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Sunday, October 04, 2009

Emergency Trip.....

My husbands grandmother got really sick last week. He gave her a call on Saturday to see how she was doing and she was so sick she was in tears. Not good when you are 80 years old. The hubby had just come back from a two week TDY and couldn't leave so I stepped up and asked him if he wanted me to go and take care of her. 30 minutes later I had a ticket for Atlanta in hand. The hubby doesn't mess around when it comes to his Nana.
When I made it to her house the next day she let me in and went right back to bed. I felt her head. She was burning up. I asked her if she had taken her meds that morning. No. I asked if she had checked her sugar that morning as she is diabetic. No. We checked it. Her normal range is 110. That morning? 350! The hubby has a cousin who lived nearby so we bundled her up and rushed her to the ER. Thankfully it was right around the corner. Listening to her breathing my gut told me she had pneumonia. My gut was right. Once we were signed into the ER they put her in a bed with monitors all around and lots and lots of blood tests and a couple of chest X-Rays. Not only did the test come back positive for pneumonia but her blood sugar was so high they were worried about a diabetic coma. We sat in the ER for around 9 hours then they decided to admit her. We asked for...and received...a private room. I was so thankful for that because the hubby's family had gotten word that Nana was sick and were flying in from everywhere.
That poor little thing was so ill they had to do a blood transfusion. The first night I stayed with her. The nurses got a cot for me so I could lay next to her and listen to her breath. The second night my mother-in-law flew in. She had the blood transfusion that night. My mother-in-law got the cot and I got the chair. After the transfusion she was doing so much better that I got to go back to her house and take a nap. Exhausted is to small a word for how I felt. I have to say that when the hubby has someone in his family that needs help they sure do rally like nobody's business. Nana never had better care. If we weren't making sure she was warm then we were holding her hand. Everyone kept her spirits up and the phone never stopped ringing. We had to screen calls or else she never would have gotten any rest. Families are a wonderous thing!

I left to come back home on the same day they let her go home. Since the hubby and I hadn't really seen each other in three weeks he took two days off. We had breakfast together, celebrated our daughter turning 17!, went to a pub to watch a football game, and did I mention that when I got home my house sobbed in relief?? heh. As I spent all of yesterday cleaning my fingers to the bone I kept repeating in my head "Give thanks that you are needed....give thanks that you are needed.....do not kill anyone....give thanks!!" heeheehee
So I'm home now and have a ton of blogs to get caught up on. Please forgive me if I haven't responded to any comments left the last week or so. Today is the first day I've been able to get online.

I hope everyone out there is healthy and well!!!!
dawn

9 comments:

QuiltinLibraryLady said...

I'm glad to hear your DH's gramma is on the mend. Just about ANY illness can be dicey with diabetes, especially for older people. It's good you got there as fast as you did.

mascanlon said...

Oh my, so glad you were able to get there so quickly. And that DH took it in mind to give Nana a Sunday call. Seniors are not good about asking for help....I know from my own experience with Grandfather, you don't want to get a berating call from "hotline for elders" when he told you the day before eveything was just fine! And you're in CA and he's in FL! Glad things are better now for your family.

Michelle said...

I'm grand to hear that nana is on the mend again. Bless you, and take care of you.
Michelle

Q said...

I am glad that I am a blood donor so I can help people like your Nana. You rock in my book Dawn! Thanks for being available to those who need you--including your own family.

Micki said...

I am so happy that your Nana is on the mend.I wish you all the best!
Micki

Lauren The Artist said...

I'm glad we are back in the USA so you could hop on over there without any problems. I hope she's better soon. AND happy birthday to Miss 17!

dianne said...

you're a sweetie, Dawn - and you're gonna have LOTTSA STARS in your crown!!!

Leigh said...

Dawn, you are woman, hear you roar! Wife of the year! I'm glad that she if feeling better too!

Mary Johnson said...

I'm glad Nana is better. In my opinion, family gives the best care!