When Our Parents become Our Children

[wolf]

I was trying for a catchy title ... that kind of captures it, but not really.

I'm the primary caregiver and watcher-over for my mom. MomWolf is getting up in years, and like many of the "Greatest Generation" has a lot of medical problems. She has hypothyroidism, hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes. and had cardiac bypass in 1986. She also has arthritis and osteoporitis, an assortment of gastric and urinary problems, and well, when MD's see her coming they vacillate between "wow, what a train wreck" and "hey, there's the next year's worth of payments on my yacht!"

Actually, all in all, she's been relatively medically stable for some time. Her gait is sometimes unsteady, and she occasionally has to resort to taking a nitro. Mostly, though, she does okay.

As you might expect from reading the above ... usually does okay, except for tonight.

Before I left for work my mom didn't mention that anything was amiss. I get a phone call from her after I'd been at work about an hour and a half. She didn't sound right to start with, and I figured this wasn't just a call to tell me not to pick up the mail ... she's having chest pains. I'm trying to ask questions to figure out if this is anxiety (common) on her part, or the real deal. I even had our doc talk to her about her assortment of symptoms. The consensus was "go home and be with your mom." So I did. I get home and she looks like hell, and I get the extra added information that she'd actually been feeling bad since yesterday. She has an atypical presentation for cardiac symptoms anyway, which resulted in it taking 6-8 months of incorrect diagnoses and an aggressive, magical PCP to get her scheduled for bypass surgery before it was easy and fashionable.

wolf: Okay, mom, I'm calling an ambulance and you're going to the ER. (I told her this on the phone as well. She didn't listen to me then, either.)

momwolf: No. I'm just happy you're home. I feel safer.

wolf: I don't. you're going to the ER. By ambulance.

momwolf: no, no ambulance.

wolf: I don't think that's wise. (now remember, I make very large, very crazy people do things they don't want to do. I make ER doctors do what they don't want to do. I have made county administrators do what they don't want to do. momwolf is my kryptonite. it was either I drive her or no trip to the ER. In retrospect, I'm glad I gave in)

Luckily we got to the ER without incident, and thanks to calling ahead for reservations (via the cardiologist) we got fast tracked into the ER.

Okay, momwolf's arrival blood pressure of 260/156 might have had something to do with that.

She was given about $1000 worth of medications including a nitro IV and is now admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit. they don't know what's wrong with her yet, but they sure are treating it.

At least since they admitted her I don't have to pay $35 copay for the ER visit ...

I had to take her clothes home because she keeps saying she's leaving tomorrow. I know for sure she's in for the weekend, possibly longer, and there is no way she'll be running down Germantown Pike in her panties and a gown that flaps open at the back.