we’re off and running

….to the doctor’s this afternoon…mom is running a temperature, is congested. I think it’s a sinus infection because she has a major post nasal drip and she says her eyes, ears, and even her teeth hurt.
No one here has gotten much sleep the last couple of nights, but we didn’t want to take her to the emergency room because every time we do, it’s an unbelievable trauma for her, both physically and mentally.
Geriatric patients need to be treated differently from younger patients, especially if they have dementia. I am wondering why hospitals don’t have geriatric wards. After all, they do have pediatric wards, and the special emotional needs of young children are pretty similar to those of very old adults.
I don’t know if the doctor will put her in the hospital, but I’m prepared if he does. I have copies of her medical cards and prescription drug lists packed as well as Excedrin for me. (Also, snacks, drinks, and books and knitting.) Whenever she’s in the hospital, we stay there with her, even if we have to camp out in the waiting room.
I want to post about our day at the marvelous Mohonk Mountain House, but that will have to wait.
Right now, we’re off and running, keeping her temperature down, propping her up so she can breathe, preparing for a few days not being here if that becomes the case. Chances are he will give her meds and send her home. I’m just concerned because she often refuses to swallow pills these days. Maybe he can give her liquid versions.
Just like for a child.
UPDATE:
— No hospital, just a liquid antibiotic.
— We also found out through an MRI, that she has a torn rotator cuff. Surgery is out of the question. We are looking into alternatives.
— And now she seems to have an eye infection, so the next doc visit will be the opthamologist.
— And then a CAT scan of her head to see if her headaches have anything to to with her brain. It should also tell us how much of her brain has atrophied.
Like Emily Dickinson, but for different reasons, my “…Life is over there — Behind the Shelf..”, behind the stacked boxes of yarn and rounded willow branches, between Wallace Stevens Collected Poems and The Shadow of the Shaman, under the Women’s Book of Healing and The Book of Lilith, under the Pilates Power Ring and two dusty five pound weights, buried under pots of plants that need to be tended before the snows come.
Being the prime caregiver for someone with physical ailments is hard enough. Add the dementia roller coaster onto that, and Life gets shelved for long periods of time.
Except when I sneak in a few minutes to play Scrabulous on Facebook with a few blog buddies.
Or blog.

2 thoughts on “we’re off and running

  1. Oh, How I understand. I hate to take our friend Duck to the doctor as his whole world disolves into confusion and parinoia for days. Such panic. He now has an imaginary dog that is delightful company. That dog, named Plaid, helps us all. It’s nice to meet you.

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