10 Days

these last 10 days have been nothing short of a nightmare.  my family has been so blessed to have my mother still with us at 91 years old, and until recently in relatively good health. she has been able to live on her own, does her own grocery shopping, still irons all her clothes, cooks her own meals, is still sharp as a whip, we have definitely been so very blessed.

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11 days ago she fell ill with colitis. after endless hours of sitting in the ER, not one time but two different days they finally admitted her. she was in there for 4 days, numerous antibiotics, and her lungs filling up with fluid one day, she was released on Friday. I picked her up, ran to the store to get her a few groceries, got her settled back in at home and went home. Saturday morning i talked to her on the phone and she didn't sound right. i chalked it up to exhaustion and told her to get some rest. 3:30 that afternoon i get a call from the fire department, they are at my mother's house. she had called 911 after suffering a TMI

 ( A transient ischemic attack (TIA) happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or reduced , often by a blood clot. After a short time, blood flows again and the symptoms go away. With a stroke, the blood flow stays blocked, and the brain has permanent damage.)

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so another 6-7 hours in the ER Saturday (total probably 25 hours in the ER within the last week)

after numerous tests they admit here and transfer her to Genesis West. today they are going to do a ECHO of her heart and supposedly if everything comes back okay they are releasing her later today.

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the ER doctor told me last night that she shouldn't live by herself anymore. that he is pretty confident that this WILL happen again and next time she may not be so lucky, she could be in the shower, or in the kitchen cooking fall and hit her head. 

My mother is very strong-headed (so we know where I get my stubbornness)  and convincing her to give up her independence will not be an easy task. today when i go up there Im going to start off by suggesting she come stay with me for a few days, get her strength back and let's see how things go.

I realize how hard it would be to give up your independence . it was very upsetting for her last month to sell her car, its certainly going to be a struggle to get her to leave her home.

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