Ups and Downs

My mom is in the hospital. Some of you know that. She was admitted Thursday night (or more like Friday morning). She was throwing up blood. She's 84. She's tough. You already know that. I hope she can hang tough now.

My brother and I left the hospital Friday morning after they told us that Mama probably had a bleeding ulcer and they were going to treat her for that. Her xray looked clear - no air pockets (which means a rupture). Then, the nurse calls me at 9:00 a.m and tells me that the doctor wants to do emergency surgery! WHAT??? I talked with the doctor on the phone and he told me that there were risks for surgery - pneumonia, stroke, bleeding, etc. But, if he didn't operate, she would die. They did surgery and found NO ruptures!! Her stomach was full of blood and the doctor said it was probably a bleeding ulcer. It was hard to know how to feel. Of course, we were happy there were no ruptures, but our sweet 84 year old mother had to go through a risky abdominal surgery!!!

She spent 2 nights in CCU and during that time her oxygen level went down and they couldn't get it back up until they used a mask. Her blood pressure stayed very low. They had a tube in her stomach pumping out blood. They kept sticking her (and bruising her) for IV sights.

On Sunday morning, they moved her to a regular room. I thought things were getting better. On Sunday afternoon, she spiked a temp of nearly 103 and her blood pressure kept staying low. Her hemoglobin dropped very low and they gave her 2 units of blood.

On Monday morning, I talked with the nurse practicioner who told that she could be in congestive heart failure and to prepare myself. They ordered a chest xray. I also noticed that her right hand was curled and she was having trouble talking. I believe she has had a stroke. The nurse practicioner agreed but said that nothing could be done.

Today, the chest xray showed a little fluid behind her right lung but they tell me that it is not a concern. The doctor put her on clear liquids. Her blood pressure is up. Her temp is hovering around 100.7. The N.P. said we'll just take it one day at a time.

So....we are taking this one day at a time...the ups and the downs. I'm spinning. Sometimes my head feels like it is going to explode. My mama was asking for Karen today. I was right beside her. The nurse told me that Mama said "Kiss my a--" very clearly when she was bathing her. Cussing is always a good sign, right? :-)

Please pray for my mama. Pray God's comfort for her no matter what.