We had a little scare with Scott's mom this past Monday...but the story starts the previous Monday...it seems she fell...kind of tripped over her oxygen hose...fortunately she did NOT hit a table or chair...but none the less, she was quite bruised on her face and her ribs were hurting her. Unbeknownst to us, they went to the doctor to be told it was just bruised ribs...however, by Thursday she was in a lot of pain and decided to share the "falling" event with the family...they decided to take an ambulance to the hospital...and from there she was diagnosed with 4 fractured ribs and sent to a Rehabilitation Center in Gladstone. Everything seemed to be going fine until Monday when my SIL asked the nurse to check Elsa's lungs because Robin (SIL) didn't like the way Elsa was sounding. Sure enough, neither did the nurse, so once again Elsa was transported by ambulance to the Milwaukie Providence Hospital...after several hours in the ER she was admitted for pneumonia and the family was called in because the doctor said it came on fast and she didn't think Elsa would make it through the night. She is reminding me of my mom...how many times my mom was in the hospital and we thought: this is it....only to have her "have one more life" (like the cat with 9 lives!!)...well, with an IV and getting fluids, she managed to pull herself out of that state and she is now back at the Clackamas Rehabilitation Center...she is looking so much better and she can remember things and recall a little bit about the hospital stay, but mostly it is very fuzzy for her...and I say that is a good thing, because Elsa was a little "cuckoo" would be a nice way to say it. She was exhibiting some paranoia, some delusional thinking and speaking and we weren't sure if she had suffered a stroke or what was going on, but for sure we were very concerned about her mental abilities. After more testing, it was determined that she did not suffer a stroke, her heart is as good as mine or Scott's, her lungs and kidneys are all great...she is just "fragile" and so if she were to have another 'event' she may not survive that...her blood flows to the region that is hurt and does not go to her brain..hence the paranoia and delusional thinking and speaking.
Today we visited with her back in room 13 at the Rehab facility and we even took her and Bill down the hall to have lunch in the Sun Room...and you know what? We actually did have the sun...and a very nice black and white cat was curled up sleeping in another chair in the room. We pulled up the blinds so they could see outside...there was a bubbling rock and the cutest little bird fluttered by...I learned it was a Western Tanager...bright yellow with a most striking red head...just gorgeous! It is so nice to see Elsa sitting up and eating and responding to conversation. She will be there as long as it takes to get her to the place where she can get up on her own and handle a walker...and our hope is for her to go home. We will most likely be looking for additional help for her in the morning and again in the evening. With TLC from her family we hope to keep her out of a Foster Home or a nursing home. Her husband would be ecstatic if she could come home and talk with him! Here is a picture of the two of them sitting in the Sun Room eating lunch together...it is a little hard to tell which one is the sicker of the two...this event with Elsa has certainly taken its toll on Bill.
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