I was called into the hospital at 3 AM this morning as Mom’s O2 level had dropped into the 70’s.
After an in person chat with the attending physician it was again decided that repositioning and suction would be used as Mom is not a good ventilator candidate.
I sat at Mom’s bedside till nearly 8 am. She is under a med induced sleep but I spoke to her throughout the night and watched as her O2 level climbed from 80 to 90 where it remained stable.
Unfortunately I am garbed up when I visit, gloved, masked, vizor’d and gowned so no congratulatory kiss for Mom.
I am home now hoping to get some rest and will head back to the hospital this afternoon barring an early call from the hospital.
I wish I could say Mom was kicking Covid butt but right now it’s stalemated.
Update: Just before 3 AM the hospital called. Mom’s Oxygen levels are sinking again. I was advised to head to the hospital.
Things are not looking good.
The Doctors advised me this afternoon that Mom likely has only a couple of days left.
Miracles happen and there is always hope.
They are treating her with steroids for the covid and anti-psychotics for the delirium she has experienced.
Steroids raise blood sugar so she is also receiving insulin.
This is on top of her heart medications, Mom suffers CHF.
Mom was resting comfortably this afternoon when I visited though she was unresponsive due to the meds. She’s currently on 15 litres of oxygen.
She was holding steady when I left this afternoon.
Then I received a call from the hospital shortly before midnight.
Mom’s oxygen levels had dropped to the mid to low 80’s. At this level over a relatively short period of time organ failure and brain damage occurs I was told.
I was given a choice – allow non-invasive procedures, primarily re-positioning & suctioning, or intubation i.e. a ventilator, an invasive procedure.
Mom’s lungs are overrun with covid. While intubation is the best means of delivering oxygen there is no guarantee that enough will be supplied given the state of the inflammation in her lungs to raise her levels to an acceptable degree.
Further mom’s heart may not be able to take the strain of intubation. There exists a real possibility based on the doctor’s experience of heart attack or stroke given mom’s condition and age.
It’s not the type of phone call anyone wants to receive. I leaned initially to intubation as the surest way to deliver oxygen but when advised the risk of weaning someone from the apparatus is as great as the intubation insertion itself I backed off and went for repositioning.
The Doctor reminded me to think of what Mum would want given she has a DNR. The risk of being left in a vegetative state is the reason why she elected to have a DNR in place.
Repositioning is just that, move her around and see if the lungs work better and the oxygen intake improves.
I was then advised to make my way to the hospital.
15 minutes later the doctor called. Their repositioning effort worked, Mom’s oxygen level has risen to the mid 90’s, not perfect but acceptable.
I still won’t sleep much tonight and will visit tomorrow.
Thank you all for caring.
Note – post is a sticky new posts will appear below.
Mom enjoying cake I brought in for her 96th Birthday this year in the rehab hospital.
I have been granted a visit with Mom today.
She remains in guarded condition suffering from Covid that she contracted in hospital.
A minor miracle is needed for her to recover.
I can only hope this is not the last visit, it will be my first in a month as she has been isolated.
Last Saturday I spoke with her on the phone and was elated that she sounded so energetic and so clear.
Sunday morning I got the call that they needed to transfer her from the rehab to a hospital better able to manage her suddenly deteriorating condition.
This last year has been a hard one for our family.
My niece lost her husband to cancer shortly before Christmas last year.
Her sister’s husband suffered two massive heart attacks in the last six months of 2020. Thankfully he is on the mend.
My brother is in palliative care at home dying from a bad ticker, he never smoked and rarely drank, such are the wages of abstinence.
Kathy’s loss weighs heaviest of all and the prospect of Mom’s passing is numbing.
All you can do is try to keep yourself busy and the heartache at bay.
I hope that Mom can see through the fog and know I am there.
Mom’s condition deteriorated rapidly last night, she has Covid-Pneumonia which she caught at the rehab hospital.
I spoke to her yesterday and she seemed so much her old self after a couple of tough days that today’s developments came as a shock.
She was struggling to breathe and her oxygen levels had dropped very low by normal standards so it was decided to transfer her to the Covid ward at Toronto Western.
Mom is 96 and suffers congestive heart failure. Given her frail state she is not considered a ventilator candidate. The risks of intubation are high I am told by the doctors and the reward may only amount to a delay of the inevitable. Ventilators are reserved primarily for younger patients who may stand a better chance of recovery I was informed.
She has been on a steroid treatment since the initial diagnosis at Runnymede. They have now given her diuretics’ to manage the fluid in her lungs and are giving her oxygen at the highest rate possible. Delivery is via a mask for now but a more efficient means is available if needed. Blood test results will indicate if other treatments, some described as “experimental” are suitable.
Mom is awake and she is able to converse with the staff.
She’s holding her own but the next 24 to 48 hours are critical.
I am not allowed to visit but a phone call may be arranged later.
Scrooge will still send the goose around to the Cratchits, but the boy who delivers it will be wearing a mask. I imagine the nephew has called off his party, so that Uncle Ebenezer will not perform his usual Dickensian frolic (the geezer’s dance of grace and redemption). Instead, he will make the best of a bad time, sitting alone in the cold house and waving at his relatives through the Zoom lens.
