My Really Awful Day

Good Morning all, I just got home from Yesterday. I'm exhausted, smelly and mentally drained. On Tuesday mid-day, I got a call from my MIL. FIL was at the emergency room being checked over for a head injury. The story is this: FIL fell on Tuesday LAST WEEK and hit his head in the bedroom in the middle of the night. No visible injury but a head ache for 2 days, some blurry vision and "stuffiness" in his ears. Monday he had a scheduled appt. with one of his regular docs (arthritis) who specifically asks about falls. For the first time, FIL mentions to anyone, other than MIL, the tumble last week. Doc requests a CAT SCAN for him but the radiology place is closed for MLK Day. Tuesday morning FIL gets the CAT done, and is immediately sent to the ER for evaluation of a SUB-DURAL HEMATOMA. Despite having the films in hand, the Neurology group want a repeat CAT done at the Hospital. The ER is a F**KING ZOO, patients lined up on stretchers and wheelchairs in the corridors. FIL has to be on cardiac monitoring because of pre-existing problems and there are no ICU beds in the hospital. He spends the night in the ER. MIL finally goes home on Tuesday around 10pm and calls DH and I to fill us in. I decide that MIL shouldn't be alone doing this stuff (she's not well either) so I tell her that I'll be there on Wednesday morning to go with her to the hospital. They really need a patient advocate and a "medicalese translator". As a nurse I can be both. I left the house at 7:30 am Wednesday morning. It usually takes 65 minutes to get to my in-laws place. It took 2 and a half hours to get to my MIL. Then we had to go together another 30 min. to the hospital. FIL was still in the ER and the repeat CAT that was supposed to be done Tuesday and then was going to be done first thing in the morning, still hadn't been done. That happened at 12:30pm. Other doctors came by and ordered more tests, trying to figure out why he fell in the first place. At 2pm, FIL was taken for more scans. At 4pm, the neurology docs came, filled me in on their gameplan and I was told he had a bed on a telemetry floor. He wasn't back yet. At five when he came back, we were all brought up to a bed. WRONG FLOOR, NO TELEMETRY. This was when I launched my campaign to have him moved. I made a true PIA of myself to that nursing staff. Finally around 10 pm, he was moved to a telemetry floor and settled in for the night. MIL and I then went to a diner for dinner (breakfast) and finally back to her house to sleep. While we were waiting for the telemetry bed, I had the "pleasure?" of informing my inlaws of what the neuro-docs told me. The hematoma isn't getting bigger (GOOD) but it's not resolving either (BAD). They need to change FIL's blood clotting time medically to try to get the hematoma to reabsorb. This is dangerous as it puts him at risk for other complications form his heart problems. If the hematoma won't get smaller on its own, then they will have to remove it surgically. They took all this in pretty well and now it's a waiting game based on medication/blood levels and repeat CATs to look for shrinkage. I left MIL's house at 9:50 am and was home in 53 minutes. I'm going to lay down for a nap now. Then a long hot shower. RobinNJ

WOW, Its so awesome that they have you !!! Blessings Tori

Robin I will keep yopur family in my prayers and hope your father in law heals quickly! Thanks goodness they have You! Hugs, Chris

Robin, so sorry your days were so rough. One time, I was a patient in the ER and I waited for 6 hrs!!! It's utterly ridiculous I must say. Hope everything gets better with your FIL. Keep us posted and make sure you get some rest! april

Sending prayers and s your way. Keep us posted on how things are going. Hazel

Robin... To be honest it's not completly understood your message. I don't know what MIL or PIA or FIL mean. But I do sense that something bad is going on... You have my best wishes for a quick solution to your problems... Alejandro from Guadalajara Mexico