Archive for the ‘Critical Condition’ tag
Update on the Changes in My Life
Hi Everyone
I don't know if anyone noticed but I haven't been on SR much over the past several weeks. I have had a great deal going on in my life but, by the Grace of God, I am still Clean & Sober.
I've shared that my Mom has been in poor health now and in an Assisted Living Facility for about a year. About three weeks ago, the remnents of the hurricanes swept through Ohio in the form of severe wind storms that left most of the state without any electricity or phone service due to trees that took out power lines. Many went for week or more without any electricity. I was one of the few people who was Blessed to not have lost any power, phone or cable service. I found out the next day that the facility my Mom lived in did not have a back up generator or any emergency plan in place so when we could get past the downed power lines in the roads, I went and got my Mom and brought her back to my house. She had a urinary track infection and wasn't acting right when I got her. It got worse so a few days later, I called 911 and she was hospitalized. She had such a bad infection that it had went throughout her entire body to the point that her kidneys began to shut down and she was passing a great deal of blood. It didn't look good. Mom was in critical condition and I thought we were going to lose her.
Over the first few days, I discovered that Mom wasn't getting the insulin that she needed to be on. She developed Diabetes in Feb., due to the many years on Prednisone, which is a steroid, for treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The medical staff at the facility had been telling us that her sugar was so stable that she only required Lantus at night. We discovered that that was not the case and her sugar was out of control, which added another serious problem to her already poor health.
Mom spent over two and a half weeks in the hospital and throughout this I realized that she was not being care for and I would not take her back to this facility. Thanks to these problems, she now requires 24 hour care. I have moved Mom in with me. I am going to be caring for her until the time comes for her to leave this earth. I haven't been working due to my own health issues and my Dr. has told me that I need to file for my Disability, I will never be able to return to work. This was very hard for me to accept, I'm only 46 year old but my Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Osteoarthritis and heart problems have gotten to the point that I can't work. Mom needs round the clock care and I can give it to her so that's where I'm at now.
Mom was released from the hospital on Tues and has been here with me since. She's doing quite well, but boy, am I exhausted at the end of the day. I have to make sure to check her sugar 4X a day, give her insulin injections, keep her on a well balanced diet, make sure she has plenty of fluids, give her her showers, empty her bedside commode that I got for her, keep up with the private nurse schedules as well as physical therapy. I am learning to help her with certain exercises that we hope will keep her joints from deteoriating any further than they already are. I never stop.
But to me, this is my way of thanking my Mom for all the years that she put me and my brother and sister before any of her on needs. Mom has always been the kind of lady who thought about others first, especially her own kids. She stood by me and never gave up on me those 32 years that I was getting high and drinking. She never gave up on me . . . so I won't give up on her. I have promised myself that if the time comes where it's too much for me and cannot care for her in a way that she needs, I will have to put her into a Nursing Home. I hate to even entertain that thought as something that very well could happen.I am still able to get to some Meetings, which I will always need. My Aunt comes over a few times a week so I can go which I am forever grateful to have her come so I continue to do what I need to do for me.
I'm hoping that everyone who reads this asks that God watch over Mom and minimize her pain and suffering.
Thanks,
Judy
I don't know if anyone noticed but I haven't been on SR much over the past several weeks. I have had a great deal going on in my life but, by the Grace of God, I am still Clean & Sober.
I've shared that my Mom has been in poor health now and in an Assisted Living Facility for about a year. About three weeks ago, the remnents of the hurricanes swept through Ohio in the form of severe wind storms that left most of the state without any electricity or phone service due to trees that took out power lines. Many went for week or more without any electricity. I was one of the few people who was Blessed to not have lost any power, phone or cable service. I found out the next day that the facility my Mom lived in did not have a back up generator or any emergency plan in place so when we could get past the downed power lines in the roads, I went and got my Mom and brought her back to my house. She had a urinary track infection and wasn't acting right when I got her. It got worse so a few days later, I called 911 and she was hospitalized. She had such a bad infection that it had went throughout her entire body to the point that her kidneys began to shut down and she was passing a great deal of blood. It didn't look good. Mom was in critical condition and I thought we were going to lose her.
Over the first few days, I discovered that Mom wasn't getting the insulin that she needed to be on. She developed Diabetes in Feb., due to the many years on Prednisone, which is a steroid, for treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The medical staff at the facility had been telling us that her sugar was so stable that she only required Lantus at night. We discovered that that was not the case and her sugar was out of control, which added another serious problem to her already poor health.
Mom spent over two and a half weeks in the hospital and throughout this I realized that she was not being care for and I would not take her back to this facility. Thanks to these problems, she now requires 24 hour care. I have moved Mom in with me. I am going to be caring for her until the time comes for her to leave this earth. I haven't been working due to my own health issues and my Dr. has told me that I need to file for my Disability, I will never be able to return to work. This was very hard for me to accept, I'm only 46 year old but my Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Osteoarthritis and heart problems have gotten to the point that I can't work. Mom needs round the clock care and I can give it to her so that's where I'm at now.
Mom was released from the hospital on Tues and has been here with me since. She's doing quite well, but boy, am I exhausted at the end of the day. I have to make sure to check her sugar 4X a day, give her insulin injections, keep her on a well balanced diet, make sure she has plenty of fluids, give her her showers, empty her bedside commode that I got for her, keep up with the private nurse schedules as well as physical therapy. I am learning to help her with certain exercises that we hope will keep her joints from deteoriating any further than they already are. I never stop.
But to me, this is my way of thanking my Mom for all the years that she put me and my brother and sister before any of her on needs. Mom has always been the kind of lady who thought about others first, especially her own kids. She stood by me and never gave up on me those 32 years that I was getting high and drinking. She never gave up on me . . . so I won't give up on her. I have promised myself that if the time comes where it's too much for me and cannot care for her in a way that she needs, I will have to put her into a Nursing Home. I hate to even entertain that thought as something that very well could happen.I am still able to get to some Meetings, which I will always need. My Aunt comes over a few times a week so I can go which I am forever grateful to have her come so I continue to do what I need to do for me.
I'm hoping that everyone who reads this asks that God watch over Mom and minimize her pain and suffering.
Thanks,
Judy
“Critical Condition” to air on PBS this week
hi, y'all!
Just thought I'd make an announcement about this show I've been seeing talked about on PBS ... about the condition of health care in the US.
I am not sure what they're going to do , but the trailers were about people losing their savings, their homes, etc....
or deciding to go ahead and let their conditions kill them, I suppose.
But PBS is usually really GOOD about listing resources, so I thought y'all might want to catch it when it hits locally.
Since it's a topic that's kinda affecting all of us and all that.
Just thought I'd make an announcement about this show I've been seeing talked about on PBS ... about the condition of health care in the US.
I am not sure what they're going to do , but the trailers were about people losing their savings, their homes, etc....
or deciding to go ahead and let their conditions kill them, I suppose.
But PBS is usually really GOOD about listing resources, so I thought y'all might want to catch it when it hits locally.
Since it's a topic that's kinda affecting all of us and all that.
What a week
I haven't been on the forum for a week now because my ABF was hospitalized with cellulites and it got into his bloodstream...he has been in critical condition until yesterday....to top it off he had to go through the DT's....it's been a nightmare and tonight he was having problems again when I left the hospital...currently he has a raging staph infection that is affecting every organ including his brain....it can lead to meningitis and death
I will admit I have been there most of the week...his daughter came to see him twice for a few minutes....no emotions at all....said what bad timing this was for her to have her dad sick....I wanted to lose it on her but decided to let it go....what's the sense of trying to reach the unreachable...
I told everyone of his friends and family that I would see him through this but if after all this he returns to the bottle I am never going through this again....I would leave and just wait for his obituary in the paper...I hold no hope he will change and want no thanks from him for being with him while in a coma....I know our hospitals are understaffed as I work in the health system so I believe it's important that anyone in a vulnerable state have someone with them in case things go wrong.
Just tonight when I got there he was having great difficulty breathing and his tongue was severely swollen....the nurses were unaware and when I told them they rushed in with oxygen and a shot of steroid to reduce the swelling....his fever was mounting again as well...It was had to leave the hospital tonight but I am exhausted...
I know I may have slipped into my codependent role but I would have had way too much guilt walking away from this situation..
He is so much more than his addiction and God willing he will recover someday....his doctor plans on an intervention when he is better so we shall see...
Good Night all...Now I am going to say a prayer for him.
Peace
Maggie
I will admit I have been there most of the week...his daughter came to see him twice for a few minutes....no emotions at all....said what bad timing this was for her to have her dad sick....I wanted to lose it on her but decided to let it go....what's the sense of trying to reach the unreachable...
I told everyone of his friends and family that I would see him through this but if after all this he returns to the bottle I am never going through this again....I would leave and just wait for his obituary in the paper...I hold no hope he will change and want no thanks from him for being with him while in a coma....I know our hospitals are understaffed as I work in the health system so I believe it's important that anyone in a vulnerable state have someone with them in case things go wrong.
Just tonight when I got there he was having great difficulty breathing and his tongue was severely swollen....the nurses were unaware and when I told them they rushed in with oxygen and a shot of steroid to reduce the swelling....his fever was mounting again as well...It was had to leave the hospital tonight but I am exhausted...
I know I may have slipped into my codependent role but I would have had way too much guilt walking away from this situation..
He is so much more than his addiction and God willing he will recover someday....his doctor plans on an intervention when he is better so we shall see...
Good Night all...Now I am going to say a prayer for him.
Peace
Maggie
