Alice Stevens's Page

The holidays are over.

I'm glad. We have had a very difficult Christmas, mainly because there has been quite a bit of illness in my family this year.

My aunt who has congestive heart failure suffered a serious fall the first week of November and has been going downhill ever since.

She asked my Dad if she could borrow his blood pressure machine and he decided to check his blood pressure before giving it to her.

His blood pressure has never been high. It has always been a little low, so he hasn't checked it since his last doctor's appointment.

Alarmingly, we discovered it was very high. It was a shock.

So the morning before Christmas Eve we went to the emergency room.

After a two hour wait, we finally got in to see a doctor and he prescribed blood pressure medicine and ordered a cat scan because my dad had also complained of headaches.

Dad decided he didn't want to have the cat scan then so we went home and scheduled it for after Christmas.

All during Christmas weekend, his blood pressure stayed high.
"The medicine isn't helping," he kept saying.

We decided to show up at our regular doctor's office without an appointment the next Monday.
There were only two patients waiting but the doctor was not in.
We could see the nurse, we were told.

Dad got in to see him, and he prescribed another medication to add to the first one.
I know now that a red flag should have gone up.

We went back home and started taking it.

Meanwhile they ordered the cat scan which turned out okay, so I thought everything was fine.

Dad kept getting worse as the week went on. We made through New Year's but by 8 PM Friday night we knew we had to do something.

That meant another trip to the emergency room.

That wait was 2 and 1/2 hours. Dad kept telling me he was sick. I knew he was having difficulty walking and he couldn't seem to hear much of what I was saying.

This time the doctor said he was on too much medication. That meant Dad should not have been taking the second drug.

We waited until 1:30 AM for all the lab tests to come back.

"You have low sodium," this doctor said. "We'll have to admit you and start a saline drip tonight, but you'll start feeling much better by tomorrow."

We were stunned. I'd have to leave him there all by himself. The thought made me sick.

"It's okay," he said, "go ahead and leave and get home. I'll be fine."

I didn't want to leave him, but I think he was relieved to finally know what the problem was.

I walked out of the emergency room patient area at 1:45 AM with a warning from the nurse.

"Where did you park your car?"

"Right in front," I said.

"Be careful"

Now I was scared.

As I was walking out two young men who were dressed like gang members came blustering in shouting something about the police.

Funny, but this is one of the nicest hospitals in town with a good reputation, but strange things still go on, I guess.

I made myself inconspicuous and stood over to one side until they disappeared somewhere in the main waiting room. Then I slipped out very quietly.

I got home fine without mishap, but I had a full day planned for that Saturday to do some work at one or our rentals.

How would I manage to spend the day with Dad in the hospital?

Fortunately, my brother took over and spent the day with him.

My brother was scheduled for double knee replacements on Tuesday, but he said it was okay. He had dropped everything he had planned so I could go to work..

That was a nice gesture but I had a feeling things were going to get worse.

They got Dad straightened out with the new drug, but his blood pressure is still way too high.

We go back to the doctor on Monday, but again we don't have an appointment with the doctor. The appointment is with the nurse. I'm going to insist on seeing the doctor this time.

I think you have to be proactive with your parents' care. It's not easy.

Plus, our real estate is a family business.

I've got to attend the Homeowner's Association meeting Monday night to vote for the new president. That's none other than my brother who always wins because we have enough votes to put him over the top.

But I will have to miss Inner City in order to go and vote by proxy. I rarely miss Inner City and it is one of the highlights of my week. Also, I hate to let them down. I was supposed to teach a class.

Then to top it off, my brother's surgery did not go as planned. They only replaced one knee and now he has a blood clot in one of his legs. This is bad news and means he will not be able to go to China in May.

I’ll keep you posted on how everything goes Monday.