We got back on a Friday evening and took off again the very next morning for a 3 hour drive south past Indianapolis to meet our future Son-in-Laws family. We have him and his two little girls as guests in our home regularly and our daughter also goes down to his family regularly. This is the first time the two families actually met.
They had arranged a cook-out with the whole crew, which is a pretty much an every-Sunday-after-church thing anyway. What a wonderful family! Grandma, his Mom and her twin sister and their families, and a whole passel of little ones. They pray before meals in a circle holding hands just like our family does. Everyone pretty much looks after everyone else's kids just like our family did when the young ones were that age. Family friends came in, fixed a plate, and introduced themselves just like our family. They were warm, welcoming, and absolutely wonderful in every way.
Three hours is not a real long way to have your 'little girl' go, but it's not a casual drive either. Knowing she will be a part of such a close extended family makes it a little easier to let her go. She is already loved and will definitely be cared for. We also got to see the place where the new family will live. It's about a 5 minute drive from their place to where his Mom and Step-Dad live.
Sunday brought Worship, Sunday School, and some up-close and personal time with the brakes on my son's truck. Monday and Tuesday were typical first week back at work after a vacation days, almost: Not sure you want to be there and a stack of work to catch up on. Wednesday, however, brought a call that my Mom was on her way to the hospital in an ambulance. Other being quite dehydrated her condition made her quite ill, but was not life threatening. She was treated well in the ER and admitted for a two night stay. I stayed with her in the hospital the next day, trying to work via internet while looking after her.
I had an extended illness a couple years ago and ended up being off work for almost four months after a week in the hospital. Much of that time I was either in bed or in a comfy chair. I got so bored I wrote a daily email blog called "Musings from the Recliner". It was a essentially a humorous bit that went over well with friends and family, and kept them all in touch. I decided to do a couple of those from hospital while looking after Mom. I'm including them, with comments, only lightly edited in this post:
***********
The View from the Visitor Chair #1
Here I am (once again) sitting in the hospital with my Mom as the patient.
The
good news: She’s doing much better than yesterday. They’ve located the
source of the infection and are treating it accordingly. She still in
intensive care, but they’ve removed the isolation protocols.
The
bad news: She’s going to be in another night. I have all the medical
power of attorney for her, so I kind of feel like I need to stick
around. I’ve found that unless a patient has an advocate with all
the appropriate “powers” it’s hard to get answers and appropriate care.
The
worse news (for you): I just can’t help myself. I’m going to subject
you to another running email: “View from the Visitor’s Chair”. You just
can’t keep this stuff to yourself.
The ER:
We’ll
start with her visit to the ER. She was in the ER for almost 5 hours
before they admitted her and got her an Isolation Protocol Intensive
Care room. She was treated as promptly as it gets in an ER,
and with caring and respect. The family was all treated well also.
Not one thing to complain about. The surprise: We had a wonderful ER
nurse. In fact, we’ve know her for years. She’s the vet tech that
looks after our pets. She’s the one who put down
our cat and dog when their time came. Apparently she works a couple of
nights a week in the ER. It took me few minutes to put her into the
right context – I must admit it was a little weird. One of the charms
of a small town hospital, I suppose. Still,
all good.
The next morning…
The Discharge Lady:
Even
though she’s not getting discharged today the discharge lady that
arranges for home health care if required came in to talk. Mom is
generally in good health for an 85 year old lady, and is quite
independent.
She still drives, lives on her own in the same farmhouse she’s lived
for 54+ years. She prides herself on still mowing her own lawn and will
tell that anyone who might try to treat her like a frail old lady. The
discharge lady made that mistake and for her
sins had to listen to the “I’m still independent” lecture. Twice. My Mom is a very considerate Christian lady and usually very quiet… usually. Don’t make the ‘frail old lady’ mistake.
The Doc:
You
forget how much ‘fun’ it is working with hospitals until you get back
into doing it. I asked yesterday when the doc makes rounds: “Oh,
never before 10:00 and usually around 11:00”. That’s a little
unusual, but I took her word for it. I get here at about 8:15 and he’s
already come and gone. And Mom doesn’t believe his diagnosis. And
after doing this with my Dad, I learned there is
nothing to be gained by debating with the nurse on the doctor’s diagnosis.
I did try… I did crash and burn… He’s likely right, anyway.
The Room:
You
also forget what a drag it is to do ‘work’ work from a hospital chair
in the intensive care area. When your Mom is watching "Let's make a
Deal" ... And she's pretty hard of hearing... And
her aids are at home... And folks on the show are screaming like
little girls... And the nurses are doing their thing every 15 minutes
or so. My wife is here too, and I gave her the ‘comfy’ chair. I have a
metal folding chair with a spare blanket as a
cushion. Another part of the charm of a small town hospital, I
suppose. Chris says “Focus, Mark. Focus.” Working on it, man. De brought me a third cup of coffee. I should be able to do something…
********
The View from the Visitor Chair #2
With
the TV turned down I can now hear at least three different ‘dingers’
going off demanding attention. They’re not getting it, but they’re not
giving up. You have to admire that
kind of persistence. (Focus, Mark. Focus.)
Perhaps
the only TV show with more screaming than “Let’s Make a Deal” is “The
Price is Right”. Don’t these people have real lives? I just don’t get
it.
The ER nurse being the Vet nurse (her husband is the Vet) has garnered some comments.
One
of my brothers double-dog dared me yesterday to ask her if she handles
the spaying/neutering duties for the hospital, too. I was tempted, but
decided to let that dog lie.
Mom’s done eating her lunch and is back in bed. Time for De and I to find some chow…
**********
Friend L:
The ER nurse is the Vet Nurse?
Yes, I guess you can’t make this stuff up.
On the other hand, that has got to be fodder for a story to head off in a half
dozen different directions.
…pulling out a dog biscuit instead of a lollypop for a good patient
…accidentally paging the vet instead of the chief resident
…asking
if they (the patient’s escort) brought a leash – Well, that one may
actually be a common request of many ER nurses for their less than
stellar patients.
and later...
You haven’t answered whether you earned a lollypop or dog biscuit from the nurse for your own good behavior
Me:
I chose to accept that her not planting her hospital sneakers into my posterior was reward enough.
*********
Friend C:
I triple dog dare you to ask the nurse!!!!!
ME:
Unfortunately for all, she’s gone back the vet clinic with the 4 legged patients instead of the 2 legged variety. Believe it or not, Angola has separated the two hospitals (you can’t both get your shots updated in the same place) so the opportunity has passed me by. Bummer! (whew!!)
*********
Friend J
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your hospital events . . . I appreciate the humor, but please take care of yourself too! I am glad your mom is doing better. I will say prayers for her.
************
Friend A
You missed your calling – you need to start writing a book.
Tomorrow bring a pad for your butt.
and later...
That’s my problem!!!! I was unaware of the man code. Is it in the CML directory?
(CML stands for Command Media Library - It's our extensive, often ridiculed, and sometimes ignored collection of standard operating procedures that cover even the most trivial tasks.- Mark)
************
Friend M
Oh you have to love small towns – versatile with animals and patients – just be cautious if you see a cow walking down the hall while you are still in the hospital….might want to leave at that point.
********
Mom is doing much better, is home with some help from the Home Health Care folks. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.
Col. 1: 9-12
Mark
No comments:
Post a Comment