Hospitals I have known

This past week my mother was taken by ambulance to yet another hospital. She wasn't feeling well, was nauseated and vomiting, and was very sleepy. She did not want me to dial 911, but with the encouragement of my brother and her own doctor, I did just that and watched as she was once again whisked off to another hospital, this one at her request.

For the past four years, she has been in and out of various hospitals. I have been with her in an ER at Vanderbilt University, an ER in Indiana and in ERs here in Florida. I have been with her for various stages of pneumonia and two different back surgeries. Each hospital visit has been quite an adventure not only for her but for me as well.

No matter where she ends up she has excitement. Once she was in a room with another woman who was crazy enough that she had to have a sitter with her at all times. Apparently, she had stabbed her boyfriend or husband with a fork or a knife or something. She was a character and my mother just egged her on when she found herself getting bored. She was giving this woman relationship advice and a little bit of therapy to boot.

Another roommate was a little lady that thought my mother led the most interesting soap opera of a life. She was so into my mother's life that she knew all the characters by names and would listen silently behind her curtain to all the gossip from visitors or phone conversations. I thought she would follow my mother home just to keep abreast in her life.

This hospital visit was for pneumonia, despite no evidence of coughing, and low oxygen which put stress on her heart and caused her to have what they think was a mild heart attack (Connie thinks differently). She spent almost a week in the hospital following orders to inhale and exhale into various medical contraptions and complaining about the food. She had lots of antibiotics, a bag of iron, and a blood transfusion.

I took a few photos each day which set some of the nurses into a tizzy thinking I was documenting lack of care, but for the most part, I was just gathering photos for my explanation no blogging.

She came home with us for almost a week on continuous oxygen and returned home this week to fend for herself with the help of home care nurses and physical therapists. Her immune system is quite compromised with all of her steroid use (for medicinal purposes not baseball-related) and so she must treat herself with care. She preferred this hospital over the other one in our area and felt she got great care. She also enjoyed the "united nations feel" of the staff inquiring daily about each member's nationality. (These inappropriate comments have trickled into her language since her hospitalizations and they horrify me more than you can know)

We are both hopeful that she will continue to improve and can avoid any more hospital visits this year. Fingers crossed...