When You Realize You're Fully a Part of the Oreo Generation
When You Realize You're Fully a Part of the Oreo Generation
Four days ago, my mother experienced what we thought was a minor medical emergency. She's on week 2 of iron infusions, so when she called me and said, "Jen, I was picking up K (my nephew) and got sick. I'm in the office," I thought for sure that she was nauseated. I live 2 minutes from his school, so I took off to get to her. When I walked in, I immediately realized that something was very wrong.
The secretary told me that she'd offered to call the nurse and mom said no. I told her to yes, please, get the nurse. Mom was as white as paper, shaky, weak, and nauseated. I have no medical experience, but something told me that her blood pressure was far too low. It was. They couldn't even take it with her sitting up so they put her on the floor and put her feet up. I had already decided we were heading for the ER, but when the nurse told me it was 80/60, I didn't need any convincing.
My dad met us at the hospital, so after she was triaged and put in an exam room, I left to take K home. They admitted her just a few hours later. They got her blood pressure stabilized but her bloodwork showed infection. They did multiple cultures, echocardiogram, ultrasound of her veins, cat scan, and she is being heavily monitored and receiving powerful antibiotics. At that point, we didn't know exactly where or what kind of infection. Preliminary thoughts were UTI or bladder infection and possibly sepsis. It ended up being sepsis. She has problems with her bladder and sometimes ignores the early signs or symptoms as business as usual. This time, she was very wrong.
So many things had to come together for this to be caught early. My sister was supposed to do pick up that day, so my mother would have just gone to bed and who knows when she would have realized she needed medical attention. If she hadn't gotten sick at the school, I wouldn't have taken her to the ER. Those are all just God movements, because we aren't even ER people, but the first thing my dad and I both said was, "She needs to go to the ER."
The hospital was amazing. It gets a bad rap as a "bandaid station" because it's so small. They very easily could have gotten her blood pressure back up and sent her home, but the doctor was determined to get to the bottom of it. He literally saved her life.
The secretary told me that she'd offered to call the nurse and mom said no. I told her to yes, please, get the nurse. Mom was as white as paper, shaky, weak, and nauseated. I have no medical experience, but something told me that her blood pressure was far too low. It was. They couldn't even take it with her sitting up so they put her on the floor and put her feet up. I had already decided we were heading for the ER, but when the nurse told me it was 80/60, I didn't need any convincing.
My dad met us at the hospital, so after she was triaged and put in an exam room, I left to take K home. They admitted her just a few hours later. They got her blood pressure stabilized but her bloodwork showed infection. They did multiple cultures, echocardiogram, ultrasound of her veins, cat scan, and she is being heavily monitored and receiving powerful antibiotics. At that point, we didn't know exactly where or what kind of infection. Preliminary thoughts were UTI or bladder infection and possibly sepsis. It ended up being sepsis. She has problems with her bladder and sometimes ignores the early signs or symptoms as business as usual. This time, she was very wrong.
So many things had to come together for this to be caught early. My sister was supposed to do pick up that day, so my mother would have just gone to bed and who knows when she would have realized she needed medical attention. If she hadn't gotten sick at the school, I wouldn't have taken her to the ER. Those are all just God movements, because we aren't even ER people, but the first thing my dad and I both said was, "She needs to go to the ER."
The hospital was amazing. It gets a bad rap as a "bandaid station" because it's so small. They very easily could have gotten her blood pressure back up and sent her home, but the doctor was determined to get to the bottom of it. He literally saved her life.
Also, the people at the front office at my nephew's school were great. I wish I knew all of their names.
This week, y'all. It's been long and winding and up and down and stressful and scary and exhausting.
Let me just tell y'all that raising your parents is hard. I'm about to ground the both of them to the house. They're my hardest kids.
Let me tell you a little story about my mom. She's going to kill me for putting this on the internet, but she has to catch me first so...
On Monday when she got so sick, she was really out of it. She said today that she could hear people talking but it's like she couldn't comprehend what they were saying. So, at the ER on Monday night, the doctor said that they were admitting her and she couldn't understand just how sick she was. He's like this is serious and she kept saying she just wanted to go home. So, I guess he warned the nurses that she was adamant about going home and, long story short, Mama is now considered an official flight risk at our local hospital. So, there's that. I'm telling you. Hardest kids are my own parents.
My siblings and I are fully in the "Oreo generation". We're raising kids and parents, and the parents are the ones that are testing us!
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