I took Mom to the Dr.Lavin today. He had already gotten last weeks E.R. report and a report from BG on the weekend events, including the near E.R. incident. First, Mom looked great for her appointment, clean, perky and pretty lucid. She was very happy and relieved when I called her to tell her that I had made her an appointment with him. He was very good with her. He calmly explained that these episodes were going to be a part of her life. In a nut shell, her brain, via the nervous system, does not always send the heart the message to adjust her blood pressure (BP) when she goes from sitting or lying to standing. (Orthostatic hypotension)He explained that she had to move slower, take her time standing and eat more salt. There are really no medications that have shown to be effective for this syndrome. There is a hormone that can be used to elevate her BP, but it is very tricky to dose because of serious side effects. He pointed out to her that with her track record with meds, he is very hesitant to try it on her. That can be re-evaluated if the problem gets worse.
On the topic of meds, Dr.Lavin and I were just made aware that BG was still giving her the medicine for sleep. He was upset about this because he wanted it stopped a month ago. He has now stopped ALL meds, including her multivitamin (MVI). I talked with him about the charges for giving her just the MVI and he was fine with us giving it to her. We just need to coordinate a schedule for that soon.
Finally, we discussed the problem with BG having to call 911 every time Mom has a "spell". He said he already spoke with them about this issue. They told him they are leary of not calling because of all the regulations they have to follow. He told them he agreed to a point, but that it was against her best interest to keep sending her when it is not necessary.
He was going to write an order for her chart that states that they are not to call 911 for a fainting spell unless she suffers an injury or loss of consciousness :) I totally agree. If anyone doesn't agree, call Dr.Lavin to discuss it. Anybody still awake?
It was a very good visit and Mom seemed very satisfied with what he had told her. I dropped her off in time for lunch and all seemed well. So you can imagine my surprise when BG called me
before I even made it home! It seems Mom had gone right up to the health suite after I left and told them "she wasn't feeling well, could they please call Quinn" I'm beginning to think some of this "feeling bad" is really loneliness and fear :( Anyway, we'll just keep up the visits- I know her friends and brother are- and reassure her as best we can.
I appreciate Matt and Henry going to take care of the lawn. I know I don't even like going over there if I don't have to. I hope we can revisit renting or selling when Michael is home at Christmas. I would rather focus my attention on Mom than on the house. JMHO
Love to all, Q
P.S. I almost forgot... You all owe me big time because I did have to deal with getting another urine specimen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Outsprinkles
These are the people whose love and support get us through each day and who we owe so much. They also helped a little producing......
Almost all of the Offsprinkles
8 comments:
Yes, I'm still awake. Yes, I agree that we need to sign whatever waivers are needed for BGT to only call 911 when Mom hurts herself falling or is unconscious. If Dr Lavin needs to sign something, it sounds like he will too. I wonder if BGT is giving Mom the sleeping pills because she is asking for them or to stop her from walking the halls or something like that.
Finally, you don't need me to be there to figure out what to do with the house. I already gave Stuart my proxy. I know emotion, effort and economics all fit into the equation and I trust him to balance them. I can't really help much with the effort of upkeep. I do seem to get the emotion from Mom although only for a half hour a week. I can only make an educated guess on the economics too. I don't mean to say I am washing my hands of the issue and I'm happy to discuss it but I am not the one who has to deal with a lot of the consequences.
and Quinn, urine samples make you queazy????? Even John is doing that in freshman year, isn't he? I think he's even minoring in samples.
I'm good with handling the lawn care. I'm not medically informed enough to handle what Quinn does (though I did have to get a urine sample on one of the ER trips :p); I'm not assertive enough to get the BG staff to bath Mom like Levelle is; and I don't have POA to handle financial and insurance issues (thankfully).
How did we leave the 'selling the house' issue?
Selling the house is primarily a timing issue. Not many people list a house before the holidays because not many are looking. And we have to be prepared to get everything out if it does move. And we have to deal with Mom's recently reaffirmed desire to not sell it. And we have to decide who the listing agent should be. And we have to have something safe to do with the money when it sells.
My best guess is we should have the raffles and swap meet during Christmas and list right after the new year. Let O'Conor and Mooney fight it out, and count on a new administration to make America safe again. So who tells Mom?
I'll break it to Mom when we're ready to put the house on the market. She preferred O'Conor when last we spoke on the topic.
Quinn, would a stool or sputum specimen have been preferable? :)
Seriously, thanks much for all the running around with the Dr. visits and the very detailed update. It gave me a clearer understanding of Mom's health issues and I think we're pointed in the right direction with handling them. What if we local 5 siblings, Uncle Jim and Aunt Melmarie or one of Mom's friends set up a regular schedule for a daily visit to administer the MVI and gauge Mom's status?
Thank you Strott family for carrying the majority of the Yarmouth upkeep load. Please leave the next round of leaves for me to rake this coming weekend.
Michael, the problem with the urine sample is not handling it, it is quessing which of the cups in Mom's room have been used to obtain the sample. She has now informed me twice that she "knew the doctor would want a sample", so she tried to get it ahead of time. The first time I never found it.:p As for sleeping, that may be an issue, but BG has never mentioned it to Dr.Lavin or me. It can be addressed if/when it becomes a problem. And to answer Stuart's last question, obviously it is Micheal! Thanks, Mikey
Do none of you sleep?
Put me in the rotation for visiting - I can cover one scheduled weekend a month for sure and any other time when necessary. Jim's home for the time being and I can be flexible with work.
I sleep. In fact I am going to bed now. Good night.
Anybody up for a run?
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