PONYGRL
12-16-2008, 09:44 AM
So the past year my grandma has gone downhill-quick. I guess my mom's grandma was exactly the same way. She has had a lot of problems the past tens years. She has had cancer multiple times (breast, colon, lung, etc), has TB when she was younger so she only has 1 lung, and half of another lung, she has had arthritis in her whole body and spine for years, she is hard of hearing, and much more. She also suffers from alzheimers and dimentia. About a year ago, it was questionable as to whether she could even take care of herself, so she moved in with my uncle who lives an hour away.
The past couple months have gotten much worse. I haven't seen her much the past few years since she started getting sicker, and it seemed like everytime I saw her, she got much worse...... and it is just really sad.
I guess my great grandma was the exact same way, and they ended up putting her in a nursing home because it was the only option. No one else could give her the 24 hour care she needed. It has now come to that with my grandma and last week, they had to put her into a home. My family asked around and a lot of people recommended a particular one, so that is where she went. Might I add that for the past few weeks, since thanksgiving she has had a really bad cough and has been coughing up gross stuff and blood (which we now know she has had pnemonia for weeks, how wonderful).
My family has gone and seen her everyday, a couple people each day even. For some reason, everytime they went, she did not have any water and seemed dehydrated. -What great quality of care we are paying for! Not to mention some days they did not help her get dressed till 2pm and let her sleep in her regular clothes.... But anyway....
2 days ago, everyone got a call saying "she tried to get out of bed and fell and bumped her head. We assure you she is fine and nothing is wrong. Don't be alarmed." So why shouldn't we believe them, they are professionals who deal with the elderly, right?
Wrong. Yesterday at work, my mom emailed me saying she is going to the ER because my grandma is getting rushed there because she is in respiratory distress and can't breathe, not even with oxygen. So to the ER everyone rushes....to sit there for hours and hours with no answers. Finally after doing tons of tests, they discover that the supposed "little bump" on her head is a major brain bleed. She also had a concussion (duh). On top of that, she has a fractured pelvis and pnemonia in the half of a lung she has.
Why? Because she didn't have an alarm on her bed, which she was supposed to (she has a history of falls) and the people obviously didn't check her over last night. They assured everyone she was fine, and even said they did xrays on her chest, legs, and hips and everything was fine. No pnemonia and nothing was broken.... which obviously they did not check her over AT ALL.
So on top of my grandma being sick, I can see this turning into a legal battle when things are all said and done. Who knows if or when she will get better. Now she REALLY can't walk and is getting sicker and sicker before my own eyes. I am just asking myself if she can overcome this after already going through so much over the years.
Any surgeries are out of the question, since she is so tiny and fragile. I forgot to mention she is 83 and everytime I think about her condition, I can cry my eyes out. That is the first time I have ever had this feeling and it is just really depressing. She is totally losing it and in more pain than ever. Now they have her all drugged up and she doesn't even recognize anyone anymore. Going forward when she is recovered, she will just have to sit in a bed all day.
Idk if any of you have gone through this with your parents or grandparents, but it is just sad and I don't know what to think. Even thinking about it makes me want to cry, and on top of it, I will probably have to go through the same thing with my mom down the road, as history as shown...
It's made me think a lot about the future though, because you never know what is going to happen. I'm trying to be as greatful as possible. I think I would rather just live life to the fullest every single day because I have so much more than my grandma ever had, when it comes to money, food, clothes, family, and everything else. She raised 8 kids on her own and had to make all their clothes becuase that's all she could afford. I would just rather die in my sleep or have a heart attack when I am 60 than go through years of pain, suffering and extreme medical problems because not only would I be miserable, but I know how great of a toll it has on your family and loved ones too.
I'm sure I'm just one of many, but I would really appreciate your prayers during this time... the wonderful christmas season :(
The past couple months have gotten much worse. I haven't seen her much the past few years since she started getting sicker, and it seemed like everytime I saw her, she got much worse...... and it is just really sad.
I guess my great grandma was the exact same way, and they ended up putting her in a nursing home because it was the only option. No one else could give her the 24 hour care she needed. It has now come to that with my grandma and last week, they had to put her into a home. My family asked around and a lot of people recommended a particular one, so that is where she went. Might I add that for the past few weeks, since thanksgiving she has had a really bad cough and has been coughing up gross stuff and blood (which we now know she has had pnemonia for weeks, how wonderful).
My family has gone and seen her everyday, a couple people each day even. For some reason, everytime they went, she did not have any water and seemed dehydrated. -What great quality of care we are paying for! Not to mention some days they did not help her get dressed till 2pm and let her sleep in her regular clothes.... But anyway....
2 days ago, everyone got a call saying "she tried to get out of bed and fell and bumped her head. We assure you she is fine and nothing is wrong. Don't be alarmed." So why shouldn't we believe them, they are professionals who deal with the elderly, right?
Wrong. Yesterday at work, my mom emailed me saying she is going to the ER because my grandma is getting rushed there because she is in respiratory distress and can't breathe, not even with oxygen. So to the ER everyone rushes....to sit there for hours and hours with no answers. Finally after doing tons of tests, they discover that the supposed "little bump" on her head is a major brain bleed. She also had a concussion (duh). On top of that, she has a fractured pelvis and pnemonia in the half of a lung she has.
Why? Because she didn't have an alarm on her bed, which she was supposed to (she has a history of falls) and the people obviously didn't check her over last night. They assured everyone she was fine, and even said they did xrays on her chest, legs, and hips and everything was fine. No pnemonia and nothing was broken.... which obviously they did not check her over AT ALL.
So on top of my grandma being sick, I can see this turning into a legal battle when things are all said and done. Who knows if or when she will get better. Now she REALLY can't walk and is getting sicker and sicker before my own eyes. I am just asking myself if she can overcome this after already going through so much over the years.
Any surgeries are out of the question, since she is so tiny and fragile. I forgot to mention she is 83 and everytime I think about her condition, I can cry my eyes out. That is the first time I have ever had this feeling and it is just really depressing. She is totally losing it and in more pain than ever. Now they have her all drugged up and she doesn't even recognize anyone anymore. Going forward when she is recovered, she will just have to sit in a bed all day.
Idk if any of you have gone through this with your parents or grandparents, but it is just sad and I don't know what to think. Even thinking about it makes me want to cry, and on top of it, I will probably have to go through the same thing with my mom down the road, as history as shown...
It's made me think a lot about the future though, because you never know what is going to happen. I'm trying to be as greatful as possible. I think I would rather just live life to the fullest every single day because I have so much more than my grandma ever had, when it comes to money, food, clothes, family, and everything else. She raised 8 kids on her own and had to make all their clothes becuase that's all she could afford. I would just rather die in my sleep or have a heart attack when I am 60 than go through years of pain, suffering and extreme medical problems because not only would I be miserable, but I know how great of a toll it has on your family and loved ones too.
I'm sure I'm just one of many, but I would really appreciate your prayers during this time... the wonderful christmas season :(