Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Living the Week from Hell

Wednesday, November 26th
  • 6 am mad dash to the airport
  • two uneventful flights land us in Orlando
  • call from home that Garter (my grandmother) has been hospitalized with pneumonia
  • family dinner at Downtown Disney is not so fabulous, but the Lego store is a winner
Thursday, Thanksgiving
  • Call Garter, doing well
  • Spend wonderful day with family in Florida
  • wakened in dead of night (12:23 am) to a call from home: Aunt is being air-lifted to the heart center, as she has had a massive heart attack. Don't know if she will survive
Friday, November 28th
  • 1:30 am, still awake and listening to the last Disney busses stop at our hotel
  • 3:30 am, randomly wish I were a smoker so I could go have a drag on the balcony
  • 4:30 am, finally fall asleep
  • 6 am, wake-up call for "fun day" in the Magic Kingdom
  • 11:30, finding quiet place in MK to take conference call with family - finally get the full story, still not sure if aunt is going to make it.
  • 1 pm, nap
  • 5 pm rejoin family in MK and have some fun after all
  • midnight, fall into bed
Saturday, November 29th
  • Last hurrah in WDW
  • Flight delayed and will not make connection
  • Aunt still touch and go
  • Garter checked into nursing home; my aunt was her primary care giver
  • Fly home on a jet far to small for my taste
Sunday, November 30th
  • 1 am, home at last; fall into bed
  • 10 am Richard departs for week in Texas
  • visit Garter in nursing home (30 minutes away) - take home a list of items she still needs from the house
  • go to Aunt's house (30 minutes away) and reheat Thanksgiving leftovers. How perverse is it that my aunt made the dinner we would need while she was in the hospital?
  • Family meeting at 7 to figure out details of next week
  • 9 pm, take items to Garter
  • 10 pm, visit Aunt for first time. It's as bad as everyone has said.
Monday, December 1
  • All manner of running about, to nursing home, to hospital, to pick up Nephew from school
  • GOOD NEWS! The balloon pump that was in Aunt's heart has been removed and her heart is pumping on its own. Thank God.
  • Dinner with Uncle and Nephew at our house
Tuesday, December 2
  • Another blur of hospital and nursing home visits, groceries, Nephew and dinner at our place
  • Hospital decides not to take Aunt off ventilator yet.
  • Garter calls and calls and calls - she has inane jobs she wants us to tend to (brushing her dog, putting up the Xmas tree for Aunt, etc.)
  • Father has to go put Garter in her place.
  • we are all on edge with one another.
  • I polished off an entire bottle of Chardonnay.
Wednesday, December 3
  • 9 am, Take coughing child to Dr. Diagnosed with mild form of asthma - only flares with colds
  • 10:30, pharmacy for refill on nebulizer
  • 11 am, pick up Nephew
  • 11:30 am, visit nursing home, conference with occupational therapist
  • 1 pm, discover that the little whippet has demolished the carpet at the threshold of our bedroom door
  • 1:30 pm, oh yeah, the boys need lunch
  • No word yet from hospital. Have yet to visit that bunch.
I don't even want to ask what could go wrong next for fear of jinxing us all -- we just need some peace and quiet.

UPDATE:
  • 5:30 pm, reheat and freeze last of Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt's house
  • 8:15 pm, Hayes has to be held down by me AND my father for nebulizer treatment.
  • 9:30 pm, glass of wine and vegging by the TV

4 comments:

Ket said...

Oh, Amy. I just wish you rest and reassurance. I'm not gifted with knowing what to do -- which is ironic, considering all that has been done for me -- but I'll do it, whatever it is.

Anonymous said...

so sorry amy. good news is when the child is screaming during a neb treatment, it really gets in their lungs good and deep. if you need anything...please let me know how I can help.

angie

Jody said...

Oh my god, your carpet!! At first I thought it was vomit. I was thinking, "Not so bad. Annoying and gross, but not so bad." Um, that's bad. BAD DOG!! Use your Josh tone.

Love you!!

Anonymous said...

sending lots of healing thoughts/energy and still saying prayers ... and if you need me to keep the two girls [dogs] it's not a problem. BAD Luna (guessing here that Jezz didn't do it), bad bad [bored?] Luna. No excuse for that tho! If you need me, bring em on over.

healing hugs your way
-m-