Dorothy was sick at her stomach this morning and they called 911 – the ambulance took her to the Emergency Room- just to be safe. There are a few things that went through my head when they called me and told me this:
- Should she go to the emergency room by herself- she can’t remember from moment to moment what is going on I understand that this is protocol- but it’s a pandemic out there
- Why not keep her in her room for a day- see if it passes if she was “normal” she would stay in bed or the bathroom floor until “it” passes
- I need to call the ER and let her know she is coming and let them know she is demented- especially with the pandemic going on – I need to find out what the protocol is- why expose her to the hospital and all the sickness there? This I can help with I can make the call
So, I call the ER- and let them know that she is coming – I ask what the “rules” are for a demented person being sent via ambulance- and what or how I can help with the situation. I am informed that they are at full capacity it might take a while to get her into a room, and no I cannot come in due to Covid. When they get her in an ER room and get her blood work done, they will contact me. So, I wait, and I wonder if it will be six hours or even longer. If you’ve been to the ER you know it’s like buying a car- slow process. (-:
The doctor calls me after two hours and tells me they are releasing her. They find nothing wrong with her and she is asking to go home. (of course, she is- she’s demented she has no idea why she’s there) I tell the doctor she is demented and ask what kind of tests they ran. She informed me they took 4 vials of blood to run some test- her temperature is normal- they gave her something to stop the vomiting- and they did a Covid test. She said that when they got any results back, they would let me know. I asked what the procedure was due to Covid- did the ambulance take her back to the facility? She said no, since she had a ride- (me) that I could come and get her and take her back to the facility. What????? A few things went through my mind:
- I need to call the facility to see if I am able to bring her back- due to Covid— they said yes, it would be okay for me to go and get her and bring her back
- Do I need to go get a rapid test? Do I need to have my tempature taken before I get her in the car? No, it will be okay for you to go get her and bring her back
- Can I feed her? Or should I wait until she gets back to the facility? Yes, you can stop and get something to eat that won’t be a problem.
Ok- just one question – if I can do all of this why can I not go see her in the facility whenever I want? Help me understand why it’s ok to do this now- but not any other time. ????
More tomorrow.
Love and Light,
Cheryl Doreen
Dorothy's Dementia 