Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2009. Why am I posting this photo? Because Mattie took it! All these women were packed in his postage stamp of a room and they were working hard to get Mattie up, moving, complying with physical therapy and engaged with the world around him. I honestly do not know where we would have been without Mattie's child life specialist (Linda), his art therapists (Jenny and Jessie), and his physical therapist (Anna). Each one of these women was amazing, but together there was nothing they couldn't accomplish from a psychosocial perspective.
Quote of the day: A good doctor treats the disease; a great doctor treats the patient who has the disease. ~ William Osler
I wrote the blog on Saturday night before chaos ensued. Knowing that we had a winter storm warning that night scared me to no end. I contacted my dad's doctor numerous times that day and in the evening, after my dad vomited up more food, the doctor suggested I buy Boost or Ensure and other soft foods for him to eat to manage through the storm. So literally at 7pm, I got in the car and headed back out to the grocery store to purchase Ensure, pudding, and jello. I was expecting to find NO food in the stores, but the store was still stocked with plenty of things and the store employee told me that management and store employees were sleeping nearby, because the store is open even in a blizzard. I am not sure why I found comfort in hearing that, but I did! I think I have been feeling very vulnerable this last week with my dad very ill, me being so sick, and the notion of a pending storm was the icing on the cake.
When I got home from the grocery store, my dad's doctor was still writing to me and between what he said and my own observations on my dad I had to make the tough decision.... do I keep him home and manage his declining symptoms in a snow storm, or do I try to get him to the emergency room before the storm hits in hopes that they will admit him. It was a very very difficult situation because driving during a snow emergency not only puts me in danger but it puts my parents in danger. Keep in mind that I learned to drive in Southern California... the land of NO SNOW! So I truly do not have snow driving skills! So picture it being 8:30pm, my mom was already in her pajamas and I had left the dinner dishes on the table (since I ran out to the grocery store for my dad). I then proceed to tell my parents that we had to go to the emergency room and we had to mobilize. My dad had no idea what was going on and my mom insisted on coming with me. So I had to wait for her to pull it together. While she was getting herself together I cleaned up dinner (dinner that my dad vomited up), packed snacks and blankets for the hospital, put out extra food for Indie, and within 30 minutes we were out the door. While driving I realized I forgot my phone charger! But I wasn't turning back!
Seriously I felt practically unstable driving in the car and I was literally screaming, and I mean screaming................ I miss my husband (okay legally, I know he isn't my husband for the record)! I HATE negotiating the world alone, it is daunting, stressful, and last night I thought I was going to need an ER bed alongside my dad.
Thankfully when we got to the ER, it wasn't crowded and they took us back immediately. As soon as we met my dad's nurse (who was outstanding, as he has worked in his profession for 17 years) I explained to him that I wanted to talk to the ER physician to get this process moving because I have a two hour window to get out of the hospital and home safely before the snow traps us at the hospital. Now mind you I realize that snow isn't a medical crisis, but honestly everyone I interacted with was kind, understanding, and when I tell you they streamlined the assessment process, I am not kidding.
I do not always have the best of luck with ER doctors, but Dr. Russell, was outstanding. Listened, assessed, put things together quickly, and got to understand the full picture. CAN WE CLONE HIM? Within thirty minutes he had my dad get a chest and abdominal x-ray, which then led to an abdominal CT. He ordered all sorts of blood cultures and wanted a fecal sample. Note.... when I brought my dad to the ER on Wednesday of this week, they wanted a fecal sample too, but none presented itself (lucky them!), and therefore they had no data to hold my dad.
But since my dad has been vomiting and having massive amounts of diarrhea since Wednesday, as well as hiccupping non-stop since Wednesday, this merited a hospital admission. Seriously when the doctor told me he was going to admit my dad, I thought I was going to cry, because he could see how sick he was and if I was overwhelmed caring for him, it meant.... we indeed have a problem! I should mention that early on in my interactions with Dr. Russell, I thanked him for working through a blizzard and for choosing to work in an ER, which is not an easy place to do medical care. I told him that he and doctors like him are the true heroes in our society. Honestly he stopped, absorbed what I was saying, and thanked me for my kind reflections.
At 11:30pm, I whisked my mom back into the car. It was snowing, but it wasn't bad. The blessing was I was driving on Route 66 with the snow plows. To me the snow plows are my friends! We made it home after midnight and I was so wired, I continued doing chores and helped my mom get settled. It was at that point, I realized I needed to eat something. Keep in mind since Thursday, I haven't eaten much. I did not want just anything.... my stomach said I needed potato chips. Something that I rarely ever eat. I keep chips like this in the house to give out to people who help me with house projects. But last night, I cracked open that supply and ate potato chips and drank gingerale. I eventually made it upstairs and got into bed, with Indie my side kick, and it was the first peaceful night of sleep I have had in days. The stress of my dad's illness was removed from my shoulders and he was where he needed to be.
When I woke up this morning, I checked my dad's patient portal and reviewed all his medical test results. Sure enough.... my dad has Norovirus. It now explains his symptoms and my own. He and I presented very differently, and I am just thankful that my mom is fine. But with the way I clean around the house, I should be able to do a commercial for the benefits of bleach and white vinegar.
