My Mother is in the Hospital with UTI

[Guest guest]

My Mother is in the hospital. She was found on her bathroom floor

Monday night by a staff member at the ALF where she lives. She was

found lying on her side, very confused, and saying things that

didn't make sense. In the past when she has fallen, the staff has

helped her up, taken her blood pressure, and she has always

responded, or been hurt except for a few bruises. This time an

ambulance was called and she was taken to the ER. The EMTs thought

she was having a heart attack. She was not responding to their

questions. At the ER, blood was drawn, a chest X-ray taken, and a UA

taken via a catheter. The doctor determined that she did not have a

heart attack but has a UTI. She was admitted to the hospital and

before I left they started her on Cipro, an IV antibiotic. She was

sleeping very soundly when I left her last night, almost like she

was drugged. This morning when I walked into her room, she was

talking with her eyes closed but not making any sense. It was a lot

of gibberish. If I looked at her and asked her a question, she

opened her eyes and answered me halfway intelligible but as she

continued talking, her words became unintelligible. When visitors

came in she knew who they were and said thank you after they said

they would pray for her.

She missed the evening and morning dose of her Parkinson's med

Stalevo. Two months ago when the dose for this med was increased to

try to help her mobility, she became confused and hallucinated and

the same thing happened when it was decreased back two weeks later.

She also seemed agitated this morning and I was told by the nurse

that she had pulled out the IV and then she kept trying to take out

the oxygen tube that was in her nose. When she did take the Stalevo

at 11 a.m., she slept for 4 hours straight. When she woke up, she

seemed more " with it. " She then sat up in the chair to eat supper

which I fed to her. I noticed that she was using her left hand more

than her right even though she is right handed. When the nurse and

aide came in to put in the chair, the aide said that my Mother

wasn't moving her right foot. So I think she might have had a small

stroke on her right side. Apparently the UTI has to be cleared up

before they can determine if there was a stroke and prescribe a med.

I showed the list of drugs LBDers should not be given to her regular

doctor and he pooed-pooed the list saying that it's hard to treat

the Parkinson's without it affecting the dementia and vice versa.

My Mother has the appointment with the geriatrician next Wednesday,

April 16 and I'm hoping that she is well enough that I can take her

to get an official LBD dx. The Cipro is the only new med she has

been put on while in the hospital. I don't know what will be

prescribed if she did have a small stroke, if anything. I'm hoping

that the antibiotic she's on will clear up the UTI plus improve her

speech since, as I understand it, UTIs can cause havoc in the

elderly.

She may be in the hospital for a couple more days. She did not try

to walk today with her walker so I don't know if she will even be

able to if she did have a stroke.

It's up in the air on whether she will be able to return to the ALF

where she's living. I'm working with the director to see if more

care can be brought in to help her otherwise I may have to move her

to a nh, preferably with a memory care unit. Also, the discharge

nurse and a social worker from the hospital came and talked to me

today. I also asked them about the possibility of getting more care

at the ALF insteading of going to a nh.

I had one of the staff from the ALF come to the ER and be with me

last night. She came back this morning to visit my Mother plus two

other staff members came to visit. All the staff think highly of my

Mother. I've really bonded with most of the staff myself. I stopped

at the ALF to pick up a few of my Mother's things and they staff

could not believe that she was in the hospital. Yesterday was the

first day in a long time that my Mother was the best she has been in

a long time.

Since my Mother was taken off the Neupro patch almost two weeks ago

(because it had been recalled, thanks again for posting

that recall!), she was back to the way she was when she moved into

the ALF almost two years ago. So was standing more upright (she had

been stooped for the past 4-5 months with the " lewy " lean), she was

more alert, recalled things that people had told her, she knew how

to push the amplify button when she was on the phone. She still

needed help with her ADLs but mentally she was much improved. So

today to see her and listen to her talk and not make any sense is a

huge step backwards.

I'll be spending tomorrow again at the hospital. Two of my siblings

were home a little over a week ago and they didn't take the time to

sit down and talk to me about the future for Mother if something

like this happened. Now it has happened and I am left with making

the decisions. The priest from my Mother's church stopped twice

today. The first time Mother was sleeping so he told me not to feel

guilty about the choices I will have to make for Mother. Mother has

a do not resuscitate order and when the staff person asked me if the

EMTs were to follow it, it made me stop and think and then I said

yes because that is my Mother's wish. The priest says that decision

has already been made by my Mother, I don't have to make it. It was

scary because I didn't know what to expect when I got to the ER last

night.

Thank you for this chance to express myself. This will be a long

week. Love to all and may God continue to hold each one of us in the

palm of His hands and bring us peace and comfort knowing that we are

doing the best for our LOs.

Blessings!

Eileen in MN