I'm freaking out.
Apr. 9th, 2003 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaI'm sorry my LJ has been such a roller coaster of drama lately. I really am. But right now there's not much I can do about it.
My mother's in the ICU.
She went in this morning for a minor surgical procedure on her bladder - day surgery, supposedly, under local anesthetic, very low-key. They even told her she could go back to work the next day. I got e-mail from my father just before noon saying that everything had gone just fine. Mom was drinking tea and eating toast and getting ready to go home.
Then, when I got home, this e-mail from my sister Juanita: Mom had some bleeding and will be staying at the hospital over night. Dad said her situation is stable at this point. She fainted earlier but her heart is ok. She has low blood pressure from blood loss. And a message to call my sister Judy, who filled in more details. "Mom fainted" is a bit of an understatement - she collapsed as she was about to be discharged and was unconscious for three minutes. My father couldn't find a pulse. They announced a code, but according to Dad she became responsive on her own just as the room was filling up with people. She's always had borderline low blood pressure, and apparently there's some internal bleeding into the pelvis. But Judy got to talk to Mom, and said she sounded all right - she was able to have a normal conversation and recount her experiences.
Judy gave me the phone number of the hospital ICU. I called and they put me on the phone with my father. He said that my mother's surgeon was meeting with her, and had ruled out the need for another operation - he thinks the bleeding will stop, and drain, on its own. He said it was okay for my mother to have a supper tray, which means that he really doesn't think he's going to need to go back in tonight. She still has to stay overnight for observation. Dad said that Mom is okay but wants to go home. He downplayed the seriousness of what happened, calling it a "world class fainting episode" and the ICU stay as a precaution. Given that that's what a parent would say, and that he said Mom is worried about how the kids will react, I'm not particularly reassured.
I'm supposed to drive to Boston this weekend for my aunt's memorial service. I don't know if I still should, or if I should go to Elmira to be with my mother. I don't know if I should cancel my clinic tomorrow and leave for Elmira right away. My father says there's no need to come home. I don't know if I should take that at face value.
I'm trying to get hold of my sister the doctor. I've called her, but her line is busy. She might be online, but I e-mailed her asking her to call me at once and haven't gotten a response. I'm waiting for my father to call me back. I'm waiting for my sister Judy, who was on the way to the hospital when I spoke with her, to call and give me her assessment once she's seen Mom. I don't know what to do.
I want to talk to my mother.
Edited to add: Please don't call me. I want to keep the line open for family.
My mother's in the ICU.
She went in this morning for a minor surgical procedure on her bladder - day surgery, supposedly, under local anesthetic, very low-key. They even told her she could go back to work the next day. I got e-mail from my father just before noon saying that everything had gone just fine. Mom was drinking tea and eating toast and getting ready to go home.
Then, when I got home, this e-mail from my sister Juanita: Mom had some bleeding and will be staying at the hospital over night. Dad said her situation is stable at this point. She fainted earlier but her heart is ok. She has low blood pressure from blood loss. And a message to call my sister Judy, who filled in more details. "Mom fainted" is a bit of an understatement - she collapsed as she was about to be discharged and was unconscious for three minutes. My father couldn't find a pulse. They announced a code, but according to Dad she became responsive on her own just as the room was filling up with people. She's always had borderline low blood pressure, and apparently there's some internal bleeding into the pelvis. But Judy got to talk to Mom, and said she sounded all right - she was able to have a normal conversation and recount her experiences.
Judy gave me the phone number of the hospital ICU. I called and they put me on the phone with my father. He said that my mother's surgeon was meeting with her, and had ruled out the need for another operation - he thinks the bleeding will stop, and drain, on its own. He said it was okay for my mother to have a supper tray, which means that he really doesn't think he's going to need to go back in tonight. She still has to stay overnight for observation. Dad said that Mom is okay but wants to go home. He downplayed the seriousness of what happened, calling it a "world class fainting episode" and the ICU stay as a precaution. Given that that's what a parent would say, and that he said Mom is worried about how the kids will react, I'm not particularly reassured.
I'm supposed to drive to Boston this weekend for my aunt's memorial service. I don't know if I still should, or if I should go to Elmira to be with my mother. I don't know if I should cancel my clinic tomorrow and leave for Elmira right away. My father says there's no need to come home. I don't know if I should take that at face value.
I'm trying to get hold of my sister the doctor. I've called her, but her line is busy. She might be online, but I e-mailed her asking her to call me at once and haven't gotten a response. I'm waiting for my father to call me back. I'm waiting for my sister Judy, who was on the way to the hospital when I spoke with her, to call and give me her assessment once she's seen Mom. I don't know what to do.
I want to talk to my mother.
Edited to add: Please don't call me. I want to keep the line open for family.
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-09 04:20 pm (UTC)(and if you need a hug when you're up in Boston...)