Episode 68 - I'll meet you at Luke's place

What a week. The evening following my last post, I got a call from the care center about 9:15.  The nurse said Mom had fallen.  No one had witnessed the fall and though she didn't appear to have any injuries, they couldn't rule out that she may have hit her head; she wasn't making a lot of sense and they felt she should go to the hospital.  My first response was, "making a lot of sense compared to what?"  Mom has been on a downward spire the past couple weeks when it comes to 'making sense'.  The nurse said she just had a gut feeling she should be checked out.  Of course I agreed.  She said they would call an ambulance (standard procedure) and we could meet her at St. Lukes Hospital between 10:30 and 10:45.

DH and I arrived at the ER at 10:30.  I checked in at the desk and was told the ambulance was still about 10 minutes out.  We took a seat.  I kept an eye on the drive-up for flashing lights, but nothing.  Ten minutes turned to twenty, then thirty and finally forty minutes.  We'd been in phone contact with my oldest son (Belle's Daddy) while waiting.  He, in turn, had called the Care Center to verify the time she'd left and called us back. 

BD: She should be there.

NM: We've been sitting right here the whole time.  No ambulance has come yet.

BD disconnected and called us back a few minutes later.

BD:  She's there Mom.  I talked to her nurse.

It's now 11:15 and NanaMama's wrath is coming to the surface.  I approached the woman we'd spoken with when we first entered.  I'll spare the exchange other than she told me my mother was probably dropped off at the rear entrance.  Who knew? AAUUGH.  We were taken back to a room where mother was lying on a bed, dozing.  This would be her state for most of the stay.  We later learned she had fallen out of bed at the care center.  They did a CT scan and x-rays, all which checked out OK.  She was taken back to McVille by another ambulance.  DH and I returned home about 1:00 a.m.

I called the care center the next morning to see how the rest of her night had been.  She was still sleeping but they thought she was doing fine. They had changed the timing of her medication the previous day, to help her sleep better at night and hopefully be less anxious during the afternoon. I wondered if the heavier sedation contributed to her falling out of bed.

DH and I put in a long day, having gotten to bed late - work and then topped off the evening with CeCe's late volleyball practice, getting home after 10:30.  The bed felt good - but sleep was cut short when my cell phone rang at 4:15 a.m. 

Deja vu ... the nurse on the other end of the phone informed me that my mother had been found on the bathroom floor.  She had fallen about 3:30 and was en route to the hospital by ambulance.  This time, she definitely hit her head and had a large hematoma. 

We dressed, filled our coffee mugs and set out for the hospital. We decided we should drive two cars which in theory, was a smart choice.  Unfortunately, upon exiting my car, I promptly locked the keys inside it.  It wasn't even 5:00 a.m. yet ... my day could only get better.

This time, the ambulance beat us to the hospital and Mom was alert when we found her.  She answered the usual questions posed to her by medical personnel.  In response to the 'what's your name' inquiry, she slowly recited her first, middle, maiden and (first) married name.  She stopped before saying her current last name... and never did remember it.   When asked about her living situation... she said, "I have two houses" - Dr. H. said, "Do you live in a nursing home?" to which Mom said, "No, I don't live there, I just help out."  (I'm sure this perspective would explain a lot to the staff ... Grandma is the merely 'Site Manager')  My favorite response was to the question about the President's name.  Grandma responded confidently: "Plattenberger" (my maiden name)  I said aloud, "Dad would be so proud."  

Another CT scan, another set of x-rays and though there was no head injury or broken bones, she was admitted for 23 hours of observation.  DH went back home and got the extra set of car keys and another mug of coffee for me.  I stayed with Mom as she was moved to a room on the 5th floor.  A couple hours later, it was determined that she had a UTI and was started on IV antibiotics.  I was actually relieved to get this news, as I've heard UTIs are a common cause of confusion in elderly patients.  Perhaps some of her confusion had stemmed from this infection.  I guessed that time would tell.  The 23 hour admission was changed to a standard admission due to the UTI. 

Mom was fidgety and not happy with the IV, catheter and monitor.  I asked the nurse if she could possibly put Coban wrap around the IV to keep her from pulling at it.  (Coban is that colorful stretchy wrap they put over a cotton ball when they draw blood from your arm)  She did.  She also discovered that the alarm on the bed wasn't working properly, so she called maintenance. (Since Mom is a fall risk, the alarm will blast if she gets out of bed).  About this time, a friend of mine from work stopped up to the room.  (She came bearing edibles.)  We visited for a short time in the 5th floor lounge (after grabbing coffees from downstairs).  I bid her goodbye and headed back to Mom's room. 

When I got there. I found a nurse checking her email by Mom's bed.  She asked if I was going to stay for a while and I said I was.  She left.  It was then I noticed Mom no longer had her IV.  Something told me this hadn't been a miraculous healing.  Sure enough... I learned she had managed to pull out the IV and also get rid of the heart monitor. This occured while the maintenance fellas were re-arming the alarm on her bed.  She's a sly one, she is.  So for this reason, Grandma was now the subject of constant monitoring - no solitary confinement for her.

The next IV was wrapped more thoroughly in Coban and then a sleeve placed over her arm.  From that point on, a patient tech was on duty in Grandma's room if I wasn't with her.  One day we arrived to find her sitting at the nurses' station in a wheel chair. They didn't have a tech available... so had wheeled her out there.  She was busy popping bubble wrap, which she said made her laugh.  Her confusion continues.  She's not sure where she is, but if she "doesn't get to feeling better, she's going to have to go to the hospital." 

It's been five days since the first fall.  We're hoping she is released soon to return to the care center.  I know there are still medication issues that need to be figured out but I'm sure she'll be happy to be back with the other Golden Girls and the things that have become 'new normals' for her. I've been thinking about her return though.  When she does go back to the care center, I may propose they wrap her in bubble plastic, secured with a roll of Coban wrap.

So ends Episode 68