After arriving home from the 2016 tour, I was focused on getting back up to speed at home and work. Two or three weeks later, Rita and I did the Tour of the Sacramento River Delta with the Valley Spokesmen club. It is a lovely weekend ride they do yearly. However, while I was gone on the trip, my mom went into the hospital. I found out when I got home.
She went into Richmond Kaiser and then was transferred over to Oakland. She was released after about five days. After much testing and treatment, they determined that she now has atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure (in addition to the rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, and late onset asthma). She came home with new medications, 24/7 oxygen, and feeling weak and stressed. In addition, she also must maintain a low sodium diet, monitor her weight and heart rate daily as well as other treatments and monitoring that go on at Kaiser.
About a week went by and despite visits by visiting nurses, a traveling physical therapist, and others, she had to return to the ER (again while I was out all day on a Sunday). Her heart rate was way too high and she couldn't breath well. She was admitted to the hospital for a few more days. Medications were changed and more tests and treatments were administered. When discharged this time, she did not have to use the oxygen, which was a big step forward. Being on oxygen 24/7 is difficult and requires being hooked up to a giant machine which you are connected to via what seems like miles of tubing so that you can move throughout your house. Preparing food is also difficult, because the gas stove couldn't be used when she was in the kitchen or nearby.
Five more days passed, but my mom had to return to the ER again. Fortunately, after testing (and several hours) she was able to return home with antibiotics. Home visits continued by nurses, home health aides, a PT, and others for a while until the treating team decided that she was stable and/or could receive services at Kaiser rather than home. Gradually she improved, but the rest of the fall and winter were hard. She became sick several times and was laid pretty low. Since mid- to late-spring things have been looking up, but there is a lot more medical intervention in her life than before.
In addition, the arthritis flared up and her medication had to be increased, however, she's at the maximum dosage with that medication and although the increase helped for a short while, it is no longer working very well. She will need to work with her rheumatologist to change the medication, but she has serious concerns about the side effects of the available medications for an elderly person. Stay tuned to find out what happens next.
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