Friday, February 11, 2011

Life in a Moment, Part Deux

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights. ~ Terri Guillemets

In a moment of irony or kismet, after writing my post Life in a Moment about making sure we tell folks we care today, yesterday my mom landed in the ER.

She's been struggling with being able to breathe for sometime, though it worsened dramatically. Her current doctor told her "you're old and overweight ... it's nothing that diet and exercise won't fix." So Mom changed her eating habits, lost a pile of weight, started walking more (she's 78 y.o. so couldn't exactly start running a marathon) and it only got worse.

On Wednesday, I looked online and found her a new doctor (one who would both accept patients and take Medicare -- many of the doctors in her town won't take Medicare). He got her in the same day. Ordered lab tests for first thing Thursday. Then, upon getting the results, the lab called and told her to go to the ER immediately.

She called me en route. We were both terrifically worried, obviously. Every couple of hours she gave me updates: I have severe anemia and need a blood transfusion. I'm bleeding internally, but they don't know where. I'm being admitted for the night. And then finally the answer: bleeding ulcers.

These don't develop overnight. I'm so glad her new doctor took the time to really listen to her and DO something. Her old doctor should be strung up by his toes. Shame on him for assuming she was a complaining old lady. He had the opportunity to catch this problem before it got so severe that it was life threatening.

Life in a moment .... Thankfully, I talk to my mom almost every day. I try not to miss any moments. I've lost one parent, and still miss him every day so don't want to make the same mistakes again. She's the only Mom I have.

In any case, I was a little distracted yesterday. I did very little except wander around my house and clean it. I didn't write or visit blogs, and only did the bare minimum of work that was urgent. I'll try to catch up today.

For now, though: Go... hug your mom if you can. Hug your kids. Hug your husband. Hug your siblings. Hug a friend. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

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You Should Bake Chocolate Cookies



You are easy going and fun to be around. You love to glory in each moment.

You love to be in a crowd, and you know how to work it. You are good at getting people to laugh.

You are confident and sure of yourself. You can handle criticism and don't take harsh words personally.

You like to be the center of attention, and you love complements. You take both good things and the bad things in stride.



Mmm... chocolate. But the quiz results? About 50/50.

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7 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

Glad your mom is stable.

And yes, I get so tired of doctors dismissing us rather than try to figure out the problem.

Angelina Rain said...

I’m glad to hear your mom is doing better. I hate how doctors are so quick to dismiss people. Wishing you both good health and happiness.

Charity Tahmaseb said...

Hugs to you and your mom. I'm so glad the doctor figured out what was wrong.

Sending warm thoughts your way.

Melissa McClone said...

i'm so glad they figured out what was going on. That had to be such a stressful day. Hopefully this doc will bring your mom back to full health. Hugs!

Dru said...

I'm so glad you were able to find her a better doctor that listened to her and found a diagnosis. Glad she is doing better. {{{{Marianne and her mom}}}}

Sending good luck and positive healthy vibes here way.

Brandy said...

It's hard to find a good Doctor today. I'm glad you found one for your Mother who looked beyond her age and that she is now receiving treatment.
Best and Healthy wishes for you and your Mother.

Tori Lennox said...

How scary! I'm glad she's okay and being taken care of. And I agree. Her old doctor needs a few good slaps upside the head at the very least.