Here We Go. Again.

mom and my daughter in the ER

 

Our New Year's started out less than stellar.   My mom who  has her own health issues with metastatic cancer was and is back in the hospital.  Since my dad passed in early December, mom was content to stay in her own home.  She was enjoying her freedom by doing what she wanted when she wanted.  I would stop by weekly and definitely call every day.

When I called her this Saturday she was working a jigsaw puzzle and was planning on staying inside due to the yucky weather we were experiencing.  She sounded fine and had no complaints except for a little swelling above her left eye.  She brushed that off and said it was from sleeping on that side of her face for most of the night.

Sunday afternoon she calls me.  She tells me that she lost consciousness on Saturday.  She said she was on the floor of her home at her front door trying to get out to get help. ( Mom did not want Life Alert)   She could not walk, but she could crawl.  She said she laid there by the front door hoping a neighbor would see her.  She then crawled back to the living room and attempted to get up on one of her living room chairs, but could not.  She then crawled to her recliner and managed to get herself up in the recliner.  She has no idea how long this episode lasted and she does not recall talking to me on Saturday.  But, she said later that evening she did get up and make herself a pizza.

When she called me on Sunday she was experiencing numbness, dizziness, and her speech was compromised.  My daughter and I rushed down to see her and to also see what was going on.  When we got there, mom's gait was uneven, and her blood pressure was skyrocketing.  We called 911 and they transported her to the hospital.  And that is where she has been ever since.


While were in the ER, she tells me that she has been seeing different images, hallucinations of sorts.  I asked her how long this has been going on and she said for a few days.  She sees birds flying, rows of shoes lined up in an orderly fashion and old men smoking cigarettes.  That little bit of information caught the doctor's attention.  You could just see it in their eyes and facial expressions,even though they did not want to show it.

 There are of course some speculations that her neuro onocologist is following up on but we  have no clear cut answers yet. She has had multiple diagnostic tests, CT's, MRI's, spinal taps and endless blood work.  She  has been in MD Anderson since Sunday night and maybe because it was a holiday we still have no results just yet.   I have seen her MRI images, and  working diagnostic imaging (ultrasound)  I know  just enough to see that there is something there in her brain.  but I certainly don't know enough to know what it is, good or bad.   We or hoping to get more concrete information and a diagnosis today. 

Everything budget related has gone kaput.  We have charged stuff to fix our roof to prepare for mom to come live here.  I have fixed up her room here with new carpet, new bedding, and yes, I charged that crap too.    We have spent too much money on eating out because we are hardly home.  I have been spending wasting time on eBay shopping for crap I don't really need but bought it anyway.  To tell you the truth, I don't really give a rat's ass right now.

So we wait.  Sigh........