Taking your Mother-in-law to the ER

What I have learned.

This is for the long time
friends who know me and will
get how truly crazy this was...
never, never a dull moment!!!

It is not always a straight
forward proposition to get a
loved one to get the medical
help that they need.

When Georgia called Friday night
and said that she had another
obstruction she was pretty sure
that was the case...but...

when I got next door a few minutes
later, she thought maybe she felt
better.

I decided that we should buy a few
minutes by calling the Doctor to
get the advice to head for the ER.

The answering service agreed to
page the on call Doc.

We waited.
On the steps.
Beaux, Georgia's kitty, waited
with us...He would reach his paw
through the stair rails and pat
Georgia on the back.

It was the sweetest thing.
You see, Georgia just nursed him
through a horrible upper respiratory
infection that nearly took his life.

Now, he was caring for her....

I called the Doctor's
answering service
again. Then decided that
we should just head
in to the hospital.
Georgia's pain seemed to
be building again.

As we drove the phone rang.
The on call doctor seemed pleased
that we were on our way and said
someone would meet us there.

Great!

The closer we got to the hospital
the better Georgia felt.
I suggested as we turned the corner
just before the hospital that she
decide whether she really wanted to
go in...
after all, it is flu season and there
would likely be a long wait.

She decided to pass.

Now, I am thinking...
What did I just do?????

I am now headed the half hour back
home and figure that about the
time we pull into the driveway
the pain will be back full force.

I took the long way and drove
very slowly.
About halfway home...

there were groans of
discomfort coming from the
seat beside me.

I offered to head back to
Lancaster.
No definitive response.

I decided to "go medical".
"Georgia, on a scale of 1 to 10
what would you say your pain is?"

Every nurse knows this question...
Georgia is an RN!
She answered that it was about a 5.
She groaned again.
I made an executive decision
and headed
back to the hospital.

Flash forward to ER Room #8.
The x-ray just came back stating that
there is no blockage.
The nice ER Doc wants to be helpful.
We have told him that a CT scan
had been recommended but not completed
after her last obstruction.

He offers to order the test.
The only draw back is that it will take
another 4 hours.
It is now 1:00 am.

Georgia wants this test.
I want Georgia to have this test.
Georgia wants me to go home and
go to bed.
I am not going anywhere.

I need to convince Georgia that I will
go home and sleep if she will have the test.

She works it all out that
I will leave,
she will have the test and then sit in
the waiting room until I come back at
7am to pick her up...

Right!!!!

She agrees!

I then let her know that I am
going...
NOWHERE!

Ha! Joke is on her!

...and me....

We are up all night.
Actually, she dozed..a lot...
I was up all night.

Finally at 4:00 am the next ER
Doc on duty pops in to say
that this test has shown an obstruction.
They are preparing a bed upstairs.

We make it up there at 5am.
Meet Nurse Sue...a very nice lady.

Give her all kinds of personal info
as if we have been best pals forever...
instead of 5 minutes.

Lay our heads down...
Georgia on a pillow...
me on my folded up coat.

And sleep for one hour.

I wake up and scoot out to
a ladies breakfast.
I have never gone out
knowingly looking that bad
before in my life.

We had a blast.
I drank a 16oz mochaccino
and got silly.

Finally, you saw that post
that made just about no
sense that I posted when I
returned that morning.

I did not go straight to bed
at that point as I remembered
some people that needed to know
that Georgia would not be attending
a funeral as she had planned that
afternoon.

But, finally crawled into bed to
have the coffee keep my brain
whirling for another hour before a
blessed two hour nap!

You just never know what a day...
or night...
will bring!