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December 2, 2006
I Don't Think I Sat On A Bag of Spinach
That was my mom explaining why the e coli infection that had landed her in the hospital had nothing to do with spinach.
It started Tuesday night when she got very ill at work with a stomach virus that was going around. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, she had to be taken home from work, and I flew out of my meeting to spend the night at her place. Wednesday she was feeling much better, but Thursday she took a turn for the worse. I spent Thursday night at her house again, and she felt awful. She had fever and chills, so Friday morning we took her to the emergency room where her fever registerd a scary 103. After tests discovered that she had a raging urinary tract infection that had migrated into her bloodstream, they admitted her to the hospital.
For the first time, I was grateful that my UTIs always cause horrible and unmistakable symptoms, causing me to flee to the nearest vodka cranberry (and to the doctor for antibiotics, if necessary) before things get out of control. Apparently it is very common in folks over sixty to have this kind of infection with no typical UTI type symptoms at all. If we hadn't brought her in, we might not have known.
We got to the hospital at about 12 noon and she was put on a med/surg floor at about 9 pm. The nurses were excellent -- a big shout out to Darla, Nicole, Tim, and Delores -- who made my mom as calm and comfortable as possible during what was really a scary ordeal. When her fever spiked last night, she had chills so bad that she shook uncontrolably for about two hours. I wrapped her in hot towels so tight that she looked like a mummy, and I sat with my head on her chest trying to get her to breathe and think warm thoughts. Palm trees... camels... dessert... sunny beaches... warm warm warm. You get the idea. Eventually she felt better, once the IV antibiotics and fluids and Tylenol kicked in. She's resting comfortably now and feeling pretty good, reading a bunch of trashy magazines I bought her, and about noon today she felt like it was safe for me to go home. Meanwhile, the doctors and lab techs are figuring out exactly what strain of (non-spinach related) e coli caused the infection, so they can give her narrow range antibiotics (as opposed to the broad range ones she's on now) and knock the last of it out.
In the hierarchy of "This is awful," having a very sick parent, I think, is number three. Having a sick child is number one. A sick spouse/partner is two. A sick parent follows right after. As we have no children, I never experience #1, though I have seen it up close when a good friend of mine had a dangerously ill child. MR has not so much as sprained his ankle in the time I've known him (the worst he's done is hit his head on an open cabinet door), and while my cats are constantly having problems, they don't quite rate with the mommy. I am so, so grateful to live in a country where antibiotics are available, that my mom has health insurance, and that she lives near an excellent, well-staffed hospital. I am reminded again of the suffering of those who don't have those resources, and who don't have health insurance, and I'm glad that in my work I have the opportunity to work towards radical health care reform. I just hope I can live long enough to see it!
Once again, I am awed at the competence, brilliance, and professionalism of nurses. I spend most of my days with nurses, and I know better than most how much they matter when it's your life on the line. But nothing brings it home like having a loved one in the hospital. It's good timing, in a way because next week I go into high gear once more with a brand new nurses' organizing campaign. Starting bright and early Tuesday morning, 7 am, I'll be meeting with nurses who just want what's fair: raises that keep up with the cost of living (they get about 2% per year now), health care they can afford, and pensions decent enough for them to retire with dignity. Staffing safe enough that they can care for their patients and still have time to go to the bathroom at least once in a twelve hour shift. I am still exhausted from our last campaign, and with this last round of family illness, I hardly feel rested. But it's inspiring to see my girls (and guys!) in action, and I'm ready to go back to the sixteen hour days it takes to get them the rights they deserve.
Oh, yeah, this blog is about CR. Well, being in the hospital makes you glad you do CR. For one thing, the nurses could pick me up and throw me. I will cause no back injuries! One of our friends, a paramedic, pointed out that for his certification training he had to pick up two dumbells, 100 pounds each, and run fifty yards carrying both. Also, my risk of diabetes and heart disease is extraordinarily low. Most people in the hospital have conditions that complicate their recovery, like high blood pressure or arthritis. CR is protective against these things, even at a moderate level. As long as I take good care of my bones with high calcium intake, bone building exercise, and wise supplementation, I should be in better shape than just about anybody. I was also grateful for my monster immune system when I was cleaning up after my mom (who had an evil stomach virus to start) and spending nine hours in an emergency room during flu season. I still wash my hands like a nurse, but I feel pretty confident that whatever germs get thrown at me, I can handle them.
Food was a bit tricky yesterday. I had two Morningstar Farms breakfast patties for breakfast at my mom's house (160 calories total) and then a megamuffin for lunch (209 for my April-muffins) while waiting in the ER. Dinner wasn't really an option till nearly 8 pm, when mom was stabilized. Her doctor walked me through the hospital to the cafeteria (can you imagine -- a physician walking a family member across the hospital??? This is a good hospital, and a great doctor!) where I was almost overcome with joy when I saw a salad bar. I ate a giant salad of romaine, cauliflower, broccoli, green peppers, tomatoes, three bean salad (kidney, green and white, in vinegar) and fat free Italian dressing. I asked the guy at the grill if he had a piece of plain, non-breaded chicken that I could take with me (trying to get back to Mom's room asap) and he gave me about six ounces of chicken. I was relieved to get something decent to eat in a hurry. I wasn't exactly thinking about food in the midst of the family health crisis, but I was glad to get some decent nutrition to keep me going.
I'm home now and chilling out with Philomena, the nineteen year old cat who has been missing me terribly, even though MR takes good care of the cats while I'm gone. I'll have dinner with MR for the first time since our lovely dinner with Laura on Wednesday, and then tomorrow I'll most likely be back with my mom.
Wishing you all -- and your families -- long health.
Posted by april at December 2, 2006 4:56 PM
Comments
I'm a new reader. It sounds like your mother is on her way to a full recovery. I hope you get some rest before you dive back into work. I find your commitment to others and improving their work conditions inspiring.
Posted by: abarz at December 2, 2006 2:58 PM
What a terrifying experience! E. coli is definitely no joke. I'm so glad to hear your mom is on the mend. I hope you're doing ok, too. I know it can be really scary to come face to face with a parent's mortality.
Posted by: Robin at December 2, 2006 5:31 PM
Hey. I hadn't logged on in several days, due to my own intestinal discomfort (but nothing like your mom's). Send her my best greetings, and I hope things are OK with you, too, given all the chatter, criticism, and other discussions going on in your blog lately. I hope all is well . . .
Amy
Posted by: Amy at December 3, 2006 4:13 PM
Wow... I'm glad your mom is doing OK. My MIL had e.coli recently (spinach related, she eats a ton of the bagged stuff) and while she wasn't hospitalized, she *was* pretty darn miserable. I hope your mom gets feeling better quickly and YAY for good nursing care!
Posted by: thatgirljj at December 4, 2006 9:59 AM
thanks to all for your warm wishes! Mom is improving, and they have her on IV antibiotics that seem to be beating the infection back. Hopefully she will be able to come home soon.
a
Posted by: April at December 4, 2006 12:42 PM