Beep Goes the Night

I spent last night in an ER with my mom who had fallen a couple of days before.  She had seen her doc, had x-rays taken, was sent home with pain meds and instructions to rest and see if she felt better in a week.  No such luck.  As it turns out, she broke a vertebrae in her back and the pain became unbearable.

This was mom's 3rd fall in recent weeks.  A consequence of Parkinson's Disease.

My sis took her in and Dad was instructed to stay home and get some rest.  He had been having to lift her repeatedly at home, as she could no longer move her legs.  I took over in the evening and stayed all night.  Luckily, she slept well.  I, on the other hand, was straddling 3 plastic chairs with a pillow that the nurse gave me.  No stranger to ERs, I also brought my throw blanket with electric heat and I'm so glad I did.

Now I think I'll call my massage therapist and arrange for some work to be done.  Ouch.

Mom was released this morning and is home now with a hospital bed and 24/7 caregiver.  The family have been through this before: mom has broken both hips in the last several years.  We've learned a lot about how she handles pain and recovery, and we know enough now to have a family member present at the hospital at all times.  Mistakes get made, and in the past they have had dire consequences for mom.  Never again.  The hospital staff was trying to get us to transfer to a care facility, but we discovered than none of them would allow a family member to sit by her bed.  They said it interfered with patient care, and compromised patient confidentiality for the other patients near her.  So we said, "No, thanks."  Been down that road before.  A disaster.

As the night plodded slowly along, I was up and down to turn off alarms, close the door against a screaming patient that was making mom twitch in her sleep, drink water, go to the bathroom, read a book for awhile, give up reading a book, try sleeping on my back, my side, my other side.  And, thankfully, she dosed away, puffing out her soft little snore like she always does.

Long time readers know I have had my own hospital episodes, and as I spent the night in yet another ER, I was at least thankful that she was getting care, that I was not the one lying in that bed, and that she would be going home in the morning.  It also occurred to me that I haven't been sick in over a year.  I think that's a record.  Maybe it's the husband.  You think?  Does being happy prevent illness? 

What do you think?