ER #2/12

As soon as I was off the computer, I started getting breakfast ready for Thursday morning since Mom has to be at the ATC at 8 a.m., which means we have to leave the house by 7. About 5 minutes after I published the last post I heard Mom yell as she was going in to the living room. Once again she was walking around without her cane. And once again she fell, but this time she hit the corner of the coffee table. I found her wedged between the coffee table and the couch. I told her she was going to the ER, she argued that she was "fine". I prevailed, so we are at the ER. (She couldn't stand up without my help so I told her she was going to the ER.)

We arrived around 11:30, Mom got checked in to a room about 11:45.

The security guard recognized us from Mom's trip in December. Nurse Kamaki was on duty at the ER intake desk; this is the 3rd time we have seen him. Nurse Juan, who will be Mom's main nurse, is new to us. But Dr. Fujiwara, who will be working with Mom, was on duty when she visited the ER in December.

A big concern is that Mom's platelet count is low; it is low enough that she is scheduled to get platelets along with the packed red blood cells. If she has had any internal hemorrhaging she could bleed a lot. Dr. Fujiwara did an ultrasound, he found nothing.

Dr. Fujiwara doing the ultrasound of Mom's abdomen.

Mom is a little upset with me for bringing her to the ER; she still thinks she is fine even though she now admits her ribs on the left side hurt. I think she is most upset that I did not let her change out of her pajamas into her good clothes; because she must wear her good clothes because she is going out! But I think she is warmer with what she has on - her red leggings & fuzzy socks.

The photo from 2 days ago.

I called Curtis as I was getting the wheelchair out of the car. He went to stay with Dad while I am at the ER with Mom. He retired at the right time!

In case you're wondering, my backpack is always packed and ready to go. I have a spare laptop cord that always stays in my backpack, along with a spare phone charging cord. The only thing I have to pack is my laptop, which goes into the protective sleeve that always stays in my backpack. And, in case I get lost, my compass also always stays in my backpack, along with my toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, & contact lens case. The thing I need to get better about, though, is snacks. There are no snacks in my backpack and the snack machine at the ER only has a very limited selection of things I prefer to eat.

Signing off now, so I can catch a nap while we wait for the x-ray results. Since Mom has no internal bleeding that means no transfusion tonight. Which means I need to be back up here at 8 a.m. or about 7 hours from now. I will post the outcome on Thursday evening. Good Night!