Well folks, here we are again. There’s so much to say, I almost don’t know where to begin. Guess I’ll just go back to the beginning of Sept. when I took my little perch fishing trip. Big sis had been in the hospital for a couple of days prior to me going and it all started a little before that. Big sis had been in one of her funks and just laid around the bed. She can’t get in the shower herself, and she just sort of gave up trying to wash up. Whenever I said something she’d get mad and wouldn’t speak to me. She wasn’t getting up to let the dogs out and there were messes all over the house. I’m embarrassed to even tell this now, but got to get it all off my chest. She was feeding herself, but she’d cook something, eat a little and leave it sit on the stove to come back and eat more tomorrow!
In the hospital they cleaned her all up, and discovered the reason for the dizzy spells and falling. That had been her excuse for living like she was. When she got out my daughter and the one granddaughter Bridget, went to stay with her. I told them to keep on her about hygiene, sugar readings, eating right and taking her meds. I go out every two weeks to fill her med organizer, but you’ve got to stay on her to take them. The girls got busy and cleaned house like you wouldn’t believe. They couldn’t stand to stay there in the filth. They were making sure the dogs went out and even cleaned out the fridge!
Well, over a period of time she started complaining about them. She didn’t like them nagging her about washing up, taking meds, taking sugar readings and the rest of it. She griped enough til they finally said they weren’t staying where they weren’t wanted and packed up and left. Her and I got in a little argument and I told her she was ungrateful. But I still took her to doc appts., grocery and whatever else she needed. But I thought maybe she’d be ok since they found out why she was getting dizzy and falling. It’s orthostatic hypotension. Her blood pressure bottoms out when she stands up. So they put her on meds to fix it. So everything’s ok! Yeah, right!
All she did was lay in the bed all the time and I started getting disgusted with her. Here we go right back to all the same old bad habits. And it all just kept going down hill. Last Thursday she called and said she fell and did I want to come out or did I want her to call the squad. I told her to call the squad cause I couldn’t get her up! So tried to call all that evening to make sure she was ok and no answer. Well, just thought she was laying in the bed not answering the phone. She does that a lot. So tried a few times Friday. I had doc and hair appt. and was going to go to her house to check when I got done. Stopped at my house and there’s a message on the phone that she’s in the hospital.
What happened was, the squad came out and got her up (and after everything we have discovered they’ve been out about a half dozen times in the last couple months, she wasn’t telling us about it), then a few hours later Thurs., she fell again and called the squad a secont time. This time they took her to the hospital cause they said they couldn’t keep coming out and docs needed to find out what was going on. Well, I go up there Friday when I find out and of course find out she’s been in since Thurs. afternoon. There she lays with a neck so filthy it’s black again, and yes, I’ve seen it getting worse but whenever I say something she just gets mad and won’t talk to me. She smokes too, and her fingers are so stained from nicotine she looks like a little old man who never put a cigarette down. She doesn’t smoke that much, she just never washes her hands!
Saturday afternoon they put her into ICU. She is in extremely serious condition. Her body is full of infection and they don’t know where it’s coming from!! Duh!! Dog urine? Laying in her own filth? the food she eats? is it any wonder? But, she’s also got some kind of blockage in her intestines. That was discovered with an MRI. So they did a lot more tests today and we should know something tomorrow.
We’ve all talked back and forth and come to the conclusion that she can no longer live by herself. Her son is taking steps to sell the house, one of the sis’s in Indy volunteers in a dog rescue and she fosters dogs, so she’s going to take the dogs to foster til she can find them a home. How long big sis will be in the hospital is up in the air right now. But he looks 80 years old instead of just about to turn 60! But she will almost positively have to go into a nursing home whenever they get her well, and we'll have a fight about that.
The baby sis, she's 45, is wanting her to come to Indy so she can take care of big sis. Mel works a full time job and drives and hour each way back and forth to work. She just doesn't realize what work it would be to take care of an invalid. And being gone minimum 10 hrs. a day is not helping big sis!! She needs monitored closer than that!
I haven’t said much about her the last few months because I’ve been partly disgusted with her and partly ashamed and embarrassed of her. And then I feel guilty for feeling that way. It’s the bi-polar I know. This psychiatrist she sees gives her the meds she takes and that’s about it. He doesn’t make sure they’re helping. He can’t be, she’s only in there 10 minutes for an appointment!! I try to do more, but I can’t keep that big house clean like it needs to be. Plus, I’ve got my own life and I’m going to be out there living it come hell or high water!! And she just really doesn’t care. She hasn’t for the last couple of years. She just talks about being with her husband, who died 6 years ago.
So that’s where we are right now. Not sure exactly what is wrong with the intestine and the infection is playing hell with her body. She’s diabetic and her sugar in there was at 20!! For those who don’t know, normal is 90 ��" 120. They’re having to pump her full of sugar! She has 3 large bags of stuff hanging on there going in her, plus 3 little bags! She’s really bad. Don’t know where it will go from here, but if I’m not on much for a while, you know why!
