It all started at 7pm on 9/12/11 with a voicemail from my mom saying, "Sam, I need you over here. The paramedics are coming to take your Dad to the hospital." I didn't immediately panic because if you know anything about my mother, you know she ALWAYS overreacts and NEVER gives you the whole story. I made several phone calls in an attempt to get details from anyone and everyone. By 7:30, I knew that the paramedics were called to my parent's house for a "general illness" and the squad went to the hospital with no lights or sirens. The ER nurse was able to connect me to my mom at the hospital. She said Dad was very weak, was passing blood, having tarry looking stool and very disoriented. What does this mean? I craved more information but it wasn't available. My mom just kept repeating, "are you coming? are you coming? when are you coming?" Soon, I said, soon. I needed to get a hold of my brother, Brian. He would make sense of this situation and he was in Springfield so he could make it there before me, I live 45 minutes away. For some reason I don't understand, I didn't just jump and rush over. I did feel slightly panicked but was diligently trying to get more information before making a rash decision. I finally connected with Brian and he was on his way home from work. We decided I would get on the road and by the time I got to Springfield, we'd both be arriving at the hospital.
I was rolling up to the hospital around 9pm. With each step, I started walking a little faster to get into the ER. I found my mom, who was sitting in a chair eating crackers and peanut butter...to be discussed later. I shrieked, "where's Dad??" He was having a CAT scan performed. I stood there and felt the panic level rising. I saw several things scattered on the floor in the area where I was standing. What had they been doing to my Dad when he got there? Why were their caps, tape and wrappers on the floor?? At that moment, Brian walked into the ER and Dad was being wheeled back into his area. He was awake, sitting up on the gurney and recognized both Brian and myself. "Well, hello you guys", he said. I told him if he wanted all of us to be together we didn't need to do it this way. He giggled. The nurse came in and started talking to us. The mood begins to change. He tells us the situation is very serious. Dad was losing a lot of blood from somewhere and he was in what's called Diabetic Ketoacidosis. He said Dad's BP was too low to register, his blood sugar was too high to register and we needed to do a blood transfusion as well as getting insulin into him. We were told it was a delicate balancing act to lower the blood sugar and stabilize the BP without putting him into further stress or shock. While Dad was receiving the blood transfusion and insulin, he was talking to us. He complained of being thirsty. The nurse was constantly checking on him and told us Dad needed to get into ICU, but we were waiting on a room. After a few minutes, the nurse said Dad's levels were starting to move in the right direction. He told us he was glad to see Dad looking better because upon arriving at the ER, the nurse thought they were going to lose him. When I heard those words, my heart stopped. I guess it still hadn't sunk in that this was a very serious situation. I immediately excused myself and rushed outside to call my friend, Jen. As I stood outside on the phone, I broke down crying. Did I really just hear correctly, we almost lost him? What? We can't lose him, I'll die if that happens. A million things instantly flashed before me and I couldn't focus. I was talking and crying to Jen on the phone and I'm not even sure what I was saying to her. The only thing that I could comprehend were those words....thought we were going to lose him. It took a minute, but I pulled myself together and went back into the ER. Ok - time to focus! I went in and stood next to my Dad. He was coherent, talking to me and still asking for a drink. He was also anxious to sit up with his legs over the side of the bed because his back was really hurting in that ER gurney. Brian and I helped him spin around and all of a sudden Dad started acting kind of goofy. He swore Brian was holidng a can of Dr. Pepper. He wanted it! Brian looked at me and I said, well hand it to him. What is going on - we're standing around Dad passing around an imaginary can of Dr. Pepper?! Dad then asked if Brian was playing the piano. We were all kind of joking around and giggling. All of a sudden, Dad looked at Brian and me and said, "What's wrong with you two?" I almost fell out of my chair. We had been playing along with this imaginary game and then clear as day, Dad thinks the two of us are the loopy ones! The joking ended quickly because a switch flipped and Dad started becoming more and more incoherent. The nurse immediately checked him and said his blood sugar may be lowering too quickly. I distinctly remember the nurse saying we NEEDED to get Dad out of the ER and into the ICU as soon as possible. Within 10 minutes, we were finally on our way up to ICU. Mom, Brian and I waited about 30 minutes and were then allowed back to see Dad. He was settled into his room, sitting up in the bed and seemed more coherent when he saw us. By this point, it is now going on 1:30am on 9/13/11. The new nurse told us Dad was passing quite a bit of blood and another transfusion would probably need to take place. It seemed like the focus was now on the bleeding and not so much on the BP and blood sugar. Question - were there any doctors in this hospital?? I never saw one, I never talked to one since arriving at the ER. Interesting, huh?! Dad seemed to be settled and I even felt better because I knew the nurse. I had gone to high school with her. We all decided Dad needed to get some rest and Brian should get mom home. I looked at the nurse and asked, "you think it's okay for us to go home and come back first thing in the morning?" She said, "I don't see why not." So I went up to Dad, told him I loved him, gave him a kiss and told him I'd see him in a few hours. He looked at me and said I love you too, kissed me back and I gave him a hug. I left the hospital around 2:00am....I left the hospital...I left the hospital...this decision will haunt me.
No comments:
Post a Comment