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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI had a rough day. Mom had it worse.
So, today was a Very Bad Day. I'm just venting because sleep won't come easily tonight, if at all.
Long story kinda short, mom was walking our big dog and something caught his attention. He suddenly pulled, she fell on the driveway and broke her jawbone where the joint connects with the rest of the skull. It even punctured her ear canal a little (but not the eardrum - her hearing is fortunately intact). She's in a lot of pain, though we arranged for her to get better treatment for that before leaving the hospital this evening. It was hard to leave her. Dad was at work and I was alone and asleep when the neighbors woke me up. Fortunately, they saw it happen immediately. It was the first time when I - the disabled kid she normally takes care of - had to take responsibility for her and I don't know how well I did in the moment. That we'd had a fight the night before which I had not apologized for made me feel worse (but I did so when I saw her tonight).
Anyway. They weren't going to keep her overnight for her jaw, but everything changed when they got her blood work back. Mom had a heart attack years ago, and this past weekend, she was not feeling well in the chest and had almost suggested going to the ER. She's the stubborn type about getting help for herself and put it off, was to see her cardio tomorrow. As I said, the blood work came back and it showed enzymes indicative of possibly - probably - recently having had a mild heart attack. Hard to not blame myself for throwing my hands up when she refused to go to the ER. They're monitoring her blood frequently for twelve hours to see whether the enzymes are consistently going up or down. Up may mean another surgery for another stent, and the last was pretty brutal on her.
So, I guess without the jaw, we wouldn't have known about the heart - which really took priority for the doctors who admitted her in the end. They knew the situation with her jaw, but her heart is still an uncertainty. If all goes as planned, she may come home tomorrow, but that will change if her enzymes are consistently going up.
This is going to be a sleepless night for me, hopefully not for her. She's already been having a rough time of things lately. I feel badly for her and wish I could do something, but I can't even drive myself to the hospital.
luvMIdog
(2,533 posts)I have avoided the hospital again and again because I don't want to pay the co pay. It makes my kids crazy. Also we have our spats sometimes as all families do. Your mother would not want you feeling guilty about her health I'm sure. Just tell her you love her & that is all she wants to hear I'm sure. ((((hugs))))
Oh... I forgot to say I hope she heals well and soon.
Skittles
(153,113 posts)you can talk to us
don't feel bad, you are doing what you can
you care so much about her and she knows that - that's means everything in the world
furtheradu
(1,865 posts)& about Your Mom's health issues! I am also dealing with stubborn Mama stuff, & feel guilty & sad about our phone conversation yesterday. I have no wisdom, except that WE do the best we can, & even when we disappoint our Mamas & ourSelves, KNOW that Love is still there. Take goood Care of YourSelf tonight.. & we will do our best tomorrow, & we will Love & Bless our Mamas.
irisblue
(32,931 posts)Don't blame your self too much.
GeoWilliam750
(2,521 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)Don't be so hard on yourself. Focus on your mom's recovery now.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,129 posts)Akoto
(4,266 posts)I wish I could say things were better, but I can't.
Sometime tomorrow, they're going to move mom to the neighboring hospital because they want to do a catheter into her heart and see what caused last weekend's mild heart attack. Even though the enzymes haven't gone back up, they need to address the cause. It's the neighboring hospital because, if they find something, they're able to place a stent during the procedure. During her first attack, they did a cath at the hospital she's at, then had to do it all over again at the neighboring place to install her stents.
It's not a procedure without risk. I'm trying to hold it together for my dad and to take care of the house as best as I can, but I can only push my body so far and I've got that threshold before I just have to get upset. All I can do now is wait and hope for the best, that she comes through the procedure okay. It's one small blessing that she is getting the same doctor who operated during her first heart attack, and she trusts him.
There's going to be a maxillofacial surgeon there as well, to assess her jaw and decide what needs to be done. I'm hoping it's easy so that she doesn't need to go through double the stress.
Skittles
(153,113 posts)we care
Akoto
(4,266 posts)It's bad, but in a way, it's good.
I don't exactly feel comfortable thinking about it this way, knowing the pain that she's in, but my mom falling and breaking her jaw might well have saved her life. She was moved to the neighboring hospital today and the surgeon she trusts (thankfully) took on her care. He did the stent for her first heart attack twelve years ago. At the time, two other arteries were suspect, but not enough to put mom through additional stress.
Turns out those arteries lived up to their suspicious nature. When the doctor got in there via the catheter, he found that one artery was 95% blocked, and another was 100% blocked! He said she was lucky to be alive, and certainly had no business walking around in that state. It also makes me wonder if this could be the reason behind her being so quick to tire lately, having stomach issues, being a bit temperamental, so on. It just seems to offer an explanation for so much, even though it may not be so.
The initial discussion was open heart surgery, so I'm glad that the surgeon was skilled enough to decide he could do it via catheter and stent instead. He cleared out the 100% blocked artery and placed the stent. Due to the dye they use being a bit harsh on one's kidneys, he will place the stent for the 95% blocked artery on Monday. I'll worry about her over the weekend, of course, because things can go wrong with this procedure and I had to prepare for them after the first heart attack. At least this one was mild enough to sound an alarm, rather than being full blown.
As for mom's jaw, the hospital she was moved to also has a maxillofacial surgeon on staff who will be coming in to check that out tomorrow. I'm praying that he has some alternative to wiring her jaw shut, because she's going to have a miserable enough time during her recovery from the heart attack and stent placements.
I'm doing my best to keep a stiff upper lip for the sake of my dad, who surely feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders between mom and a very demanding job, and for mom's sake. I'm keeping busy taking care of the house within the bounds of my disability's limits. I also think the new puppy is taking to my haphazard efforts at potty training him, which is an odd silver lining to conclude with, but I'll take what I can get after the past week!
Fla Dem
(23,590 posts)Glad to hear the Doc's found your Mom's blockage and will repair it before it caused real bad consequences. Everyone steps up in a family crisis; you, your Dad and even your puppy. Better times ahead I'm sure.
furtheradu
(1,865 posts)An 'accident' seems to have saved her Life!
Please take goood Care of YourSelf! & keep us updated, ok? Healing Thoughts on Your Mama,& strength & comfort to YOU.
& enJOY Your furry 4 legged Friend! 💚
irisblue
(32,931 posts)It does indeed sound like a bad/good thing. Those blockages were serious amounts.
Akoto
(4,266 posts)I just heard from my father that my mom had her second stent placed in her heart this morning. So, it appears that she pulled through okay. It was just the two stents, thankfully, though she had a tough time waiting over the weekend for the second!
We're sure they will want to keep her until at least tomorrow, but we're hopeful we might get to take her home Tuesday evening since they did her procedure so early today. Can't tell yet. It also depends on whether the maxillofacial surgeons want to do anything with her jaw, as we haven't really heard much from them; they were probably waiting to see how the stents went.
Thanks for the support, all.
Akoto
(4,266 posts)My mom had her other stent placed today and it went very well. She was upset when we went to see her this weekend, but I think it's just the stress of the past week finally coming through. As for myself, I'm very much relieved that she made it and her heart is so much improved.
Tomorrow morning, mom will have a full CT scan of her face so that the maxillofacial surgeon knows the entirety of what's going on. At the first hospital, they only did one side of her face. Any work he does would be at his office, not at the hospital. Mom said that he didn't think he was going to have to wire her jaw shut (I hope he's right -- she's more afraid of that than her heart) but will have a better idea with the CT.
If all goes well, as the title says, we will finally be able to bring my mom home tomorrow. I'm really glad for it, because all along, she's just wanted so badly to come home.
Thanks to all of you folks for your support. There is a long recovery ahead, but mom has done it once before!
Fla Dem
(23,590 posts)All the best to you both.
Skittles
(153,113 posts)she did a good job with you
Response to Akoto (Original post)
Akoto This message was self-deleted by its author.
irisblue
(32,931 posts)Stuart G
(38,414 posts)Akoto
(4,266 posts)I noticed a few people had posted asking how things were going, so I thought I'd do a quick update.
Mom had a scan of her entire jaw/face in the hospital, on Tuesday morning. After that, we were allowed to take her home, and she was happy for it! She drained all of the hot water just sitting in the shower. Mom has to take it easy for a while because they closed the catheter entry point with some kind of bovine plug - I don't really understand it - and it will eventually kinda merge with her body. Once it does that and can't pop out, she'll be able to do more. About two weeks.
The heart surgery aspect of it all appears to have gone very well. I even caught her out walking the dachshund puppy this morning (she's breakin' the rules already!) because she just wanted the air. It'll just take time for her to be fully back to her old self. I'll feel better once the wound has healed, because it's so easy for her to forget that she can't do things like bend, etc.
As for mom's jaw, I don't *think* they're going to wire it. She was told they generally don't wire it for breaks way up at that joint by her ear. Now, the fracture on her chin more to the right side of her face, I'm not sure. She goes to the maxillofacial surgeon ASAP to find out the results of the scan and the action plan. Dad has already said he's gonna be a brick wall against wiring it, because it terrifies her. :S
So, for breaking one's jaw and having two stents placed at the same time, I would tend to say mom is bouncing back really well (but I wish she would ask me for help instead of breaking the rules like a rebel!). We appreciate your thoughts.
Fla Dem
(23,590 posts)femmocrat
(28,394 posts)That all sounds like good news, even the rebellious part!