Categories: uncategorized
Date: 08 January 2008 02:45:18
Well, Grandpa could have gotten Grandma to the hospital early this morning, without me, just fine. I'm not sure why he called for my help, other than just to have some backup if she did, bless her heart, kick the bucket on the way?
I'd already dropped off my husband at his job, before dawn. I brought my son to school and tossed my work clothes into the van. I called Grandpa from the road to tell him I was on my way, and I called the lady at my office to whom I report my schedule, to tell her I'd be late.
Then I got to the in-laws' and found Grandma in pain, of course, but coherent and dressed in the Xmas nightshirt and extra-warm fuzzy robe and pretty pink underwear I'd recently given her. (You know how the older generations like to dress up for the doctor. My poor doctors have to be content that I take a bath before I see them, never mind me wearing coordinated clothing when I'm sick.)
So -- off they went to the emergency room, and I trailed along in my vehicle. (Would you believe, even with Grandma's mobility issues, she can climb her little stepstool high up into Grandpa's big diesel truck pretty well, but can only crawl and struggle into my mini-van "by the hardest", as my Daddy says?)
I left there, picked up the Spouse, who'd anxiously left the shipyard and started walking down Grand Caillou to meet me, he was so anxious. (He has been sure for the past 20 years that his Mom is hanging by a thread, and he's right, when you consider all her health problems.)
Back we went to the hospital ER, where I saw the cardio people hooking Grandma up to the usual octopus of monitoring wires, and the radiology people wheeling in the portable X-ray machine.
Good-byes all around, me back to work, Spouse out to Bayou Blue to pick up Daughter to feed her lunch, bring me lunch at work, and take Daughter back to stay with Grandma while Spouse & Grandpa took care of some business.
I got off work at 5, was picked up by the menfolk -- back to the hospital to see Grandma, settle Daughter with her for the night, and Spouse drove Grandpa home to get a decent night's sleep. (Which he only ever does when Grandma's in hospital.) I picked up Spouse -- He and Grandpa were watching the beginnings of the LSU/Ohio game --
Here I am back home at 8 p.m.; Spouse has wandered off somewhere to watch the game; Grandpa is at his house, undoubtedly snoring in the recliner while the game plays; Daughter is with Grandma, helping to ride herd on the hospital staff -- who had, when I was there about 6 p.m., just come to give Grandma a great big dose of insulin but had neglected to feed her all day long. Hmmmm. Well, that's why somebody usually stays with Grandma. She might not speak up for herself about things like that if her pain is distracting her.