ER #11 & Transfusion #15

Well I could not end the year without another trip to the emergency room. This is #11; if it were spread evenly throughout the year it would mean I was at the ER every 4 weeks & 5 days. However, since it started on June 12th, I have been visiting the ER on average every 2 weeks & 4 days since then; although for the first 6 weeks I was at the ER every week. (FYI - I was the patient only one of these 11 times.) This time it is for Mom's dizziness which has continued from yesterday when none of the things I tried to reduce the dizziness helped (more water, food, elevate legs). And now she sometimes feels a little dizzy even when she is lying down. I called the Kaiser nurse advice line and they wanted her brought in to the ER.


Dr. Fujiwara checked a bunch of things and found nothing. He did a CAT scan. Nurse Steve also took 4 vials of blood; the only thing they found is that she is low on platelets so they gave her a platelet transfusion. That's #15 on the transfusions this year. Mom got sent home with a prescription of meclizine and an admonition to ask for help when standing & walking in order to reduce falls. They really didn't give her a diagnosis; they're just treating the symptoms right now. I need to call Dr. Chan tomorrow to check in with him on whether there is anything else he wants Mom to do.

When we arrived at the ER there were no wheelchairs because there were so many people in the ER waiting room. And although Mom keeps telling medical staff that there is nothing wrong with her, they took her in rather quickly. So quickly in fact, that she was already in a bed by the time I got back from parking the car. Being old has its perks!

Mom got to use one of their new pieces of equipment today, the Sara Stedy. As usual, she needs to go to the bathroom frequently, so Nurse Kamaki brought in the Sara Stedy and helped her get to the bathroom. After she was done he left it in the room so that it would be there for her next trip.

Mom & Nurse Kamaki with the Sara Stedy.

Nurse Kamaki was assisting on another occasion when Mom was in the emergency room. He's the only one of the 5 medical staff that we saw today that worked with Mom before.

We were there about 6 hours. During that time we saw at least 3 patients that were in beds in the aisles because there were so many people there today. It was looking like one of those TV medical dramas. I started dinner as soon as we got home; while we were eating Dad asked Mom what the doctor said and she told him she didn't go to see the doctor today, she was home all day! Even though I know what the dementia does to her memory its still surprises me when she says things like this.

Mom continued to be dizzy throughout the evening. She was not too good about telling me she wanted to stand up & do something, I had to observe her having difficulty and step in to help. I hope I can hear her waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.