Just Another Friday the 13th

Friday morning of February the 13^th began optimistically, the sun was shining and I felt refreshed. I was going to see the doctor late morning and planned a relaxing rest of the day, maybe work on some of my projects.

I arrived at the clinic a couple of minutes before 11:00 a.m., checked in and was told there were four others ahead of me. I figured I’d be done and out by 12:30 p.m. So I sat and waited to be called. An hour after arriving I was finally called in by the nurse who took the customary vitals and she then escorted me to the exam room to wait to be seen by the doctor. So while I sat waiting, I could hear various conversations going on between the doctor and staff and patients (the nurse had left the door open). From the conversations I could easily deduce that the doctor was not having a good day and everyone else was getting restless.

Meanwhile, I checked by phone for messages since I’d complied earlier with the request to shut off cell phones. That’s when I noticed I had a missed call and voice mail message from Pine Ridge, my Dad’s nursing home. The voice mail said that the nursing home had an update about my Dad. An update? So I texted Shelley to call Pine Ridge to find out what was going on. That text was sent at 12:58 p.m. and by 1:14 p.m. I hadn’t heard anything from Shelley, so I sent another text: “What’s going on with Dad?” Shelley texted back, “Can you call me?” That is not a good sign, is it?

I call Shelley and find out Dad has fallen out of his wheelchair and hit his face on the floor. The person at the nursing home said he was okay but was being transported by ambulance to the ER at Marin General Hospital. Need I say it again, not another good sign? Mind you, I’m still waiting to see my doctor. When the doctor finally gets around to me, I am a little stressed. The doctor is with me for all of 5 minutes and tells me to wait for the nurse to finish things up and for a couple of prescriptions.

Finally at about 2:15 p.m., the nurse comes with my prescriptions. As she is reviewing them with me she says, “Oh dear, the doctor wrote the wrong name on this prescription, she’ll have to rewrite it. Have a seat and wait.” I’m about ready to explode but what can I do? So the doctor rewrites, the nurse brings to me and I’m out of there by 2:30 p.m. Oh well, at least I won’t get stuck in traffic!

When I arrive home I receive a call from the ER doctor. He tells me Dad has a severe head injury and wants to run more tests to check for possible spinal injury, a concussion, and anything else that might show up. Dad’s dementia makes it very difficult for a doctor to assess what is going on when Dad doesn’t even know what is going on. The doctor needs my okay since I have POA and Dad has a DNR. I give the okay and say we’ll get to the hospital as soon as possible. It is now 3:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, Shelley tells me we need to go pick up another prescription (for her) back at the clinic. So I call Joyce, my sister, at work and asked her if she can get off early. Since I have to return to the clinic we agree to pick her up from work at 4:00 p.m.  That should give me enough time to go back to the clinic, return to get her, drop off the prescription at the pharmacy and then drive the 40 miles to the hospital.

Shelley and I pick the prescription and head to Joyce’s work and, of course, we are now stuck in traffic. We finally arrive at Joyce’s work just after 4:00 p.m. and we head to the pharmacy. I go in to drop off the prescriptions, encounter some minor problems then I return to the car to begin the drive to Marin General.

Well wouldn’t you know it, the car won’t start!! I made several attempts to start it but nothing. Frustration and blood pressure building. While sitting in the car trying to figure out what to do next, Joyce goes into Target to buy some water for Shelley. I decide to try starting the car again, it has been about 10 minutes since my last try, and, yes, the car starts up. By now Shelley is exhausted, after all she is still recovering from major surgery, and we decide to take her home. So now Joyce and I head out to the hospital at 5:30 p.m.

While on the drive to the hospital, I receive another call from the ER doctor (I recognize his number) but we are in a dead zone and get cut off, those damn hills! A couple minutes later I call back but I’m put on hold with the most annoying music playing…I think they do it on purpose to make you hang up. So I hang up just as we are arriving at the hospital. It is now 6:30 p.m.

Joyce and I enter the ER, which is very busy, and everyone is wearing a yellow surgical mask. We are handed our masks and told to wait. While waiting, the doctor calls again and I tell him we are in the waiting room and he says, “Great, I’ll come and get you and bring you in to see your Dad.”

Doctor Martin greets us at the entrance to the ER and gives us an update and takes us to see Dad. Dr. Martin said none of the tests showed any complications and that he was going to release him back to the nursing home where Dad would be in familiar surroundings. The ER staff just needed to clean him up, remove the IV, take off the EKG attachments, and he would be ready to go.

Dad's head injury at Marin General ER.

Paramedic David meets patient David.

By now Dad is more alert and cooperative. The nurse who got him ready said to Dad, “Take care of yourself.” And Dad responds, “It’s a little late for that now, don’t you think.”

The paramedics have now arrived to transport Dad to the nursing home. The paramedics are very nice and considerate. However, Dad is starting to get agitated and feisty.  As the paramedics begin shifting him from the hospital bed to the gurney, he looks at the driver with an angry face and says, “Leave me alone, pendejo!” The driver smiles, ignores the comment and does his job.

Back at Pine Ridge Care Center.

Joyce giving Dad some water.

The ambulance, Joyce and I leave the hospital at about the same time. It is now 7:00 p.m. and we are stuck in traffic. Joyce and I arrive first at the nursing home and the ambulance arrives a couple of minutes later.

We settle him in his room, the paramedics leave, and Joyce and I try to feed him a snack. Dad still has a bandage from where the IV was removed and in between bites on his sandwich he tries to eat the bandage.  I try to stop him. He gives me a dirty look and says, “Leave me alone pendejo!” 

We leave the nursing home about 8:00 p.m. and drive home with a stop at Chipotle for dinner. At the end of the day it was just another Friday the 13^th.