Here we go again ... on Wednesday, momWolf saw the dermatologist, who announced that all looked well with her forehead. Last Thursday mom saw her PCP, was told that all was well, some minor adjustments to the blood thinner medication for the DVT.
She was very perky, and had been enjoying the fact that wolfSibling and the kitties were down for a visit to help with the packing, and to finally get momWolf over to the new abode to check the place out.
We were going to do that yesterday.
I was awakened too early Saturday morning to hear momWolf calling for my sister. My first thought was, "Well, that shows who really rates, doesn't it?" and rolled over. She then started calling for me.
We both went downstairs to find her gasping like a fish and saying she wasn't feeling well.
wolf: Mom, I'm calling an ambulance.
momWolf: Do you have to? Can't you just take my blood pressure?
wolf: Okay, then I'll call the ambulance.
(it is not easy to try to take the blood pressure of a woman who continues to try to talk to you while you are listening very hard to hear the Korotkoff sounds (that's when the little thumpy-thumpy noises start and stop))
wolf: Hello, 911 dispatcher. I need an ambulance.
momWolf: Can't you just drive me?
wolf: No! Sorry about that 911 dispatcher, I need an ambulance for a 76 y.o. female, history of HTN, DVT, CHF, presenting with SOB, chest pain, and BP 220/110. Thank you. (ends call) As I was saying Mom, I can't drive you, unless you want me to just shove your dead body out on the side of the road when your heart stops.
momWolf: Is it that serious?
wolf: Yes.
Great response time on the paramedics, they were at the house in less than 10 minutes.
My sister and I left the house shortly after they did, and we saw the rig that transported my mom returning to the station as we were about 2/3 of the way to the hospital.
Rough time in the ER, as she wasn't responding to the medication she was initially given, heart rate through the roof, respirations scary high, and her blood pressure was starting to come down, but not by much. She was finally given an injection of some stuff that I can't recall the name of, but which worked very quickly, and within 10 minutes she was relatively stable, had good color, and was breathing normally. Apparently she had another episode of congestive heart failure, which may have been brought on by something that she does when she has a doctor's appointment ... she's on a diuretic, which makes her pee a lot, and she'll skip it if she has to go somewhere, like the doctor, so she stays drier.
Oh, and then she had a Cup O' Soup for dinner one night, chased it down with a half a pack of saltines, according to my sister who dropped the dime on her to the doctor. Your basic recipe for medical disaster.
She's much better today, ensconced on the cardiac telemetry floor at the same hospital she was in for the month of July last year. It's her favorite floor, and the nurses who cared for her at that time remember her, and me.
So, if I seem distracted or irritable, that's why.
Incidentally, I have the coolest BP cuff in Southeastern Pennsylavnia.
