I am spending the night with my mom in the hospital.
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
Midland, Michigan
January 1, 2017 10:55pm CST
My sister took my mom to ER this past Thursday and she was admitted about midnight. She's been living in a great facility that caters to those with dementia and related illnesses. One of the nurses called my sister because my mom wasn't herself. She barely ate anything all day, and she was lethargic and wouldn't get up.
When in er they found that her coumarin level was quite high and her hemoglobin was very low. She was also dehydrated. After X-raying her legs and (I think) chest and finding nothing amiss they did a ct-scan of her abdomen. They discovered bleeding behind a muscle in that area. They gave her four pints of plasma so her blood would clot where it was bleeding. The problem they had was to make sure the blood clotting wasn't too much since she has a pig valve in her heart.
They had her in intensive care the first day or so, but now she's in progressive care. Tomorrow she will probably move to a regular room and start physical therapy to get her up and walking again.
The only thing she's still hooked up to is oxygen although she still has an IV line in her hand in case they need to administer something fast.
I thought I would be able to hang out for awhile on mylot, but I didn't think to bring a book light. Maybe I can come back after she falls completely asleep.
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New info: My mom is now back where she's been living these past six months. When leaving the hospital all she managed was to move two inches to the chair and back again. My sister stayed there last night and into today and I'll be visiting this afternoon, so will know more later.
17 people like this
19 responses
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
Thanks for the prayers, Patsie. My sister worked from here last week and will again, but we're hoping her boss won't put a stop to that.
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
5 Jan 17
That's scary that they found the bleeding and don't know what caused it- I'm so glad they checked- I will send good thoughts and prayers your way and do hope she gets better!
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
5 Jan 17
Thanks, Linda. Although she is back where she's been living these past six months, she's still not willing to move much and spent part of the evening that she went back in a wheel chair. Yesterday they did get her into a recliner so her feet were up. Her ankles are a bit swollen and we're hoping that will heal shortly.
I will be spending five hours or so with her this evening so my sister can get a break and spend time with her boyfriend and maybe get a bit more work done from her home than she can do when with my mom.
The bleeding may have been a result of her coumadin getting too high. That can happen if a person's diet changes in any way too. Now way to know for this situation since my mom hasn't any clue what she's done that's different.
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
14 Jan 17
@MarymargII They have a nurse coming in each week to make sure her levels are where they should be, so that part should be fine. Now we just need to get her moving around more. She seems to have forgotten that she was walking on her own before her stay at the hospital. She now gets freaked out whenever they try to move her from a chair to a wheelchair which is her mode of movement until and if she gets over her fear of not wanting to move herself around.
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@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
14 Jan 17
@MarshaMusselman Hope they figure it all out soon enough! Coumadin is a scary proposition although it saves lives for sure and prevents strokes!
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@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
3 Jan 17
Sending prayers that things continue to improve.
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@shaggin (71663)
• United States
6 Jan 17
@MarshaMusselman My father takes Coumadin and it took a long time to get his levels just right.
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
6 Jan 17
We think we may know, but will never know for sure. She fell, a few days before Christmas, at the end of her bed. Then she may have had a bit of a flu as she was vomiting etc. Because of that her normal eating patterns didn't keep in check the dosage of coumadin or Vitamin K she'd been getting at the time.
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@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
8 Jan 17
wishing your mom all the best with her health ..
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@epiffanie (11326)
• Australia
9 Jan 17
@MarshaMusselman Good that she is trying to do her best with walking again ..
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
13 Jan 17
@epiffanie She's not doing as well as we first thought. Most of the nurses are so busy with everyone else that they don't take enough time with my mom. Even then, my mom still has more one on one time where she is right now than if she were in a hospital or rehab facility.
Right now they have another guy there that is maximum assist and until he's better my mom may have to wait. Unless I can work out some time to be there with a specific nurse to help her with my mom. I may check into that later on.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
8 Jan 17
Thanks, she is doing somewhat better. After spending several days with her, both at the hospital and back where she was before, my sister was finally able to go back to her own house. She wasn't able to get my mom to do any walking which she was doing fine with before her stay in the hospital, but after my sister went home one of the main nurses was able to get my mom to go from the living area to her bedroom with one of the walkers with the seat on it. We're amazed she was successful. I'm hoping things will be more back to normal again with my mom walking with assistance rather than being fearful of moving her feet.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (48373)
• Canada
2 Jan 17
@MarshaMusselman I remember when my Dad was losing his battle with Lupus, it was so difficult to watch his demise. I cried privately every single day that last year of his life. It was so hard for me to see him failing more and more and becoming more and more dependent on others.
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
@Juliaacv Even when my mom is doing good she's already dependant on others. This has been slowly shifting over the past several years and most of my siblings have adjusted to that already.
In the past three or so months my mom makes less sense while talking but oddly enough she now seems to know very each of us again and that helps a lot too.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
It was very good that she did or I'm not sure whether my mom would be have lasted much longer without more help.
My mom's been through a lot, yes, but so have other parents of our friends here, and even some of our mylot friends. If she had her memory with her it would be much easier, but...
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
Thank-you, maezee. She's so much better now. It's too bad they can't remove the IV yet as then we wouldn't need to be as watchful. She pulled out the one they had in her arm yesterday or the day before. She's probably getting too much sleep during the day since her nighttime can sleep is restless.
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
I don't think she's in much pain if any other than not being in control over her own life. She's been sleeping a lot in fact probably too much.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
3 Jan 17
@MarshaMusselman Hope your mother gets well soon,
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Jan 17
She can't go back to where she's been living until she can move from one surface to another with help. Right now, she'll stand for a little but she wants to plop right back onto the bed rather than moving a couple of steps to a chair. Once she can accomplish that, then they will work on walking her with a walker. Our hope is that she's not in there the whole of this week, but it all depends on whether she will heed instruction of give into her fear of falling. They've determined that she's strong enough.
Her problem is that she has dementia, it's unfamiliar surroundings and she can't remember very long what's expected of her. Add to that the fact that she is legally blind and the fear gets the better of her. Just last week she was climbing a few stairs with help to get to the bathroom, so she's not been bedbound all that long, but long enough for her to have forgotten how easy it really is.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
2 Jan 17
Are you mylotting on your phone? I find that works quite well for me. I hope things continue to improve with your mom, these sorts of things are so worrisome with the elderly.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Jan 17
No, I only have a tablet to use when away from home. I mostly use my desktop at home for that it's much easier.
Today, while I was still there both PT and OT came in to try to get her walking. They soon decided to just move her to a chair instead but will try again tomorrow. They did get her into a standing position, but she was too afraid to move the necessary foot or less and fear caused her to sit her butt back down onto the bed. If my sister remembers tomorrow, she will order an ice cream to be kept in the nurse's freezer. They may try telling my mom she can have it if she transfers to the chair. She loves ice cream, so hopefully, that will work. Then maybe she can sit for a portion of the day to get her ready for more moving later.
They can tell she's strong enough. My sister will try getting her to do simple movements in preparation, like moving her ankles or raising her legs while laying down.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (48908)
• United States
2 Jan 17
Sending prayers your way. We have had several E R trips in the last week with my mama who has Alzheimer's. I know what a nightmare it can be.
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
3 Jan 17
My sister asked what they were watching for to be able to send her home again. Home being a place that has two nurses amount five to ten residents. The doctor told my sister they wanted to make sure she wouldn't fall anymore. Since falls can't be eliminated entirely with someone with dementia and almost blind, my sister promptly ordered pads that will ring when she moves off her bed or chair so a nurse can run and assist.
The pt and ot folks will attempt to move her to a chair today and then if successful work on walking again soon after. She uses the walkers that have a chair attached when not in the hospital.
@Mike197602 (15487)
• United Kingdom
2 Jan 17
Best wishes to your mother from mike.
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (37716)
• Philippines
3 Jan 17
Hope your mom recovers fast and will be back to normal again
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@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
2 Jan 17
ouch obviously a distressing time for you - hope someone is there with you to offer support and get coffee for you, etc - best wishes under such awful circumstances. Glad this ddn't start during the xmas / new year break itself for you
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
2 Jan 17
Hope all goes well for your mom. It has to be especially frightening for her.
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