I received a phone call at 3.30am this morning as my mother had had a fall, face on. They had taken her to Bellingen Hospital a small country town hospital where there is only nursing staff. By 10.15am she had been transferred to Coffs Hospital to check if she had broken her nose.
Experience told me' as with Dementia, that if Jan or I went in all she wanted to do was go home, not easy waiting, especially in a tired state. So I rang the Nursing Home by 12.20pm. and they didn't know much but contacted the hospital and rang back to say she was still waiting for Drs. and imaging. Being Sunday is not a good time for these things.
By 2pm I then rang the hospital, to see how she was managing and explained why I wasn't visiting. The nurse said "Please come in the nurses are so busy it would be a big help." Jan and I made it by 2.30 or so, and then the fun began.
Mum was climbing the walls by then, not knowing why she was there or even where. Fighting to constantly get out of the bed or pulling at a dressing on her leg from a previous fall. It took all of Jan's and my strength to hold her back and try and placate her. I asked for Panadol as she must have been in pain and one wonders why they don't give it automatically, when it was obvious what had happened.
Eventually the Dr. came and Head Nurse and after much discussion we decided that imaging where mum had to lie still for 5 minutes on a table was not going to work. I accepted the fact that she might have a blood clot, or even a broken nose. A blood clot also might mean an operation and I thought that unnecessary, if that was the case. It is not easy making a decision on which could mean end of life, especially with your mother. After consulting with the Consultant the Dr. came back to say they agreed, for which I was thankful. You have to realise mum is very shaky on her feet, being fed most of the time, help with drinking, toileting, showering, and this was her 5th fall. One day it will be her last which is what we have to live with.
As we had been telling mum for 3 hours we were taking her home, finally after much fighting with Dr.nurses,porters, they managed to dress her back into nightclothes, remove a canula, wipe the blood off her nose, in a wheelchair, give her sedation for the trip home and into my car.
The smile on mum's face, when we turned up at the home was amazing. We had help getting her inside and sitting waiting for dinner when we left.
It has been an exhausting day all up and I had planned a different blog post but that can wait to next week. Thanks for reading.
Till next time.
Experience told me' as with Dementia, that if Jan or I went in all she wanted to do was go home, not easy waiting, especially in a tired state. So I rang the Nursing Home by 12.20pm. and they didn't know much but contacted the hospital and rang back to say she was still waiting for Drs. and imaging. Being Sunday is not a good time for these things.
 |
| My roses are just lovely at the moment |
By 2pm I then rang the hospital, to see how she was managing and explained why I wasn't visiting. The nurse said "Please come in the nurses are so busy it would be a big help." Jan and I made it by 2.30 or so, and then the fun began.
Mum was climbing the walls by then, not knowing why she was there or even where. Fighting to constantly get out of the bed or pulling at a dressing on her leg from a previous fall. It took all of Jan's and my strength to hold her back and try and placate her. I asked for Panadol as she must have been in pain and one wonders why they don't give it automatically, when it was obvious what had happened.
 |
| Taken July 2018 |
Eventually the Dr. came and Head Nurse and after much discussion we decided that imaging where mum had to lie still for 5 minutes on a table was not going to work. I accepted the fact that she might have a blood clot, or even a broken nose. A blood clot also might mean an operation and I thought that unnecessary, if that was the case. It is not easy making a decision on which could mean end of life, especially with your mother. After consulting with the Consultant the Dr. came back to say they agreed, for which I was thankful. You have to realise mum is very shaky on her feet, being fed most of the time, help with drinking, toileting, showering, and this was her 5th fall. One day it will be her last which is what we have to live with.
As we had been telling mum for 3 hours we were taking her home, finally after much fighting with Dr.nurses,porters, they managed to dress her back into nightclothes, remove a canula, wipe the blood off her nose, in a wheelchair, give her sedation for the trip home and into my car.
The smile on mum's face, when we turned up at the home was amazing. We had help getting her inside and sitting waiting for dinner when we left.
It has been an exhausting day all up and I had planned a different blog post but that can wait to next week. Thanks for reading.
Till next time.
sorry to hear about your mum, can't be easy & certainly hard decisions
ReplyDeleteall the best to you & your sister & hope mum heals well
thanx for sharing
I'm so sorry. I hope your mom heals quickly. It's not easy to take care of someone with dementia. And it's especially difficult when we have to decide what's best for them.
ReplyDeleteHugs.