I had a mammogram appointment for 5:15 yesterday afternoon. I was supposed to go last Friday but had to reschedule because of the weather. From there I went to the hospital to meet Frances and dad. I had not been to see mom since she was admitted. Frances and dad had gone Tuesday night. For some reason they had moved her from her the room she was admitted to into one on the other side of the hall. She was doing well, laughing and joking with dad and Frances, etc.
When we arrived last night for the designated 6pm visiting time they made us wait at the front desk. After ten minutes they told us to go on down to the end of the hall. Finally at 6:20 they brought mom out of the day room. Her eyes were wide and glassy, she was in a hospital gown instead of one of hers or her clothes, and was repeated going on about they had pulled the plug on her and she was dying. They had done all they could for her, it was time for her to go. On and on and on. Frances went into her new room and could not find anything in there but some underwear and her shoes. No clothing, no night gowns and robes. The doctor had told Frances Sunday he liked to have two days worth of clothing for them to be dressed in daily and we could bring more if needed.
Off we go in the search of the clothing which was eventually found in her old room crammed in the back of the closet since Tuesday when she was moved. We think one of mom’s nightgowns was on the lady that was now in that room. While searching for clothing I kept demanding to have her doctor contacted about her mental state. The nursing staff was treating us badly and acted like they were trying to cover stuff up. The nasty nurse finally said she called the supervising nurse for the behavioral wing where mom is. He came up, took Frances and I in a nearby conference room to tell him what was going on. At no time was I ever offered by the staff to call either her doctor or the one on call. At some point the supervisor called up a nursing supervisor. She listened to our story and was talking with us when mom’s doctor came on the floor. After all was said and done they were horrified at what had been going on. In the meantime mom was telling us goodbye, we would never see her again and other nonsense talking out of her head.
By this time it was 9pm. We were supposed to be there to visit from 6 to 7:30 then get some dinner. We left with the nursing supervisor and the doctor getting mom calmed down. The doctor said it could be a combination of the intense IV antibiotics, the weaning off her one medication, and anxiety and fear about my dad. Frances and I think she wants to die first so she will not be left alone when dad dies.
I called Bob on my phone on the way to get my car from the parking deck to let him know what was going on. We were just emotionally and physically exhausted by this point. None of us had eaten since lunch time. I picked up dad at the hospital entrance and met up with Frances at Mayberry Ice Cream restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We compared notes over when this mental landslide started and what may have triggered it while we ate.
Then, dad and I headed to Creekside while Frances went on home. This morning dad and I went down for breakfast then back up the apartment. I did some tidying up and left around 10:30. I had grocery store and library stops to make on the way home.
Hopefully mom will pull out of this. If not, I don’t know what we are going to do.