After my previous post a lot changed. That Sunday night we left Mom around 5:00 PM. That night my brother flew home to Los Angeles, and Monday morning I went to work. Around 11:15 AM, I called my Mom but didn’t get an answer. My brother had put in an Echo with video in her bedroom and an audio echo in her main room. I connected and saw lights on in her bedroom which are typically on in the evening. I also heard voices. I logged out and dialed into the one in the main room. The TV was on. I tried to call to Mom but I was at work and couldn’t really yell. I called my brother to see if he could and if we didn’t get a response we would contact the clinic at her facility. He didn’t and he called the clinic. They sent someone down to her room. They found her on her enclosed balcony. She had been there all night. We had them take her to the hospital. I got in my car and raced over. I live about 45 minutes from her and work about an hour from her.
When I got to the hospital I couldn’t get to her immediately. It probably took 45 minutes all told. When I did get to her she looked pretty banged up. She wasn’t talking. She was under a heat lamp and blanket that warmed her up. When she came in she had been rather cold. She had thrown up and they were concerned she had aspirated. She had bed sores starting from being on the ground so long.
I started to wonder why hadn’t she been checked on? The facility where she lives has little things on the doors that are used to check to see if anyone has come in or out from the previous evening. Her breakfast had been left on the table outside her door, which they did for residents over 90. They used to bring it inside before Covid, but that protocol hadn’t changed yet. Still, they should have checked her around 8:30 AM, but did not. This would have to be followed up at a later time.
I had already spoken to my brother, and he was already planning to fly back up. He would drive directly to the hospital. After wrangling with hospice about a antibiotic for the potential pneumonia from aspirating, I took her off hospice so she could be treated. Nothing major but antibiotics and having 24 hour care in the hospital overnight was completely appropriate right now even if it wasn’t in the hospice formulary. I was angry and frustrated and was having to make decisions I was prepared to make, but truly didn’t want to.
Mom was finally admitted around 7:00 PM and we were in a room around 7:30 PM. My brother arrived at 7:45 PM. While I waited for her, I spoke to a nurse Mom had. Tiara. She spoke of her Mom passing recently. She spoke of making decisions to look at things and why do you do tests if you know how you will react? She helped foment my reasoning for hospice and how to move forward with that decision because of and in spite of this event.
My brother and I spoke. It was after 8:00 PM. He was brought up to speed. He would stay with us as he had before. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we would make the plan and move forward. Tomorrow (3/15) was also my husband’s birthday.