Live and learn...

D

Dr. Mudd

Joined
Nov 7, 2006
Messages
1,862
Sometimes I see health issues discussed here, so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you something valuable I've learned this week. I will be as brief as feasible.

My mother lives near me, but alone. She is very elderly, diabetic, frail, etc. This week she has tried to die on us. Specific cause is still unknown. She has been dizzy, nauseated, would not get out of bed, would not eat, probably has not been taking her meds properly if at all. She went by ambulance to the emergency room (ER) twice in two days. She should have been kept in the hospital the first time, but that's water under the bridge. The ER staff here do a really good job. They took good care of me five times last summer so I know how they do things there.

While I was standing beside Mom in the ER a couple of days ago (the days run together) she had a serious seizure of some kind and "locked up" and quit breathing. Only instant action by the ER folks saved her then. To sum up just a little, Mom's time seemed to have come. She was either going to leave us very soon or go to some care facility in a near-vegetative state.

Good God, this morning she began to recover! Her doctor phoned me about noon with the news that her improvement is remarkable. She is still in pretty fair shape tonight, based on her nurse's report to me. Tomorrow my dear wife and I will go see her to reequip her with her teeth, her hearing aids, and her glasses. We will take her a cupcake with one candle on top, too. Tomorrow is her 86th birthday. I never thought she'd live to see it or be able to recognize it!

The point I wanted to share is this: DON'T GIVE UP HOPE TOO SOON.
 
No, don't ever give up. I've seen it in my family, too, that elderly people off their meds can decline precipitously. But once they're under close medical care and proper medication, the problems reverse themselves very quickly.

By staying on top of the situation, you had a lot to do with her recovery, also.
 
Being in the business of elderly housing, I've had the opportunity to observe many individuals live out their last days. I recall a women some years back that would be sent out to the hospital on deaths door, and would return after a few days healthy as a horse. This went on for years...you're right, you just never know when the big day is gonna be:)
 
Thanks for your prayers. They really do help! Mom's drastic improvement has held, so to speak. She bounced back to almost where she was before the events of the past week. There are small glitches in her memory, like she remembered my phone number as the one I had 25 years ago, but she remembers my current cell phone number and many other things correctly. Several tests (CT of the head, EEG, MRI, etc.) failed to show any evidence of stroke or bleeding in her brain. No MD has said it yet, but I'm betting it was a severe electrolyte imbalance due to poor eating and drinking habits, not to mention refusing to take any vitamin/mineral supplements for decades. She's still in the hospital, but will be transfered to a rehab hospital very soon for a yet undetermined time, probably a few weeks I'd guess. I look forward now to bringing her back home one day. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
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