Scary phone call ...

[Pixilated]

My brother just called. They are calling 911 to get mom to hospital

[Rapscallion]

Ouch - stay in there. Thinking of you.

Rapscallion

[tropicsgoddess]

Oh shit! Praying your mom will be okay!

[Seraph]

Oh jeez! Praying for you both, hope everything turns out ok!

[Pixilated]

Thanks, guys.

Apparently the PSW came in and found mom slumped on the sofa, barely responsive. Mom said her right leg hurt and she felt "achy all over." PSW wanted to get medical help; mom, as usual, said no. Luckily the PSW was able to get my brother on the phone and he persuaded mom she needed to get things checked out.

Not to be cruel but I really hope they don't send her back home. PSW says there is no way she should be alone in the house for any length of time and I concur. She would need 24/7 care. Brother cannot handle that and her assets would be gone within a few months.

This may put her on the fast track for a longterm care home, but even at that, my brother thinks the best estimate would be 12 months wait.

And not to make this all about me, but ... I am now looking at putting my apartment stuff into a second storage unit. Brother cannot afford to help me financially ATM and I have about $2,300 to my name. Move will cost $2,000. That will get me into My Hometown with $300, which is not enough to do anything with, even with free lodgings. Storage will allow me to roll into Hometown with what I can fit into my car, and it will get me in there with somewhat more money, and then I can see what I can do once I'm there, in terms of welfare, employment, etc.

Sometimes I wish I'd opted to stay where I am, at least for the summer. I had a p/t job lined up (coffee shop in Niagara Falls where I'd worked before) but I was honest with them about my move, so it wasn't in their best interests to hire me for two months.

On the bright side (??), I was going to have to leave as of June 20/21 -- that's when I'd booked the movers for. Since I'm probably not going to need movers for the moment, that gives me until the very end of June to be out of here.

*sigh* Life is challenging sometimes.

[Crossbow]

I agree with the "Life is challenging" statement. I hope your mom gets the care she needs. And I hope you can get things straightened out for yourself, as well.

[kpzra]

Is there anyone local who can talk with the hospital social workers? They should be able to help point you in the direction on a long term care facility, or home help. There may also be programs that help pay for it.

I hope you Mom gets better and everything works out.

[Pixilated]

Thank you, crossbow. Still waiting to hear something ...

Thank you, 24601. Mom is already plugged into the system. On my brother's last visit he managed to use all the right buzzwords and since then she has had her longtime PSW (private company, for which brother is paying) coming in daily, plus 2 nurse visits per week to measure her blood sugar, plus provincially-paid PSWs coming in twice each day. She was also assessed by physiotherapists and someone who administered a 'minimental' test for competency.

Longtime PSW thinks it is no longer safe for mom to be in the house, alone, for any period of time. In all likelihood she is right.

The only thing with LTC places is the wait time. Minimum is least 12 months, depending on the places you choose. The system in this province (if I understand it correctly) is that you pick maybe half a dozen places. Once you qualify for LTC, if there is no bed available in any of those (and there usually isn't), you end up in the acute care ward of the hospital. (In the province in which my brother lives, you go to the first open bed, regardless of where it is, and then wait until one opens up at one of the places you chose.) Brother and neighbour (both are mom's co-Power of Attorney) are filling out the papers with their selections for LTC places, but even if this incident puts mom at the head of the line, it is still likely to be a lengthy wait.

[Elspeth]

many hugs to you Pixilated. Hopefully everything works out.

[Pixilated]

Thank you, Elspeth.

Update is that mom had some kind of injury to her knee and it had become infected (I'm guessing yet another fall). They are worried the infection may have spread and are treating her with antibiotics. Not sure at this point whether she will be able to come home tonight; if she does, PSW will stay overnight.

[Der Cute]

Ack. Sending both of you thoughts. So many curveballs thrown lately. grrr.

[Mytical]

*hugs* Not much to add or say that hasn't been said.

[MoonCat]

Good luck, I hope everything works out. Wish I had some good advice to offer.

[Pixilated]

Thanks very much, everybody. Mom is remaining in hospital overnight while they assess how she's responding to the antibiotics. I'm not sure if they've received the bloodwork results back yet.

As far as I know, we also don't know the results of the bloodwork the doctor ordered ...

Ack. Sending both of you thoughts. So many curveballs thrown lately. grrr.

A friend of mine said most of the people she knows seem to be having really bad times lately -- things that they thought were a 'given' are suddenly reversing or shifting, and not in a good way.

Maybe it's the Venus alignment, LOL?