Wrestling Mom back home

I honestly don't think Mom was strong enough to be discharged, but they let her go home from the hospital late in the afternoon. Dr. Wheeler (Mom's surgeon) had come by about mid-afternoon and asked Mom if she was ready to go home. Her face brightened and she quickly said, "Yes!" and my father agreed that he also wanted her back home. He added that it was difficult for him to come up to the hospital each day, and it would be much easier for him to look after Mom if she were back home. Since Mom and Dad were both emphatic about discharge, I said nothing of my misgivings and figured we could handle it, one way or another. Dr. Wheeler said he was on his way to the Operating Room to perform another surgery, but he would check back with us afterwards and approve discharge if we still wanted it. Thus, it was decided.

I could write at least two or three paragraphs about the ordeal of getting Mom dressed and ready to leave the hospital. Suffice it to say, however, that it was one of the single most difficult tasks I think I've ever had to do in my entire life. No joke. She was confused, delusional, uncooperative, and disagreeable about every tiny little thing. I don't know if it was residual effects of meds she had been given, residual effects of the anesthesia left over from surgery, or something else. Once we got home, it took two hours to get Mom out of the car, into the house, cleaned up a bit, and into bed.

Dad woke me up at 3:50 am with the report that Mom had fallen out of bed, couldn't get back up on her own, and he needed my help to lift her. Once she was back in bed, he dismissed me, but he still worked with her between 30 minutes and an hour getting her settled back down again. Then she wet the bed, which nurses told us was a common occurrence for several days after having a catheter removed. Dad didn't tell me about that incident until the following morning, preferring to change the sheets and get Mom cleaned-up on his own. Sheesh.


One of the many birdhouses my father made for my mother to hang in the yard.



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