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Oct. 5th, 2011 09:11 amWe almost lost Grandma yesterday.
When her Home Health Nurse came in for her regular check-in, she found Grandma on the floor, unresponsive. When they got Grandma to the emergency room, her serum gl?ucose was down to 20.
By the time they got hold of Mom (who was 50 miles away, leading a field trip on 30 sixth-graders), her glucose was up to 100 and she was starting to respond. She didn't know what happened, didn't remember falling, (third time this week, that Mom knows of), and didn't remember Mom bringing her soup and making her eat it last night.
Based on her finger test log, they *think* that she just hasn't been eating enough lately, so her regular dose of insulin was too much.
The ER doc and all the nurses made it a point to tell Grandma, once she was lucid, that if the HHN hadn't had an appointment with her that morning, Grandma would have died, and that Grandma *really* needs to think about moving into the nursing home. Some of those talks sank in--when they got her home
Grandma hasn't wanted to think about that option, because the home she worked in before she retired was such a hellhole. The one in town has always been better, and they're regulated better now, than they were 20 years ago.
Grandma still thinks she can move in with Mom, and Mom will care for her the last few years of her life. I think my sister or I will have to sit Grandma down and explain to her that Mom simply can't do that. Mom can't afford to retired and spend all her time caring for Grandma, her house isn't set up for elder care, she doesn't have the nursing background, she's not physically capable, and not emotionally capable. Being at Grandma's beck and call has already drained her, and she just can't.
Mom is livid that she can't get hold of her brothers to simply tell them Grandma was hospitallized again, let alone get support and help from them.
And there's probably going to be a big stink at the hospital, because Mom's not sure that Grandma's regular doctor was notifed that she was there. This has happened before....last time, she was in the hospital for 3 days before he found out, and there was a big stink. Also, some bright penny in the ER decided that since Grandma's glucose was back up over 100, it was ok to send her home. Mom's going to be asking Grandma's doctor about that today.
So.....
Our tenative plan to go to Mom's on Saturday and go to the pumpkin patch is shot, but the kids and I may go up anyway. Mom plans to go talk to the nursing home about getting Grandma the round-the-clock care she needs, sometime today.
More as I know it.
When her Home Health Nurse came in for her regular check-in, she found Grandma on the floor, unresponsive. When they got Grandma to the emergency room, her serum gl?ucose was down to 20.
By the time they got hold of Mom (who was 50 miles away, leading a field trip on 30 sixth-graders), her glucose was up to 100 and she was starting to respond. She didn't know what happened, didn't remember falling, (third time this week, that Mom knows of), and didn't remember Mom bringing her soup and making her eat it last night.
Based on her finger test log, they *think* that she just hasn't been eating enough lately, so her regular dose of insulin was too much.
The ER doc and all the nurses made it a point to tell Grandma, once she was lucid, that if the HHN hadn't had an appointment with her that morning, Grandma would have died, and that Grandma *really* needs to think about moving into the nursing home. Some of those talks sank in--when they got her home
Grandma hasn't wanted to think about that option, because the home she worked in before she retired was such a hellhole. The one in town has always been better, and they're regulated better now, than they were 20 years ago.
Grandma still thinks she can move in with Mom, and Mom will care for her the last few years of her life. I think my sister or I will have to sit Grandma down and explain to her that Mom simply can't do that. Mom can't afford to retired and spend all her time caring for Grandma, her house isn't set up for elder care, she doesn't have the nursing background, she's not physically capable, and not emotionally capable. Being at Grandma's beck and call has already drained her, and she just can't.
Mom is livid that she can't get hold of her brothers to simply tell them Grandma was hospitallized again, let alone get support and help from them.
And there's probably going to be a big stink at the hospital, because Mom's not sure that Grandma's regular doctor was notifed that she was there. This has happened before....last time, she was in the hospital for 3 days before he found out, and there was a big stink. Also, some bright penny in the ER decided that since Grandma's glucose was back up over 100, it was ok to send her home. Mom's going to be asking Grandma's doctor about that today.
So.....
Our tenative plan to go to Mom's on Saturday and go to the pumpkin patch is shot, but the kids and I may go up anyway. Mom plans to go talk to the nursing home about getting Grandma the round-the-clock care she needs, sometime today.
More as I know it.
