When it rains...
Friday - 7/12/2019
Bad news on the home front
As some of you know already, with everything else on my plate I have also been dealing with my siblings and mom in Ft. Myers, FL. My mom has been in the hospital for the last several weeks and as of this morning I received an update from my brother and sister that she has taken another turn for the worse.
Both siblings are telling me that if I want to say goodbye, I better plan to travel down ASAP, my mom is not expected to make it through the weekend. This the second time she has been in a near-death situation in the last several weeks. Her health has been up and down since being admitted to the hospital, however there is now a "change" in how the doctors will be handling her. My brother who has power of attorney over my moms health and financial maters has decided, in addition to no resuscitation, he has instructed the doctors to withhold any attempt to continue any new life-support procedures including feeding tubes and breathing machines. This was one of my mom's final decision before being admitted to the hospital according to my sister and brother. My mom stated that if her health starts to deteriorate and her body starts to shut down, to refrain from administering any procedure that will prolong the inevitable. I am at a disadvantage living the farthest from Ft. Myers, FL , but in reality even if I lived closer there is not much I can do, I have no authority to question my mom's care, my mom signed that right away to my brother years ago.
As much as I want to say goodbye in person...., I can't.
With two active blood clots, aka DVT's. flying to Ft. Myers is out of the question according to my PCP. I am told that flying with an active blood that is currently under treatment is dangerous at my age and weight since there is an increased risk of developing a new DVT or creating a scenario where the current blood clot grows or worse, breaks free and travels to my lungs, that nasty word comes up again.... “embolize”.
Some medical professionals, especially my PCP recommend waiting four to six weeks after treatment is completed and the DVT threat is minimal before traveling via plane. Driving 45 minutes to work is one thing, driving for over 4 hours unfortunately increases the risk factor just like flying. FT. Myers, FL is on average a 10-hour drive from where I live in Daphne, AL so that mode of transportation is also out of the question. Seems the current travel limitations will be around for a while I am told, a DVT can take weeks or months to totally dissolve, even a minor blood clot, especially in the calf area can take weeks to dissolve under prescribed medication, this is assuming that BOTH my clots dissolve at the same time.
This is a very stressful time for me and a slight uptick in my blood pressure validates this. Morning reading as of 9:00am CST was 137 / 82 I need to make sure this stays in check.
Bad news on the home front
As some of you know already, with everything else on my plate I have also been dealing with my siblings and mom in Ft. Myers, FL. My mom has been in the hospital for the last several weeks and as of this morning I received an update from my brother and sister that she has taken another turn for the worse.
Both siblings are telling me that if I want to say goodbye, I better plan to travel down ASAP, my mom is not expected to make it through the weekend. This the second time she has been in a near-death situation in the last several weeks. Her health has been up and down since being admitted to the hospital, however there is now a "change" in how the doctors will be handling her. My brother who has power of attorney over my moms health and financial maters has decided, in addition to no resuscitation, he has instructed the doctors to withhold any attempt to continue any new life-support procedures including feeding tubes and breathing machines. This was one of my mom's final decision before being admitted to the hospital according to my sister and brother. My mom stated that if her health starts to deteriorate and her body starts to shut down, to refrain from administering any procedure that will prolong the inevitable. I am at a disadvantage living the farthest from Ft. Myers, FL , but in reality even if I lived closer there is not much I can do, I have no authority to question my mom's care, my mom signed that right away to my brother years ago.
As much as I want to say goodbye in person...., I can't.
With two active blood clots, aka DVT's. flying to Ft. Myers is out of the question according to my PCP. I am told that flying with an active blood that is currently under treatment is dangerous at my age and weight since there is an increased risk of developing a new DVT or creating a scenario where the current blood clot grows or worse, breaks free and travels to my lungs, that nasty word comes up again.... “embolize”.
Some medical professionals, especially my PCP recommend waiting four to six weeks after treatment is completed and the DVT threat is minimal before traveling via plane. Driving 45 minutes to work is one thing, driving for over 4 hours unfortunately increases the risk factor just like flying. FT. Myers, FL is on average a 10-hour drive from where I live in Daphne, AL so that mode of transportation is also out of the question. Seems the current travel limitations will be around for a while I am told, a DVT can take weeks or months to totally dissolve, even a minor blood clot, especially in the calf area can take weeks to dissolve under prescribed medication, this is assuming that BOTH my clots dissolve at the same time.
This is a very stressful time for me and a slight uptick in my blood pressure validates this. Morning reading as of 9:00am CST was 137 / 82 I need to make sure this stays in check.
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