Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mom

I get back on track with blogging and then the chaos starts!! It seems that every time I get back to blogging events occur that make it impossible to continue. This time I decided I would still make an concentrated effort to carry on :).

I updated my blog, and BAM poor mom gets sick. At 94 being sick is not just, well, being sick....she lost consciousness in the bathroom, on her feet! Thank goodness I was there so she didn't fall. It was the scare of my life. Anyway, we called 911 and the paramedics took her to Inland Valley Hospital in Murrieta. After they accessed that she wasn't in danger, we waited in a room for over 15 hours. NOT fun. To the hospital's defense, things were done during that time, blood work, ekg, Cat scan, etc... once all of those came back clear I asked for them to do a urine test - and bingo, she has a severe UTI. Very common in the elderly - she ended up being hospitalized.

Now here is an "info- mercial" lol. I signed mom up for a non profit health plan called Inter Valley Health
what a blessing this plan is - for those of you that don't know - there is Medicare part A and B and then D for scripts - instead of using straight Medicare you can opt to sign up for an HMO that takes your Medicare premium and provides you care. It doesn't cost you a dime more, and the coverage far out weighs the governments plan. So look into it if someone you love is 65 or older! Just be sure you shop around - and DON'T use AARP's plan - it is horrible. Find a not for profit plan. I worked in the health field for many years so I had an advantage when I selected mom's coverage, and I will gladly help anyone that emails me for help - as I know how important it is to have a good coverage.

OK - back to mom - she was admitted to the hospital, and I found out that not only does she have Alzheimer's and Dementia - she now has Parkinson's - I had noticed slight shaking, but assumed that it was due to age - WRONG. So if you have an elderly parent and they are shaking - even slightly - get them tested! Mom's UTI is under control now and she will be coming home today - thank goodness. Another note here - if you have an elderly parent and they get frequent UTI's ask your doctor about preventative antibiotic therapy. Basically this is a daily dose of antibiotics for an extended period of time. Normally this would not be recommended for a younger person (to much chance of building up an immunity to the antibiotics) but in an older person it may be just the ticket to ensure quality of life.

So today just may not be a glass working day, as I have to see what mom needs in regard to care etc...but at least she is home and resting.


No comments: