she called me right away and was able to get an ambulance there quickly. However, I think if she had been more up front with me about the pain I could have taken her to her doctor and she probably would have advised my mom to get that rest so that she didn't get to the point where she escalated the condition in the first place. All is well for now at least, but almost every time I see her phone number on the caller ID, I hold my breath. 


This week she has an appointment for her annual six-month abdominal sonogram for her abdominal aneurysm, to make sure it hasn't grown. As long as it stays the same size the doctor will leave it alone, but if it starts to grow, surgery may be necessary, and it is a VERY risky one, which I have written about in a previous blog, so please wish her luck.