The Begining

To tell this story right, I need to go back to the begining. Right before Mom and I went on our cruise to Alaska (7/3 - 7/15), she had developed Pnuemonia. Her doctor gave her antibiotics and increased her steriod dosage, but Mom refused to be hospitalized. "I am getting on that boat if it has to be on a stretcher!" The medicine seemed to work and we had a lovely time on the cruise. However, the day after our return, she told me she needed to go to the hospital and it turns out the pnuemonia returned.

She spent the next week in Dr P Phillips Hospital, where she works, where they treated her with more anitbiotics and higher steriod doses. They told her to expect to be out of work about 6 weeks as she recovered.

During her recovery, and just a few days after the kids went back home to VA, Mom had an attack of Diverticulitis. This had also happened following her last hospitalization when they were tapering down her steriod doses, so she figured it was just a side effect of that. And, being Mom, instead of going straight to the doctor, she decided she could tough it out (and she didnt want to go back into the hospital). So after 10 days or so, we finally called the doctor to get medicine. After the 10 day dose, she didnt feel better...but she waited another week or so before admitting she needed help and let me take her to the hospital. So, that was how she spent August.. in pain and in denial.

On September 6, we went back to Dr Phillips and she was admitted. At that time, the CAT scan showed inflammation, but no abcess. They put her on the same meds she had taken at home, and better pain medicine. They tried (twice) to do a Colonoscopy, but her Sygmoid Colon was so inflammed the scope could not pass. When the inflammation did not subside after about a week, they called in Infectious Disease doctors to try new meds; still no reduction. They did another CAT scan, and this time they believed there was an abcess. So then they called in a general surgeon to consult. The surgeon did not feel it was the right time for surgery. They were going to send her to have the abcess drained, but the staff involved in that said it was in a bad spot. Another week passed, and they decided to send her home so that she could build up her stength and have the surgery to remove the Sygmoid in a few months.

So on September 25, I took her home. They had a visiting nurse (Rose - very nice) show me how to give her the next 3 days of at home IV medicines. She was not eatting enough. She was not drinking enough. She was very depressed. At this point now, she had been in pain for about 7 weeks.

So at her 1 week post discharge follow up (with the Infection Disease doctor - Dr Giron), he noted that not only wasn't she getting better, but she was doing worse. He advised that she see a Colo-Rectal surgeon instead of the general surgeon. Mom didn't want to hurt the general surgeon's feelings. So Dr Giron said, "Who's number 1? YOU ARE. Who's number 2? YOU ARE. Who's number 3? YOU ARE. Don't worry about hurting a doctor's feelings. You need to do what is right for you." He got her in to see Dr Gallagher the next afternoon. He walked into the room, took one look, and said he should be in the hospital. He had her admitted to Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) right away.

(going in to see Mom now... post more later)