After several days of hell in which it was unsure if we would get my mom functional again, I walked into her hospital room today and was shocked. She was sitting up in bed with her glasses on, and looked at me and said "Linda - where have you been?" I was stunned. I walked over to her and hugged her with tears streaming. She was animated and coherent. What a miracle. Yesterday the doctor was saying he wasn't sure if we would ever get her back from the state she had been drugged into. But I know she still needs some more time to clear the Haldol from her system, and there will be setbacks. Apparently she was irritable in the morning and threw a cup of water at a nurse. And she did have some confusion - she thought I was pregnant! I had to tell her no, at my age, I would make the newspapers if that happened.
But overall, the change from yesterday is so dramatic my family is thrilled. I hope this maintains. She was asking when she would be going home, but she has to have physical therapy just to walk again. She's been bedridden since Sunday, which is a long time for an elderly person. The other problem is where she is going to go, since we will not bring her back to the assisted living center that sent her down this hellish path. My mom is a true survivor. What she went through, many elderly people would not survive. And I am going to be hypervigiliant that this does not happen again. If I see any indication of a med causing an unsatisfactory effect, I will demand to have it taken away.
I'm hoping tonight that I will sleep for the first time in several nights. I am so exhausted, I couldn't work today. So I'm going to get ready for bed!
Medications can be a problem for the elderly - less can be more - but this isn't the first impulse of many in the medical establishment, who seem more focussed on treating/surpressing symptoms than taking the time to understand and treat causes. My elderly parents both had similar problems with over-medication, so I understand.
ReplyDeleteGood news, indeed. As I said before, I hate the idea of using drugs. While some are certainly essential, too often people see them as a "shortcut" to schieve things that can be managed otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got some rest and can now relax a little.
Just noticed your "migraine and me" blog posts.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried chiropractic? It has made a major difference in my life. The other option is acupunture, but I'd opt a good chiropractor first. A lot of times the migraine pain is actually triggered by nerve pressure in your neck. You need a GOOD chiropractor, though. Apparently there are some out there who do not really adjust as they should.
Another issue could be food allergies. There are some good blood tests available for that.