Disney World Vacation:
Planning, Prepping, Packing and Postponing a trip of a lifetime and things I learned along the way.
To be continued....
To the ER and Beyond: The next two days are mostly a blurry nightmare to us both. I am driving her car (because she can't) and Alison is navigating with some confusion while she talks a million miles an hour. "Why is this happening, what should I do, why hasn't the medicine helped, why won't the pain stop, Turn right at this corner, now I can't hear- my ears are clogged, the sun hurts my eyes- OH, NO, I meant turn left at the corner."
Dr. Office Monday mid A.M.- Alison's doctor hears her symptoms and that Alison has gotten worse with the medicine prescribed and that she now has "the worst headache of her life" (with me trying to get her to realize that Alison is a sharp cookie and right now she is having trouble remembering her name). Alison mentions that she looked on line and her symptoms are similar to meningitis.The doctor looks worried, stays far away from Alison, leaves to consult with some else, then says she is sending us to the ER for tests and has called ahead so they know Alison's information. (You know we are leaving for Disney on Wednesday morning.)
ER around noon- Everyone here asks the same questions that the original doctor did (this place is just down the hall). They have none of Alison's information. Alison explains how this all started 2 weeks or so with a cold that she might have caught from her grandson.
They do a cat scan of her head, they draw blood, they give her some meds, they give her some fluids and we wait and wait. Every once in a while, the ER doctor, english is a second language, comes in to assure us that her tests are being evaluated. He also repeatedly says she does not have meningitis, he himself has seen meningitis and Alison wouldn't be able to move her head, her neck would be very stiff. When we remind him again that we are leaving for Disney he thinks that Alison should see a neurologist before we go. He prescribes some new meds and sends us home around dinnertime.
They do a cat scan of her head, they draw blood, they give her some meds, they give her some fluids and we wait and wait. Every once in a while, the ER doctor, english is a second language, comes in to assure us that her tests are being evaluated. He also repeatedly says she does not have meningitis, he himself has seen meningitis and Alison wouldn't be able to move her head, her neck would be very stiff. When we remind him again that we are leaving for Disney he thinks that Alison should see a neurologist before we go. He prescribes some new meds and sends us home around dinnertime.
Home Monday night: Everything takes longer because Alison can hardly move. We have to call and cancel our babysitting duties for tomorrow. She takes a dose of her new medicine and gets sick to her tummy. She takes a different new med and now I can hardly get her off the couch. My concern from Sunday night has turned into real worry now. This is my baby sister whom I love like my own children.
We go to bed with Disney on a far horizon.
We go to bed with Disney on a far horizon.
To be continued....
1 comment:
Oh wow....it's a good thing that you were there anyway for the trip! She really needed you. Did they ever diagnose what it was?
Post a Comment