1005 - I'm Back (well, sort of...)
This is likely to turn into something of a rant. Don't worry, I'm not upset with anyone here...
Today, I went and visited my mom in her new surroundings at Driftwood Nursing Center. She's awake, alert, and is eating and drinking. She appears to be recovering from her surgery slowly. But let me back up a bit.
While in the hospice unit at the hospital, the doctors attending to her care were swearing up and down she was a goner. Mom has Parkinson's Disease, and she was aspirating food and liquids, and had contracted pneumonia and pseudomonas in both lungs. They said her Parkinson's had entered a "terminal phase" where she would continue to aspirate, and start to lose control of more bodily functions as her nervous system continued to shut down. Hospice Care (comfort care) at a Skilled Nursing Facility was, in their considered professional opinions, the best option.
So... either they are right, and I should disbelieve what I'm seeing at the nursing facility as just a temporary reprieve, or she's going to recover. Maybe it's best to take this one day at a time for now.
Right now, on this day, it looks like I may have made some wrong decisions because of too much "doom and gloom" from doctors who had little or no stake in continuing to care for an ancient Parkinson's sufferer on Medicare and Medicaid. Only time will tell.
I'm back in the saddle here, folks, because I've done all I can do for my mother for the time being. It makes me glad to see her seeming to improve, but I'm about to go crazy wondering whether or not what I've done to her life with these decisions was the right thing.
I'm beginning to be roundly disgusted with hospitals, doctors, and their specialist ilk who seem to see the rest of humanity as walking piggy banks.
The nurses caring for my mother, on the other hand, are angels on earth, and are taking very good care of her and seeing to her comfort. It may just be that she needed more peaceful surroundings in which to rest to be able to recover...
Anyhoo, a cautionary tale lies here for all of you whose parents are still alive: learn something now about how the medical community deals with elderly patients for the protection of your beloved parents, and for your own sake, as you will likely travel down that same road eventually.
I'm glad I have time, for the time being, to resume my duties here and elsewhere on RPoL. I miss you folks something fierce.