Keeping Toledo Hospital in business

We awakened early this morning to get ready for church. I got Grandma ready with some difficulty, but not too too bad. She had been acting a little strangely, physically this weekend....seeming weaker than usual, losing her balance, etc... She complained of not being able to use the bathroom in the morning, but that happens for her at times. Even though she was having some difficulty, she seemed in good spirits, and was excited to go to church. I finished getting her ready, donned her coat and gloves, and handed her off to Jonathan to take out to the car, while I finished gathering up my things.

All of a sudden, I hear Jonathan say "Grandma, you have to stand up...I can't have you go down on me." My friend, Jeanine (who was staying the weekend with us), ran over and attempted to help Jonathan with Grandma. No matter how hard Grandma tried, she just couldn't seem to get her "legs underneath her." Instead, her legs were like jello.

I grabbed Grandma from Jeanine and Jonathan and held her up while Jonathan ran for the wheelchair. We put her in the wheelchair and wheeled her over to the van. She couldn't even step up to get in to the van. We placed her back in the wheelchair and brought her back in to the house.

She was certain that she needed to use the bathroom this time, so then I attempted to get her on the bedside commode without her even being able to stand well at all. It was quite the task and my back was screaming in pain from all of this. (a few cuss words were entering in to my mind). She still couldn't use the bathroom. I began to speculate that this might be another infection, because she did this same thing the last time (coincidentally when I had a friend staying with me that time too). So, I called her doctor's office to find out what her doctor would like me to do.

He finally called back around 10 am and instructed me to get her to the hospital. I knew I wasn't able to get her to the car. So, I ended up having to call for the paramedics to come. They came and checked her over...concluding it wasn't heart related, like they were fearing (I already knew that). Medcorp transported her to Toledo Hospital ER for me. They ran a battery of tests, put in a foley, started an IV and determined...she does indeed have a Urinary Tract Infection. She was admitted to the hospital for antibiotic treatment and to monitor anything else that might go haywire (she ended up pretty sick the last time).

I got her settled in her room and headed back home. Jeanine is a massage therapist, so she waited to head back to her home until I returned so she could work on some problem areas that had developed through the day from helping Grandma. That girl has magic hands! By the time she finished, the sore spots had dissipated and I was able to wrap myself around the fact that I now needed to head to work for a 12 hour shift.

I am so grateful for the "know how" that I have...that I can help Grandma when she is in need. So far, I have been able to instinctually know what kinds of things she needs and get her to the help needed for her. I love that little lady and I'm doing my best to keep her around for as long as I can :) Please keep her in your prayers!