Happy birthday to Catriona! Thanks for all the comments. Mum spent a week in hospital back in October after collapsing on the stairs at home, she was found to have dangerously low blood pressure, severe dehydration and a urine infection. She's had lots of subsequent tests and outpatient treatment for a blood clot in her leg, erratic heartbeat, the ongoing sickness and diarrhoea, including scans and an endoscopy to rule out stomach or bowel cancer. Nothing significant was found, other than the hiatus hernia and 'mild' gastroenteritis. Her GP is going to continue subtracting/adding back her meds on a weekly basis, to see whether that has any effect. Mum will also have weekly blood tests/stool and urine samples tested, and weekly consultations with the GP, for a month. The GP says if nothing comes to light in that time, then she'll be referred back to hospital for more investigations. Mum seems a bit happier now things are being done.
I rang her this afternoon just before 2 pm....during the course of conversation she said "oh yes, you're coming up tomorrow aren't you....can you please bring me up some of your lovely homemade soups?"!!! Erm yes mum, I'll get straight on and do it now! Aaarrrghhhh! A bit more notice would have been good!
Fortunately, I already had a couple of homemade soups in the freezer, along with tubs of turkey and bacon stocks and diced turkey and ham leftovers from the Christmas joints. There were also several homegrown butternut squashes and lots of veggies in the utility room, so plenty of 'makings'. So now I have chicken & veg, chunky tomato & courgette (both previously made and frozen), cream of vegetable, cream of turkey and leek, and spicy butternut & ham done for her, 2 portions of each, I'll take them up frozen in a coolbox. Shattered now, husband has helped out by preparing some of the stuff for his birthday dinner.
If I hadn't had so much on my mind the past few days, I'd have made the soups anyway - I often do take up some homecooked ready meals, soups or cakes for mum....it just didn't cross my mind this time though, my focus has purely been on the meeting with my sis and brother.
I'm glad she's clearly feeling like eating - she's said quite often recently she just hasn't felt hungry. Or thirsty, come to that.
Have just sat down with a cup of tea and one of my anti-anxiety pills, as I'm feeling all jittery and shaky with the adrenaline. Early night tonight I think, just hope I can sleep.
What a ciincidence! Reading all the symptoms your mother has struck a chord with me, so I called my husband to read them. His mother is going through more or less the same thing in Southampton. My MIL started with all this at the beginning of June and just like your mother no one seems/seemed to know why including consultants. Ours is a long story of her being admitted to different hospitals for different reasons with no explanation of what is wrong with her.
ReplyDeleteShe is now 92 (had a birthday during all of this), lives on her own and there is only her eldest grand-daughter nearby who works full-time so can't always be on hand to visit, although she did have a week off work at the beginning. My SIL lives in Ireland and we live in Devon, but as we live the closest my husband has made quite a few journeys to Southampton to meet consultants/health professionals etc to get some answers, but didn't get any satisfaction.
Cutting a much longer story shorter she is now in a care home and there are still issues going on with her eg her temperature was very high a couple of days ago and no-one knows why.
I hope you can get some satisfaction when you see your mother and the professionals.
Homemade soups ...good for her and good for you . Should help with her hydration as well. You are a good duck , you are. Special to be wanted by her, your wonderful cooking comes to the rescue. You have a gift. :) Hugs to all.
ReplyDeleteMy mum always eats what I cook for her although when I'm not there she can almost live on toast and butter. I bet your home made soups are wonderful and packed with goodness - small wonder she enjoys them.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you for today and hoping that the meeting is helpful, productive and reassuring.
xxx
It sounds like they are doing all they can at the moment to help your mum (as are you - making all that soup at short notice too). Sometimes the medical profession are just baffled by some of the symptoms when the tests come back clear - I am sure one day there will be easier ways to get a diagnosis but at the moment it is a bit of trial and error. There seems to be a lot of people who suffer with various symptoms that are never diagnosed - my own mum has a few strange things too. I can't help feeling that some of the cocktails of medication are maybe a root cause. Pharmacogenetics which looks at a persons response to a medication and whether it will be beneficial, do nothing or indeed be actually harmful is still an expensive test and not available on the NHS but will be a good thing when it is finally used as an aid to prescribe and makes such good sense to me. Have a good visit with your mum - she will enjoy the soup and it will do her the world of good.
ReplyDeleteJust caught up with your last few posts, enjoy your visit to see your mum. xx
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