1) Driven someone to the ER at 2am
2) Spent the night in the ER
Things I learned last night:
1) Mom is not always right,
and,
2) Hospital chairs are really uncomfortable and you just can't sleep on them.
Things that I am grateful for:
1) That my mom is feeling better,
and,
2) The amazing doctors and staff at our local hospital who were so kind and thoughtful, even though the ER was really busy,
and,
3) The pain relief drugs that the doctors gave to my mom to make her feel better.
Things that I have realized:
1) Two hours of sleep will, in fact, keep you going through the night.
2) Those two hours will even enable your brain to understand what the doctor is saying about gallstones and ultrasounds and elevated white blood cells.
Things I fully anticipate happening:
1) My mommy feeling better soon,
2) Myself taking a loooong nap. Preferably now, except I leave for work in a half hour.
So. This morning I got a phone call from my mom at 2am. She told me she was downstairs and didn't feel good and asked me to come down. I did, knowing that my mom hates asking for help when she's sick and also knowing that she has been having bad heartburn/gastritis problems for a while now. Suffice to say, my mom was in severe pain and it wasn't from heartburn. She has already taken two Aciphex and one Protonix and two doses of Pepto Bismol, to no effect. She wanted strong pain meds for the pain and anti-nausea drugs. I refused, (sorry, mom!) and told her I was taking her to the hospital. Dad and I packed her up and drove the fifteen minutes to our local hospital where they admitted her with acute abdominal pain and immediately put her in a room. Within the hour she had an IV and had two pain meds and a sleep aid being pumped in and was feeling so much better she could doze.
Her doctor (wonderful, funny man) believes she has a problem with her gallbladder. Whether it's an infection, gallstones, or sledge . . . we don't know. She just had an ultrasound and we are waiting for the results that will determine whether or not she is released or if she needs a surgery to remove her gallbladder. I'll update when I know more.
Updated 9:30pm:
The ultrasound this morning at about 7:30am revealed at least one gallstone right at the duct of her gallbladder. The doctor decided surgery was the best thing and mom had her surgical consult about 9:30am. I headed over as soon as I was done with work, about 1:00pm, and had about half an hour with mom before they wheeled her off to the surgical corridor and we met her anesthesiologist, surgeon, and nurse.
Then we went to the ICU waiting room, and waited. About an hour and fifteen minutes later the surgeon came out and told us it went great, she did wonderfully, and that the gallbladder was big and distended, inflamed, and had a couple of stones in it. He said she probably was in more pain than she let on and that she will feel so much better with them out.
And he's right! We got to go in the recuperating area where mom was the only patient, and talked with her while she woke up. She sure was funny. Still smart, asking medical questions, but forgetting what we had already told her because of the general anesthesia. They wheeled her to her room after an hour and she has been dozing on and off all night. She is doing great. The pain is manageable, she says it is much improved from where she was with her gallbladder, and is talking and moving. Mom should be sent home tomorrow morning!
Remarks of Wisdom from my Dad, Regarding the Gallbladder Surgery, Made to the Surgeons:
"Keep all your ducts in a row!" and, "Leave no stone unturned!"
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