ER #1/11

This is my first visit to the ER for 2017! But if I look at a year long period starting from June 12, 2016, then this is visit #11 for me. This time it is Dad who is in the ER, Mom is at home with Curtis. I had just finished making dinner and had sent Mom to let Dad know. It seemed like she was taking a long time to get back, even with using her cane so I went to check. Mom was in the main bathroom on the toilet. When I opened the bedroom door, Dad was lying on the floor. I asked him if he was all right & he said, "Where am I?" He did not know what he had been doing just before & did not know why he was on the floor. He did not have any visible injuries & said he was all right. With help he was able to get up & sit on the bed. I told him I was taking him to the ER since he passed out & we did not know if he hit his head.

I missed it when Dad was hooked up to the monitor. This is one of the ER overflow rooms; the portable monitor is apparently in another room.

Mom kept getting in the way as I helped Dad up. She also kept trying to help but really wasn't able to do anything. She also could not understand what Dad was doing on the floor. I knew I could not leave her alone, so I called Curtis to come and stay with her; it would take him about 30 minutes to get here. I got Mom's wheelchair, got Dad in to it, wheeled him out, & got him in to the car; I learned a lot from 5 days ago when we had to move Mom through the house in the wheelchair, it was a lot easier this time even with Dad weighing an additional 45 pounds more than Mom, who hovered nervously around us the entire time. I had called the neighbors to see if anyone could come & stay with Mom until Curtis came, but no one was home. As I started the car up, I asked Mom to go in the house so that I would know she was safe. She did, but then as we backed out, she came out in to the garage again. To tell me to call her when we got to the ER. For the 5th time! When I saw that Jamie's car was home, I quickly stopped to ask her to stay with Mom until Curtis came; she did. Mahalo, Jamie! That put me more at ease while I drove Dad to the ER.

Nurse Monica & Dr. Ishida examined Dad. The only other thing he volunteered to them was that the right side of his head hurt. Felip the phlebotomist came by to get the blood sample. Nurse Tony took Dad for the x-ray. Nurse Monica took him for the CAT scan. Dad didn't want to wait for the results of the tests, he said they wouldn't find anything wrong with him. But Dad was wrong, that bump on the head gave him a subdural hematoma which means they are keeping him overnight and doing another CAT scan tomorrow to check on what's happening. Dr.Ishida said most likely it won't get any worse, but they want to make sure and observe him tonight. Everything else came back fine. Problem for me is that they are so busy it may take several hours for a bed to open up in the hospital wing before they move him. I will stay until then so it is easier on Dad and the staff.

Forgot to mention yesterday that I picked up a bunch of stuff to make a gluten free flour mix for when David comes to visit in February. The recipe is from the America's Test Kitchen book, "The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook." The top row of ingredients are what is in the standard mix; the xanthan gum is added for baked goods that use yeast, the little bag with the red dot is psyllium husk powder which is added for baked goods without yeast. So now I'm ready! I will definitely try it with the Fluffy Dinner Rolls. And probably a quiche shell. And maybe also brownies, gotta have brownies!


Happy Birthday to Lisa!