Wednesday, February 03, 2010

with my mother in the hospital

right now im sitting at memorial hospital in marysville with my sister in law karen by my dozing mother's side, fighting back tears of course. a few nights ago my mom started complaining of some stomach pain and nausea. it progressed to the point that my dad took her to the ER monday night, at which point they admitted her, ran tests, and hooked her up to a pharmacy of drugs because "on a 0-10 pain scale she rated hers at a 12." it is beyond words how hard it is to sit here and watch her grimace and grind her teeth through this.

basically she has a gallbladder full of stones. one of those stoned made it's way into her pancreas which resulted in a raging case of pancreatitis. the stone is blocking the duct so all of that lovely, acid hot, bile is backing up into her body. and that pain? that is the equivalent of a chemical burn to her internal organs. they gave her some broad spectrum antiobiotics to help bring down her white blood count but today it is actually higher than yesterday as is her fever, though thankfully not pain. her doctor is leaving for i believe conference tomorrow morning so she is being transferred to OSU Hospital today. she's putting on a tough face but i can tell she is scared. she kept repeating words like "DIRE" and "progress into something much worse" from the speech the doctor came in and gave.

i witnessed my parents have a private moment of eye contact and it made me joyful but also scared.



EDIT:
also she isn't allowed to eat or drink anything until the surgery, which could be a few days? a week? no one knows. it all depends on how she responds to these antiobiotics. so far no response and it's been 24 hrs. their theory is that the blockage is causing more build up than than the antibiotics can catch up to and destroy. so she is on an ice & IV only diet until further notice.

11 comments:

Nikki said...

so sorry to hear about what your mom is going through. my thoughts & prayers are with you and your family.

Anonymous said...

Oh! I hope your mom feels better soon. It's so hard to see a mom sick, I lost mine to a brain tumor in August and seeing her so scared and helpless took my feet out from under me.
Hang in there and know that just being there DOES help her and give her comfort. She is in good hands and I am sending lots of good thoughts your way!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. I've had both gallstones and an iv only diet (not related) and simply can NOT imagine dealing with both at the same time.

Praying so hard for you and your mom and your entire family. xo

Anonymous said...

i don't know you personally, but i occasionally read your blog as a source of inspiration. my prayers are with you and your family.

West Coast Mama said...

Heavens! That sounds awful. I truly hope she gets well very very soon.

Anonymous said...

Lifting your mom and your family in prayer right now.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking about you Jenny. Keep hanging in there, the rest of us will be praying with you.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, prayers are going up for you mother as I type. Keep strong friend!

Anonymous said...

sorry to hear about your mom! pancreatitis is a very serious thing but caught early it is definitely treatable! hope she feels better soon!!!

Jamie said...

How incredibly scary. I'll be praying for her! She's in good hands at OSU. Please update when you get a chance.

mandy said...

oh my goodness, your poor mother. that sounds horrible.I'm so sorry to hear she is going through this. you will all be in my prayers.