I seemed to have developed eight pairs of arms juggling and running at the same time.
Mum had only been home a couple of days when we had to phone the dr to help with all the meds she has to take and when, i had no idea as i didn't know what was what and he was a great help to me and while he was here he took some blood to check how it was. Now i had more control what meds mum takes i can start to keep a record of the times and when. Later in the evening the dr phoned back to say that mum needs to go to A&E for blood as it was down to 6 she asked him what would happen if she didn't go! he said that she wouldn't last 2 days as the blood is dangerously low. Mum was crying she didn't want to go in again and how am i going to walk! no ambulance had been sent to us and we had to make our own way there! i was so angry mum could barley walk to the en suite let alone to the front door. I asked her did the dr offer an ambulance? her reply was we had to drive there! there was just no way we could get her to the car it was to far for her.
Ted phoned for a taxi while i dressed mum it was going to be here in five minutes then i rushed to get half dressed and slung my Parker coat over me to hide my pjs underneath and worrying how we could walk her to the road.
Id just managed to get an overnight bag packed when the door bell rang...it was Neil (cousin)
We need to go to A&E can you help me take mum to the car? Neil took one arm me on the other, we only managed to get a few yards when mum went floppy on us and i could feel her arm slipping through mine but it was to late i couldn't save her and she fell forward face down into the hedge...i was hysterical and screamed NOOOO! i begged Neil to help me pick her up from the rained concrete path, we got mum into the sitting position on the path and i got myself together and whispered to mum please get up, get up..but all she could say was let me die here! i cant move ive broken my ribs. It seemed like we were there forever coaxing her up to her feet me behind her and Neil in front and with the both of us together we got her to her feet and back to the house and seated on the dining room chair ashen white,vacant and shaking. Id started to cry in shock on my knees in front of her, and i could hear someone talking on the phone about mum, Neil asked me to take over the phone conversation but i didn't know who i was talking to i was in to much shock! i was crying down the phone to this woman going over and over in my head what had happened she gave me instructions to check if mum had this that and the other, did we have any pets? and to keep obstacles away from her and to switch the outside light on! help is on the the way...no sooner had she mentioned help two paramedics walked in and passed me and this kind woman was still trying to calm me down, it was then id realised who i was talking to. Still by the phone i could see Neil was in shock and i could only watch as the paramedics put mum into the green chair and wheeled off to the ambulance. I quickly followed with the overnight bag and meds and ted behind me. Neil gave me his card to phone if we needed to get a lift home later. We were in A&E and told to wait in the lobby.We were soon called in to sit with mum for a while but nobody had examined her and she was in pain all over, i asked a nurse if mum could have some morphine but she was a bit unsure but asked me if i had her meds with us? so i asked for a pot so she can drink it, so i ended up using her own oramorph to ease her and wait with her till there was a bed available. It was 2am by the time mum was transferred to OG ward, we went with her and stayed for a couple of minutes before going home.
I didn't get much sleep that night and i was still in shock by it all in the morning. I was up and dressed and ready to make my way to the hospital when Margret Lunt called to discuss things with mum! but i had to tell her what happened then Davina (mums sister) called. two days ago we wernt even talking cos id not come home when i should have, now she was hugging me cos of what had happened. I really thought she was going to blame me for her fall.
Ted and i went up to the hospital later that morning and mum had still not been treated and she didn't even have any blood transfusions. Id asked how her ribs were? but it wasn't her ribs it was her shoulder that she hurt in the fall but there wasn't any broken bones thank god.
She asked if we had seen Neil? and asked if we would phone ceri to thank Neil for us. Mum felt bad for him to have to go through that, i kept apologising and blaming myself for her fall but she told me to forget it and grabbed my hand as reassurance.
Last night i was upset now I'm angry....
Ted and i had phoned the GP who told us to take mum to A&E to complain to him about not organising an ambulance to take her there! but we were missing his calls as we were in the hospital visiting, it took two days to actually speak to him and ask him why! He claimed he did and mum refused and said she will go by car...i know for a fact she didn't say that as i was with her the whole time and i got very angry with him, but he denied it all. He said he had to phone back as he had a patient with him and couldn't speak any further. In my opinion he just wanted another dr there to monitor this conversation as it was getting quite heated. He did phone back and i sort of calmed down but he still denied it and i was just getting stressed by the minute i was fighting a losing battle here but i did get a few apologies and assured me it wont happen again.
Damn right it wont.
Argument no 2
The day after mum is still in and in all that time she had only 1 bag of blood, no dr had been to see her to explain why she had to be there when no-one is doing anything, she was starting to get depressed and would feel better if she went home. Then a junior dr came to see us a Tara Palmer Tompkinson look a like and asked how she was and why is she here!! why is she here i said!!!! WELL i kicked off again didn't i. You come here asking why she's here i'll tell you why she's here! its because of that damn dr calling us at night time and ordering mum to go to the hospital asap or she will die!! and when we get here you do nothing!! its taken me two weeks to get her pain free and we had to take her out in the pouring rain only for her to fall!! do you know how angy i am right now! its ok for you to go around with your clip board with your bedside manner but if you ask me there's to much talk and not enough action round here!!!! the dr apologised embarrassingly, i could feel mums hand squeezing mine as if to say calm down now Lyn calm down.
Four days and mum phoned to say she was coming home but we were on our way up to see her and missed her call! when we arrived we had to go and get her wheelchair and clothes and come back. I got her dressed and into the wheelchair but had to wait an hour for her medication. She was so glad to be going home but for how long because i don't want her to have a repeat of whats already happened. There was no ambulance to take her home so it was up to me and ted. Parking outside the house we couldn't use the chair cos of all the steps so i held on to her and took it slowly but she was exhausted by the time we got to the front door. I walked her to the living room to sit down a while but all she wanted was to go to bed, she was so weak.
Its not been a week since mum came home and the dr phoned about her blood results she was told to go in again!! but this time there was transport arriving at 8pm so it gave us time to get everything ready this time but i was not pleased about it. Going through the same procedure A&E waiting waiting waiting but this time mum was more calm but to be honest she was to tired to get worked up about it now. A dr Gaby was on call a lovely woman she was. I asked her when i got her on her own is this how its going to be from now on? surly there is another way? we went to the tea room to have this chat and her reply was your mother will always have this problem now but once she's on the right medication and plenty of rest she can recover! There was one other question that was on my mind and been on my mind i had to ask is what is her life expectancy? i cant say it could be next week 6 months or five years there's no saying when. Dr Gaby smiled and left me to think and went to talk to mum for a while.
Within an hour there was a bed for her in muirig ward and dr's and nurses were a lot pleasant, they even greeted her like royalty when she came out the lift and before we left her she was receiving blood. what a difference it made going from one bad ward to a good one and getting blood transfusions with a click of a finger. now i knew she will have a peaceful night there.
Its getting close to Christmas now and there is no word when mum will be released to go home, she has had all the blood to last her for the time being. After a week in hospital mum asked the dr's if she could go home! they were a bit concerned about her DVT and if they send her home she will be back within a week and would end up staying 3 weeks over Christmas! they wanted her to stay in another 3 days! We discussed it together and we came to the conclusion that it would be better cos it will be a miserable Christmas for us all if you stay in over the holidays eating cold turkey and sprouts and lumpy potatoes, no we wont let that happen to you, your coming home for Christmas even if i have carry you home. A week before Christmas she was home and the only ward she had to go to now was the leri day hospital for transfusion top ups on the 23rd but for now we are just concentrating on Christmas.
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