Another update on mum
Jan. 5th, 2015 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reggie11Hi all
I'm so sorry haven't had an opportunity to get online in the past few days. Mum has been released from the hospital. They allowed her to come home as I could be with her 24/7 and they thought she would be more comfortable. She has some of the most horrendous bruising I've ever seen, so bad that it made me cry. Both of her breasts are completely black, blue and and deep red from the extensive bleeding. One breast has swollen to almost twice the size of the other. She's a very busty woman so the damage looks horrific. The bruising continues around her rib cage on one side and all the way down her sternum and under both breasts. Her sternum is cracked right down the middle but the bone is not displaced which is a blessing. Thank goodness for really good nurses. The nurse who came on duty on the evening shift took one look at the severe swelling and called in half the doctors in the hospital. Nobody had taken into account that she is on blood thinners. Because of that nurse, mum got some reasonable pain relief. They are worried about the high possibility of pneumonia as mum is in so much pain she is shallow breathing and her oxygen sats were very low. When I took her back to the hospital today for a follow up they actually quadrupled the dosage as the specialist felt it was insufficient and mum was suffering much more than necessary.
They've told us it'll take around eight weeks to heal so I'm going to have to relocate here for a while to not only take care of her but to take over all of the crap associated with the government forcing mum out and bulldozing her home due to the current asbestos crisis. What a mess. As if the stress of losing her home of 38 years and being paid less than it is worth wasn't enough, this had to happen.
Her car is a write off and I don't have one because I live in the inner city in Sydney where having a car is more of a nuisance. The city mum resides in is impossible to live in without a car. The bus service is sporadic at best and even though it's our capital city, it's more like a massive country town so without a car you just can't get around. I was close to breaking point yesterday. Just to fly here and the cabs I had to catch for the first couple of days has cost me around $500 which means I have to ask my landlord for an extension on my rent. I had to walk 3/4 of a mile in 39 degree heat (102 degrees fahrenheit) just to pick up her prescriptions and with my health I knew I couldn't keep doing that - it damned near killed me - and neither of us could afford the cab fares to ferry mum back and forth. It was going to cost another $500 to rent a car for two weeks and neither of us had the money. I was close to just sitting in the middle of the floor and bawling. Then the wonderful people who live next door came to the rescue yesterday afternoon. They'd just returned from their Christmas holidays and were devastated that mum was hurt. They talked to their eighteen year old son who is away on vacation and he offered us his car for two weeks until he returns. He's such a sweet boy. Mum and I are both on disability and although we both have our homes, neither of us have any cash to spare so borrowing his car has saved our bacon. So now I just need to find a cheap car to replace mum's little old bomb. Her car was insured (thank God), though only for a small amount because it was really old. At least it will give us some money toward getting another car for her, and if we're lucky we might find something relatively decent without having to come up with too much more than the insurance. She just needs to be able to get from A to B so all she needs is for it to be reliable. I've found a couple of possibilities online that I'm going to go take a look at in a few days when I feel it's okay to leave mum alone for a couple of hours.
Tomorrow morning is the interview with the police and of course the other driver has lied through her teeth. Because mum is elderly, they think she's a doddery old lady and immediately assumed the fault was hers and that is their official determination (I'm intending on lodging a dispute). As the young girl who smashed into mum left no skid marks whatsover on the road, she obviously never even used the brakes. I'm betting there was a cell phone involved and I'm going to request that the police check to see if there were any text messages sent or received around that time. Even the tow truck driver said the damage indicated she was hit at a higher speed than the speed limit. I'm pretty pissed that the cops haven't investigated. When I spoke to them today they didn't even know mum was injured, even though she was taken by ambulance from the scene and her car was spun 180 degrees into a pole and totalled. It doesn't give me confidence in the police at all. I gave them a bollocking after the young constable said she briefly spoke to mum in the ER and she had seemed shaken but alright. She hadn't been x-rayed yet, she was in shock and in an enormous amount of pain. I don't know how they came to the conclusion she wasn't injured when she hadn't been treated yet, only triaged. I guess consciousness equates to perfectly okay in their eyes and wet behind the ears cops are now diagnosticians. Incompetent idiots.
It's all very stressful and it's killing me to see mum in so much pain, but it could have been so much worse, so for that I'm really thankful. Thank you all for the messages of support, we both really appreciate it. Your concern has bouyed us both so much. Love you all xx
I'm so sorry haven't had an opportunity to get online in the past few days. Mum has been released from the hospital. They allowed her to come home as I could be with her 24/7 and they thought she would be more comfortable. She has some of the most horrendous bruising I've ever seen, so bad that it made me cry. Both of her breasts are completely black, blue and and deep red from the extensive bleeding. One breast has swollen to almost twice the size of the other. She's a very busty woman so the damage looks horrific. The bruising continues around her rib cage on one side and all the way down her sternum and under both breasts. Her sternum is cracked right down the middle but the bone is not displaced which is a blessing. Thank goodness for really good nurses. The nurse who came on duty on the evening shift took one look at the severe swelling and called in half the doctors in the hospital. Nobody had taken into account that she is on blood thinners. Because of that nurse, mum got some reasonable pain relief. They are worried about the high possibility of pneumonia as mum is in so much pain she is shallow breathing and her oxygen sats were very low. When I took her back to the hospital today for a follow up they actually quadrupled the dosage as the specialist felt it was insufficient and mum was suffering much more than necessary.
They've told us it'll take around eight weeks to heal so I'm going to have to relocate here for a while to not only take care of her but to take over all of the crap associated with the government forcing mum out and bulldozing her home due to the current asbestos crisis. What a mess. As if the stress of losing her home of 38 years and being paid less than it is worth wasn't enough, this had to happen.
Her car is a write off and I don't have one because I live in the inner city in Sydney where having a car is more of a nuisance. The city mum resides in is impossible to live in without a car. The bus service is sporadic at best and even though it's our capital city, it's more like a massive country town so without a car you just can't get around. I was close to breaking point yesterday. Just to fly here and the cabs I had to catch for the first couple of days has cost me around $500 which means I have to ask my landlord for an extension on my rent. I had to walk 3/4 of a mile in 39 degree heat (102 degrees fahrenheit) just to pick up her prescriptions and with my health I knew I couldn't keep doing that - it damned near killed me - and neither of us could afford the cab fares to ferry mum back and forth. It was going to cost another $500 to rent a car for two weeks and neither of us had the money. I was close to just sitting in the middle of the floor and bawling. Then the wonderful people who live next door came to the rescue yesterday afternoon. They'd just returned from their Christmas holidays and were devastated that mum was hurt. They talked to their eighteen year old son who is away on vacation and he offered us his car for two weeks until he returns. He's such a sweet boy. Mum and I are both on disability and although we both have our homes, neither of us have any cash to spare so borrowing his car has saved our bacon. So now I just need to find a cheap car to replace mum's little old bomb. Her car was insured (thank God), though only for a small amount because it was really old. At least it will give us some money toward getting another car for her, and if we're lucky we might find something relatively decent without having to come up with too much more than the insurance. She just needs to be able to get from A to B so all she needs is for it to be reliable. I've found a couple of possibilities online that I'm going to go take a look at in a few days when I feel it's okay to leave mum alone for a couple of hours.
Tomorrow morning is the interview with the police and of course the other driver has lied through her teeth. Because mum is elderly, they think she's a doddery old lady and immediately assumed the fault was hers and that is their official determination (I'm intending on lodging a dispute). As the young girl who smashed into mum left no skid marks whatsover on the road, she obviously never even used the brakes. I'm betting there was a cell phone involved and I'm going to request that the police check to see if there were any text messages sent or received around that time. Even the tow truck driver said the damage indicated she was hit at a higher speed than the speed limit. I'm pretty pissed that the cops haven't investigated. When I spoke to them today they didn't even know mum was injured, even though she was taken by ambulance from the scene and her car was spun 180 degrees into a pole and totalled. It doesn't give me confidence in the police at all. I gave them a bollocking after the young constable said she briefly spoke to mum in the ER and she had seemed shaken but alright. She hadn't been x-rayed yet, she was in shock and in an enormous amount of pain. I don't know how they came to the conclusion she wasn't injured when she hadn't been treated yet, only triaged. I guess consciousness equates to perfectly okay in their eyes and wet behind the ears cops are now diagnosticians. Incompetent idiots.
It's all very stressful and it's killing me to see mum in so much pain, but it could have been so much worse, so for that I'm really thankful. Thank you all for the messages of support, we both really appreciate it. Your concern has bouyed us both so much. Love you all xx
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no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 12:39 pm (UTC)Sending you epic Sam and Dean style hugs...your mum sounds too bruised to hug, but I'm wishing her a speedy recovery and my thoughts are with you both.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 01:53 pm (UTC)Those cops, on the other hand, need lessons in how to deal with accident victims. And a caning.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 02:56 pm (UTC)((((hugs))))
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 04:05 pm (UTC)Those cops are fucking idiots, shouldn't the traffic camera record everything?
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 04:29 pm (UTC)Yay for competent nurses and friendly neighbors! Booh for incompetent police!
Now that the worst is over, the rest of the year will be AWESOME!!! :)
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 05:08 pm (UTC)I'm wishing her a speedy recovery and hope that everything else works it's way out ♥
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 06:14 pm (UTC)Know that you're both being thought of and wished the very best, in pain relief, recovery, and ease of managing. All best thoughts, hon. If there's anything at all we can do, please tell us. You have fellow fans at your disposal if you need us.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 06:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 07:22 pm (UTC)For this to happen to your mum at her age and on top of all the stress about her house is so unfair and distressing for you both. I'm so pleased the neighbors have helped out and that she received some good nursing care (eventually!) but the police sound useless.
Sending you lots of positive vibes - you know we're all here any time you need a good old moan. **hugs**
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 07:40 pm (UTC)Fingers crossed that everything starts to turn around now and my thoughts are with you and your mum.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-05 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-06 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-06 11:50 am (UTC)Those cops were fecking useless, sorry but they were!
you're both in my thought hun ♥
no subject
Date: 2015-01-07 11:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-25 01:07 am (UTC)*hugs*
xx
no subject
Date: 2015-01-25 08:19 pm (UTC)So, I decided that I wanted to be a creeper today and go through your journal to see if you've posted anything new since I haven't seen anything in the community and came across this.
That's insane. People just don't seem to care anymore. It's sad watching this world being flushed down the toilet by heartless, inconsiderate, people.
Anyway, I'm so happy to hear that your mom is home. I hope that she's feeling better. I know you guys don't know me very well, at all actually, but you'll be in my thoughts and prayers.
And make sure you take care of yourself as well. I know your mom needs you, but YOU need you too. Did that make sense? lol. I hope so. It kinda sounded better in my head.
Take care. -Adam