My grandmother is in the hospital
It's been about a week since I've been online. The first reason is that my computer kicked the bucket finally, so I am only able to access the internet at the library.
The second reason is my grandmother. She has been in the hospital twice in the last week. The first time was for a very minor heart attack and she spent five long, restless hours in the ER at St. Francis. This was early Wednesday morning. She was completely restless the rest of the day.
Thursday evening she was incredibly weak. We had an extremely difficult time getting her into bed. I recommended that we let her get some sleep, hoping that that would take care of the problem. It didn't.
I woke up Friday morning and found the house empty and a note on the table saying she was back in the ER. When I arrived there, she was lifeless and in and out of consiousness; completely opposite from 48 hours earlier. I honestly thought we were going to loose her then and there. She spent most of the day there, barely there. We finally went home when they transfered her to Virginia Mason in the evening.
We were up there around eleven, Saturday morning. She was happy and animated and looking better than she had in literally years. We had a good long visit with her and the entire time we were there, she didn't fight with us or the staff at all. I thought, considering how things were going, that she would have been released today.
Sunday proved me wrong. When we got there, you could tell immediately that she hadn't had much sleep. The nurse said that she had fought with everyone and considering how frail she is, she was extremely strong. Twice she had successfully pulled out the IV. She had barely gotten any sleep and the nurses twice gave her a mild sedative that had no effect on her whatsoever. They also discovered that she has been pocketing her medications in her cheeks so it appears that she's taking them when she is actually not. We didn't stay as long as the day before, because we are barely sleeping, as well. The entire time we were there she was completely aggitated and we had to keep giving her Kleenexes to rip apart so she didn't rip out her IV. While she recognized everyone the day before, she now barely recognizes her own husband.
So, we are taking this day by day. It looks like she will be remaining in Virginia Mason at least through tomorrow. Admittedly, I'm barely hanging on. It's so hard to remain strong for everyone else when you're feeling weak and powerless. Most of the time I feel like I'm losing my own mind.
Anyway, that's what's going on in my life. Sorry this is such a downer post, but that's life right now. I hope to post again soon; hopefully with better news. Before I go, I would just like to mention that should you ever go to Virginia Mason, bring your own aspirin. Of all the places you would think to carry it; they don't. Go figure.
Showing posts with label St Francis Hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Francis Hospital. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
My grandmother is in the hospital
Today has been a very long day for me. I'm surviving on about four hours of sleep. And yet, I can't shut my brain off.
Yes, you read that right, my grandmother is in the hospital. It began about 4:30 this morning when my grandfather woke me to get my aunt's phone number. My grandmother could not stand. At all.
We waited for my aunt (who lives in Tacoma) while trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with her. She's not exactly a spring chicken. In fact, she's 85. She passed spring chicken a few decades ago.
So, my aunt gets here and we successfully move her from her bed to the couch so we could try to get some food, water, and pills in her. She went from semiconscious to completely unresponsive very quickly. All we were able to get in her was a couple bites of toast and a few sips of the coffee that I made. We didn't like the direction this took, so we got an ambulance. They literally arrived a minute later (I kid you not) and checked her vitals. They immediately diagnosed her with being severely dehydrated. They then rush her off to the hospital with us right behind them.
We were in the waiting room for five minutes before they told us where they put her. This hurry up-and-wait scenario would be the theme of the day. Especially the waiting part.
So anyway, she was in an emergency room for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon while they ran a barrage of tests; including an x-ray, a CAT scan, and blood work. The diagnosis was that she had a urinary tract infection to go with her dehydration. Kind of a one-two punch that knocked her flat. Thankfully, the nurses in the ER were extremely attentive and made sure she was comfortable throughout it all.
That changed when she got a room. They decided to keep her overnight to observe her and to pump antibiotics into her throughout the night. The nurses here were, well, lax. That is other than one who looked like she was sick and tired of the others. We had made a comment when we first got the room that the catheter wasn't working out, but that wasn't removed until not long before we had to leave for the night and at one point it took them almost an hour just to get her a bedpan.
They are going to release her sometime tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the morning, but we'll see. I'm sorry if none of this makes sense, but I'm a bit rummy right now. Take care and I hope to post again on a lighter note.
Today has been a very long day for me. I'm surviving on about four hours of sleep. And yet, I can't shut my brain off.
Yes, you read that right, my grandmother is in the hospital. It began about 4:30 this morning when my grandfather woke me to get my aunt's phone number. My grandmother could not stand. At all.
We waited for my aunt (who lives in Tacoma) while trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with her. She's not exactly a spring chicken. In fact, she's 85. She passed spring chicken a few decades ago.
So, my aunt gets here and we successfully move her from her bed to the couch so we could try to get some food, water, and pills in her. She went from semiconscious to completely unresponsive very quickly. All we were able to get in her was a couple bites of toast and a few sips of the coffee that I made. We didn't like the direction this took, so we got an ambulance. They literally arrived a minute later (I kid you not) and checked her vitals. They immediately diagnosed her with being severely dehydrated. They then rush her off to the hospital with us right behind them.
We were in the waiting room for five minutes before they told us where they put her. This hurry up-and-wait scenario would be the theme of the day. Especially the waiting part.
So anyway, she was in an emergency room for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon while they ran a barrage of tests; including an x-ray, a CAT scan, and blood work. The diagnosis was that she had a urinary tract infection to go with her dehydration. Kind of a one-two punch that knocked her flat. Thankfully, the nurses in the ER were extremely attentive and made sure she was comfortable throughout it all.
That changed when she got a room. They decided to keep her overnight to observe her and to pump antibiotics into her throughout the night. The nurses here were, well, lax. That is other than one who looked like she was sick and tired of the others. We had made a comment when we first got the room that the catheter wasn't working out, but that wasn't removed until not long before we had to leave for the night and at one point it took them almost an hour just to get her a bedpan.
They are going to release her sometime tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the morning, but we'll see. I'm sorry if none of this makes sense, but I'm a bit rummy right now. Take care and I hope to post again on a lighter note.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Don't try this at home (or work)
So, news flash to absolutely no one, I'm kind of a klutz. Latest proof of this is what happened last night.
It's after close and I had just finished a load of dishes. I pulled them out of the Sanitizer and was walking over to the drive thru bar to set them down. My glasses were askew and I didn't see the pile of mats that were sitting there. I tripped and braced myself from crashing with my right arm; which smacked into the drive thru bar. Which just so happens to be made of metal. Needless to say that the tray fell and several dishes were broken. I felt like I was broken as well.
Since it is, well, me, my first concern was the wreckage that I had just created while my coworkers were more worried about me. Which is why it took a second before the pain kicked in. And the pain did kick in.
Mainly it's in my elbow. I use the present tense because it still royally hurts. Also, my forearm was also screaming at me as well as a few ribs. I landed hard, needless to say. My shift supervisor immediately banned me from doing anything else for the evening and made an ice pack for me. Only problem with that was that I still had to close my register. Turns out, I can do that one handed.
After that way done, I basically sat in the back room with my arm in a make shift sling that I made out of my apron and the ice pack. I'm feeling thirty shades of stupid and my body feels like I was on the receiving end of a baseball bat. Not the best way to end the night. Luckily, said shift was able to talk his father into giving me a ride home.
Sleeping sucked big time. What sleep I did get was shallow and interrupted quite a bit. I know, I know, the smart thing would have been to get it checked out even before going home, but we were all tired and it was past 11:30 by the time we left. Brains were done for the night and mine was the first one to shut down. Trauma kind of does that to me. Go figure.
Morning arrives and I immediately ask my grandfather for a ride to the hospital. It's feeling vaguely better because I slept with the sling on. We go down to the emergency room (after a brief stop in the lobby where I was instructed that I need to go to the ER) and I have lots of forms to fill out. In a way, I was lucky, because I write with my left hand and I injured my right arm. The nurse got a copy of my insurance (I'm so glad that I signed up for that) and I filled out the forms for L&I. Since an incident report was filled out right after the incident, I didn't have to worry about that one.
After that was a brief stint in the Waiting Room where my grandfather did his best to keep my mind off of it. Then I went into a room where a nurse felt up my arm to make sure that nothing else was wrong and then I waited to get x-rays.
Here's where the good news comes in. Nothing's broken or fractured or out of joint. I've gotta take it easy for the next few days (no heavy lifting) and I can take Ibuprofen for the pain. The swelling is down and I can use it some without it getting mad at me.
By the way, yes I did go to work today. Mainly it was a mandatory store meeting and a lite shift after that. Yes, I will go to work tomorrow night and no, I'm not going to do anything that's going to hurt myself. I hope.
So, news flash to absolutely no one, I'm kind of a klutz. Latest proof of this is what happened last night.
It's after close and I had just finished a load of dishes. I pulled them out of the Sanitizer and was walking over to the drive thru bar to set them down. My glasses were askew and I didn't see the pile of mats that were sitting there. I tripped and braced myself from crashing with my right arm; which smacked into the drive thru bar. Which just so happens to be made of metal. Needless to say that the tray fell and several dishes were broken. I felt like I was broken as well.
Since it is, well, me, my first concern was the wreckage that I had just created while my coworkers were more worried about me. Which is why it took a second before the pain kicked in. And the pain did kick in.
Mainly it's in my elbow. I use the present tense because it still royally hurts. Also, my forearm was also screaming at me as well as a few ribs. I landed hard, needless to say. My shift supervisor immediately banned me from doing anything else for the evening and made an ice pack for me. Only problem with that was that I still had to close my register. Turns out, I can do that one handed.
After that way done, I basically sat in the back room with my arm in a make shift sling that I made out of my apron and the ice pack. I'm feeling thirty shades of stupid and my body feels like I was on the receiving end of a baseball bat. Not the best way to end the night. Luckily, said shift was able to talk his father into giving me a ride home.
Sleeping sucked big time. What sleep I did get was shallow and interrupted quite a bit. I know, I know, the smart thing would have been to get it checked out even before going home, but we were all tired and it was past 11:30 by the time we left. Brains were done for the night and mine was the first one to shut down. Trauma kind of does that to me. Go figure.
Morning arrives and I immediately ask my grandfather for a ride to the hospital. It's feeling vaguely better because I slept with the sling on. We go down to the emergency room (after a brief stop in the lobby where I was instructed that I need to go to the ER) and I have lots of forms to fill out. In a way, I was lucky, because I write with my left hand and I injured my right arm. The nurse got a copy of my insurance (I'm so glad that I signed up for that) and I filled out the forms for L&I. Since an incident report was filled out right after the incident, I didn't have to worry about that one.
After that was a brief stint in the Waiting Room where my grandfather did his best to keep my mind off of it. Then I went into a room where a nurse felt up my arm to make sure that nothing else was wrong and then I waited to get x-rays.
Here's where the good news comes in. Nothing's broken or fractured or out of joint. I've gotta take it easy for the next few days (no heavy lifting) and I can take Ibuprofen for the pain. The swelling is down and I can use it some without it getting mad at me.
By the way, yes I did go to work today. Mainly it was a mandatory store meeting and a lite shift after that. Yes, I will go to work tomorrow night and no, I'm not going to do anything that's going to hurt myself. I hope.
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