The past week was a challenging one for my family. My nearly 85 year old Mother was taken to the hospital by ambulence one week ago, at midnight. A call at midnight from my Father is never a good sign - for he is in bed by 8-9pm every night. Even worse, when it is a medical emergency, I am not nearby so I have to learn and communicate by phone to stay connected. My sister lives nearby, and bless her soul, went and picked up my Dad to meet Mom at the hospital. Not that my Mother recognized or could even talk to them - she was off in the land of TIA's, seizures - no one knew.
So what do people do from afar to manage the care of their loved ones? I am the POA, so I quickly emailed docs to make sure they were readily available, called the ER nurse, then the ER doctor, and tried to fill them in on medical history. Within 24 hours, my Mom was transferred to one of the new hospital rooms in the new suites - private room, on high alert. Being a healthy building fanatic, I was relieved that she was in one of the new healthy wings. Overall, the nurses and doctors were quite pleasant - quickly returning calls to keep me in the loop.
One of the things that I have done for my Mom in the past (yes, this was a repeat episode) was to bring in Mozart for the Brain - Don Campbell has a series of healing music CD's. I thought I would overnight one to her room, and asked a nurse if someone could bring in Mom's CD player so she could listen. "Oh, I already put the healing music chanel on for her", she said. Wow - I was thrilled. And so, apparently was my Mother, as by the end of that day, she was responding and by the next day, talking in sentences.
Low fat, low salt meals were the next stage, once she was taken off of IV feedings. Within 5 days, she went home, followed by home care, nurse's aids, etc. She's a little weak, but on the mend. I am grateful for the trend in hospitals where they are incorporating healthy materials and ideas. Every patient, and the staff deserve it.
How healthy is your local hospital? Check it out - good to know before you or a loved one goes for a visit. It is also good to know what your options are when choosing your new home!
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