My mom is in hospital again. Apparently both she & dad were not well last week. Crazy but they didn't let anyone know. Mom did laundry on Sunday so I guess she was feeling somewhat better, but Monday afternoon/night she started not feeling well at all. (I get conflicting reports from them) Dad says that Mom tried to call me, but I didn't answer the phone & she got "down" because I didn't call her back. I was at physio at the time & since she didn't leave a message on the phone I didn't know she had called. grrrrrr!!! When she's home again I think I'm gonna have to tell her off for not leaving me a message.

I had an appointment with my dermatologist yesterday morning when Dad called on my cell phone saying mom was not feeling well & could I come over. I knew she must have been pretty sick if Dad was asking for me to go there. I had to wait until after my appt. Thank goodness the dr. wasn't overly long for a change.

I could hear Mom breathing from the door to their bedroom. My only decision was, do I call 911 for an ambulance or do I just take her straight to emergency. Once again I asked Dad why didn't he call 911 or at least call their doctor & once again he said Mom wouldn't let him. I didn't give her an option! Since she was so ill & I was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to walk very far, I called for the ambulance. When they arrived they put her on oxygen immediately. I'm glad I did call for the ambulance now & not try to get her to emergency myself.

The emergency departments of our hospitals are really busy. I don't think their waiting room got to 1/2 full the entire time we were there. It took a while before a doctor got to see Mom. I know there must have been some who needed him before Mom, but it still seemed like forever, but in fact was about 2 hrs. Mom was being watched & cared for by the nurses & she was on the oxygen, so it isn't like she was being totally ignored. When the doctor finally came in, he ordered chest x-rays of course, & she was given a nebulizer to help with her breathing. (which was better since she was on the oxygen).

While waiting for the doctor to see her, I found out that Mom had also lost her balance Monday night & hit her head hard on the doorjamb. I mentioned that to the doctor & the fact that she had a headache since the fall. Because she is on coumadin, & she hit her head pretty hard, he said she needed a CT scan too.

Around 7:30, Mom was moved to a different area in emergency. Dad & I had been with Mom all the time except for a quick lunch around 3:00, & the odd potty break. We were in the new room for probably an hour when a different nurse told us that only 1 person was allowed in at a time. Funny that we had been there for around 9 hours & this was the first we'd been told that. I think it was because there was another lady there & her visitors were coming 2, 3 4 or more at a time! Hard to tell them only 1 person at a time when someone else has 2.

Needless to say, x-rays, blood tests, CT scans all take time. More so when the doctor forgets to order the CT scan. Good thing we mentioned it to the nurse because she made sure it was ordered. As it turned out, there was a further mix-up & somehow or other, the order for the CT scan didn't get seen by the x-ray dept. Mom finally had it around 9 pm!

When Mom was moved, her new nurse came in to check on her. She started asking Mom some questions... such as.. do you know where you are --- yes, in a hospital. do you know the name of the hospital... no... (I don't think she was told which one she was in lol) what was the year... 1993... month? ... she worked it out & said April... day? nope (NCIS is on tonight) oh.. then it's Tuesday lol. date of birth? ... she got it right.. other questions that she didn't answer well. When questioned like that she gets very confused. But that's not from hitting her head... she has been getting more confused over the past year.

Thankfully the x-rays & CT scan were clear. The 2nd doctor (1st was off duty by now) came in to talk with Mom & he says that he wants her to stay in hospital for at least 24 hrs. Dad & I could finally go home... it was midnight & we had been at the hospital about 13 hrs.

Dad heard from the hospital today. They are keeping Mom in for another day (maybe more). I'm not sure if it's because of her breathing or if it's something else. Dad has gone to be with her. I have physio again this afternoon, so I'll try to get up there after that. I might find out more when I get there... who knows.