Saturday, April 24, 2010
ARGH!
Now she wants a port-a-potty so she doesn't have to go to the bathroom because 'it's too far'... omgosh I am so ready to take her back to the nurses.. this is nuts!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Finally Friday!
Well- my week of running back and forth from home to hospital to school is finally over.
My mother came home yesterday and is still pretty weak. She's on a few meds- one for her heart, antibiotics too- oh and a pretty new nebulizer to help her breath.
I think we may make it.....
My mother came home yesterday and is still pretty weak. She's on a few meds- one for her heart, antibiotics too- oh and a pretty new nebulizer to help her breath.
I think we may make it.....
Monday, monday- can't trust that day......
What a week! Let's see, where to begin....
First- Monday. More specifically Monday around 2:15 pm. My mother has been having trouble breathing all day- she finally relents to go to the ER. Trouble is it's time to pick up the Pipsqueak from school.
My father and I decide that I'll go with her and he can pick up the kid. I lost that round.
The ER
Let's discuss the ER shall we? First and foremost- why must one wait so long to be seen. Don't get me wrong- I'm in a small town and we were actually back in the ER part rather than the waiting room within 30 minutes. Thirty minutes where my mother sat in a wheelchair wheezing because she couldn't catch her breath.... but I digress.
It seemed to take forever for the doctor to see her and apparently 170-190 beats a minute is a tad fast for the heart... so, hooked up to heart monitors too.
The doc finally comes in (nice guy btw) and looks at her chart- asks what's been going on- finds out more drugs she can't take (side effects/allergies) and then goes to decide his course of treatment now that 95% of available drugs are off the table.
The nurse comes in to put in an I.V... my mother has very deep veins. Very hard to find... see where this is going?
Picture it- hospital ER, one ER nurse, IV equipment, and a wheezing woman on a hospital gurney who can't get comfortable. Then picture 3 jabs later and no I.V. attached yet.
Try 2- new nurse- other arm.... same results- blood everywhere- patient in major pain, no I.V.
Try 3- another nurse. She looks like she can't see well- coke bottle glasses, squinting, and hunched over. Great Quasimodo's cousin is going to try this. More pokes, yells, blood and no I.V.
Try 4- bring in the cute EMT guy- we'll call him "K". He tried, he tried so hard.. in the end- he too was defeated by my mother's veins...
Try 5- 30 minutes into the I.V. debacle- bring in the mad scientist otherwise known as the anesthesiologist. I kid you not he reminded me of the guy on the pictures of those science kits- Einstein hair, etc....
Success at last- only took 35 minutes, 3 nurses, one EMT, and the anesthesiologist.
Lovely. I can tell what's going to happen from here on out.
There were Xrays- they bring the machine to you now buy the way- kinda cool...
Diagnosis- pneumonia and rapid heart rate. Joy and rapture. (read sarcasm there)
We've waited about 90 minutes by this point- doc finally comes in and says he's waiting for all the blood work to come back.
Two minutes later we are visited by the blood fairy. Only instead of giving you something- she takes something. She took one look at mom's arms and hands (I.V. was in low wrist) and turns white. I ask for "L". A wonderful lady who can draw blood from my mother and me on the first try- with little pain.
20 minutes later L comes down and does her thing- takes about 5 vials of blood and then we wait 60 more minutes for all blood results to come in.
Doc finally tells us mom is being admitted into ICU for the night. Goes to right order. We wait again.
Another 20 minutes or so and she's finally moved upstairs to ICU and I head home to fill everyone in.
Home
The Pipsqueak was upset, but okay in the long run. I was exhausted. My father went to the hospital with some of my mother's stuff that she wanted and the dog was confused.
Thank the gods for pizza delivery.
First- Monday. More specifically Monday around 2:15 pm. My mother has been having trouble breathing all day- she finally relents to go to the ER. Trouble is it's time to pick up the Pipsqueak from school.
My father and I decide that I'll go with her and he can pick up the kid. I lost that round.
The ER
Let's discuss the ER shall we? First and foremost- why must one wait so long to be seen. Don't get me wrong- I'm in a small town and we were actually back in the ER part rather than the waiting room within 30 minutes. Thirty minutes where my mother sat in a wheelchair wheezing because she couldn't catch her breath.... but I digress.
It seemed to take forever for the doctor to see her and apparently 170-190 beats a minute is a tad fast for the heart... so, hooked up to heart monitors too.
The doc finally comes in (nice guy btw) and looks at her chart- asks what's been going on- finds out more drugs she can't take (side effects/allergies) and then goes to decide his course of treatment now that 95% of available drugs are off the table.
The nurse comes in to put in an I.V... my mother has very deep veins. Very hard to find... see where this is going?
Picture it- hospital ER, one ER nurse, IV equipment, and a wheezing woman on a hospital gurney who can't get comfortable. Then picture 3 jabs later and no I.V. attached yet.
Try 2- new nurse- other arm.... same results- blood everywhere- patient in major pain, no I.V.
Try 3- another nurse. She looks like she can't see well- coke bottle glasses, squinting, and hunched over. Great Quasimodo's cousin is going to try this. More pokes, yells, blood and no I.V.
Try 4- bring in the cute EMT guy- we'll call him "K". He tried, he tried so hard.. in the end- he too was defeated by my mother's veins...
Try 5- 30 minutes into the I.V. debacle- bring in the mad scientist otherwise known as the anesthesiologist. I kid you not he reminded me of the guy on the pictures of those science kits- Einstein hair, etc....
Success at last- only took 35 minutes, 3 nurses, one EMT, and the anesthesiologist.
Lovely. I can tell what's going to happen from here on out.
There were Xrays- they bring the machine to you now buy the way- kinda cool...
Diagnosis- pneumonia and rapid heart rate. Joy and rapture. (read sarcasm there)
We've waited about 90 minutes by this point- doc finally comes in and says he's waiting for all the blood work to come back.
Two minutes later we are visited by the blood fairy. Only instead of giving you something- she takes something. She took one look at mom's arms and hands (I.V. was in low wrist) and turns white. I ask for "L". A wonderful lady who can draw blood from my mother and me on the first try- with little pain.
20 minutes later L comes down and does her thing- takes about 5 vials of blood and then we wait 60 more minutes for all blood results to come in.
Doc finally tells us mom is being admitted into ICU for the night. Goes to right order. We wait again.
Another 20 minutes or so and she's finally moved upstairs to ICU and I head home to fill everyone in.
Home
The Pipsqueak was upset, but okay in the long run. I was exhausted. My father went to the hospital with some of my mother's stuff that she wanted and the dog was confused.
Thank the gods for pizza delivery.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sunday in the Park with Nobody
After watching Julie & Julia last night I decided that I could totally relate to both women on different levels. Julie because she was bored with her life and it hadn't turned out the way she always envisioned and Julia because she wanted more than was thought able by a woman in her time.
Both managed to do something pretty neat. Julia- introduce generations of Americans to French cooking, and Julie- meet her own goal. Both admirable and both hard to attain.
I also would love to know why I can't do that? Why can't I set some type of goal and reach it? Why is everything so hard? Is it me self-sabotaging or is it some reaching arm of the cosmos telling me that I've really pissed somebody off somewhere- though who and where are unknown as of now.
The job prospect looks very bleak at this time and I'm actually considering moving again. I moved back to this area to be close to family, though right now, we're a bit too close by being in the same home. However, I can't not work for another year. I love teaching and just can't fathom another career. What does an almost 40 year old do for a new career? Ideas? I'll take any suggestions.
Any suggestions are also welcome so I can deal with my mother and her negative attitude, constant nagging, and complaining. I don't know what her problem is lately- but I'm ready to snap. And not in a good way.
Anyway- maybe my goal can be lose a pound a week for the next 15 weeks or cook only "healthy" meals for the next 2 weeks, figure out my role in the "food revolution" proposed by Jamie Oliver....Maybe turn my notes on my daughter's adoption into a cohesive read? I guess there are possibilities out there if I can figure out what I can really do and perhaps really attain it. I guess only time will tell.
Both managed to do something pretty neat. Julia- introduce generations of Americans to French cooking, and Julie- meet her own goal. Both admirable and both hard to attain.
I also would love to know why I can't do that? Why can't I set some type of goal and reach it? Why is everything so hard? Is it me self-sabotaging or is it some reaching arm of the cosmos telling me that I've really pissed somebody off somewhere- though who and where are unknown as of now.
The job prospect looks very bleak at this time and I'm actually considering moving again. I moved back to this area to be close to family, though right now, we're a bit too close by being in the same home. However, I can't not work for another year. I love teaching and just can't fathom another career. What does an almost 40 year old do for a new career? Ideas? I'll take any suggestions.
Any suggestions are also welcome so I can deal with my mother and her negative attitude, constant nagging, and complaining. I don't know what her problem is lately- but I'm ready to snap. And not in a good way.
Anyway- maybe my goal can be lose a pound a week for the next 15 weeks or cook only "healthy" meals for the next 2 weeks, figure out my role in the "food revolution" proposed by Jamie Oliver....Maybe turn my notes on my daughter's adoption into a cohesive read? I guess there are possibilities out there if I can figure out what I can really do and perhaps really attain it. I guess only time will tell.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Awful
This makes me sick: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36322282/ns/world_news-europe
A woman who adopted a 7 year old boy from Russia in September put him on a plane and sent him back to Moscow. She says he had turned violent. However, this behavior didn't happen until after a January visit by a social worker who said there were no issues.
Hey lady! He's legally adopted- he's a U.S. citizen now.... get help for him in this country or turn him over to child services if you no longer want him.
I'm not saying he didn't have problems- more than likely he did. He's a post institutionalized kid. I don't think the parent was prepared for this or for parenting an older child from an orphanage. Makes me sick that folks like this are able to adopt then do something like this to the child.
Though it's not the first time or the first country it's happened to.
Even Dutch diplomats do it: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1695735,00.html
at least she has a happy ending:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2896289
A woman who adopted a 7 year old boy from Russia in September put him on a plane and sent him back to Moscow. She says he had turned violent. However, this behavior didn't happen until after a January visit by a social worker who said there were no issues.
Hey lady! He's legally adopted- he's a U.S. citizen now.... get help for him in this country or turn him over to child services if you no longer want him.
I'm not saying he didn't have problems- more than likely he did. He's a post institutionalized kid. I don't think the parent was prepared for this or for parenting an older child from an orphanage. Makes me sick that folks like this are able to adopt then do something like this to the child.
Though it's not the first time or the first country it's happened to.
Even Dutch diplomats do it: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1695735,00.html
at least she has a happy ending:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2896289
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