Saturday, October 10, 2015

We Got the Dreaded Call

 

Blairsville, Ga (high 65, low 52)

We’ve been enjoying the lovely fall weather here and looking forward to the annual fall colors.

Things are changing fast and we’re thinking the colors will be changing earlier than usual.

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For the past few years, we hold our breath that we will be able to travel and that we will be able to stay as long as we plan.  My almost 86 year old Mother has health issues, so we never know just how she will be doing.

A few days ago, I got a call from my brother that he was taking Mom to the hospital.  She was acting odd, just kind of staring into space, and not talking much.

She had been on antibiotics for a urinary track infection and we were thinking she just hadn’t completely gotten over it.  She can get very confused and disoriented when she has a UTI.

They admitted her to the hospital, ran all sorts of tests for possible stroke, and also checked out her heart including giving her a stress test.   All came back normal for a woman her age, but they did show some brain shrinkage.

She was ok the first day, but the second day she became more and more confused and didn’t know who or where she was.  My brother and I thought we had lost her, at least mentally.  Al and I started preparing to get back to Tampa, but it takes us a few days to get things winterized here and on the road.   We were preparing to send her to a rehab center when she was discharged from the hospital.  At that point, we couldn’t care for in her home.

The doctors had her on iv fluids while she was there. The third day, she came back to normal.   She was mentally clear, or at least as clear as she has been the past year or two.  The doctor mentioned that she was dehydrated and  we think that may have caused her problems.

We have had a lot of trouble getting her to drink enough when she’s at home.  When she eats a meal, she may take a sip or two or water, but getting her to drink more is next to impossible.

Since she is back to the way she was before she went to the hospital, Al and I decided to postpone our departure.  We are hoping to be able to stay a little longer. 

We made arrangements for someone to sit with her when my brother is at work, just to make sure she is ok. 

So…… As of now we are still in Georgia and trying to snatch a few more days of our beautiful mountain weather.

We took a drive over to nearby Cherokee, NC yesterday afternoon.  We saw some very interesting things.  More later, but here is a hint.

 

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10 comments:

  1. Many of us have been in the position you are in, not knowing if it is the "Last Call". It is always a difficult position to be in.

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  2. Thankfully this episode turned out okay for your mother. We understand the feeling that she was experiencing because we've both been that way especially in the warmer climates.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  3. This is not a fun time for you.
    We have both mothers here on the edge, up and down everyday thats why we have not gone to far away al year, but will be heading south soon.
    Our prayers are with you.

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  4. My mother had a similar episode when she was 87. Biggest problem was we were in the middle of a trip in Alaska, and were in Homer at the time. It was scary, but we made it through. Good luck to you.

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  5. This is tough, not knowing how things will turn out, certainly makes for a lot of uncertainty. Glad to hear that your mom is stable and back to normal.

    I have a tough time keeping my 93 year old father drinking enough liquid, too. If we can get him to drink 6 oz. at a meal, we feel we've succeeded.

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  6. It is very hard to know what the best thing to do is. When my mother was 89 she fell and although she didn't break anything, they would not release her to live alone. None of her children were in a house where she could be accomodated, We were in California, she in Wisconsin, and so she went to a nursing home. She hated it every minute for the next four years. She would not try to get along.

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  7. Taking care of elderly parents is so very hard. And there are no easy answers. I'm glad you were able to get everything under control with Mom so you can enjoy a few more days in the mountains. Hugs.

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  8. Me too - my father is 95 and might live forever happily if he would just keep himself hydrated. He complains all the time about being dizzy and tired among other things.. All due to dehydration but he claims he just can't drink any more than he is. Not much any of us can do.

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  9. Sounds like she has bounced back once again, now to get her to drink enough fluids.

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  10. We had similar issues with my mother too. One of the reasons... over medicated with diuretics. Mum had heart failure so needed them to stop the build up of fluid around her heart but.... it meant she wasn't interested in drinking. We tried to make sure she had a cup of tea every few hours. We also had electrolytes on hand after the first couple of scares.

    Dehydration is such a common complaint in elderly. I hope you can work out a suitable plan to keep your mother as healthy as possible.

    Blessings

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