email update: geting into the hospital... another story

an email sent late that night, from the hospital:

I hurriedly sent out an email earlier that went to a somewhat haphazard assortment of people, so I'll repeat myself a little for those who were accidentally omitted.

This morning we called [Loopy]'s primary care person because the pain was really bad, and since this is the third such call this week, she advised us that we really should just go to the ER and try to get her admitted to the hospital for proper pain control. We called the neurosurgeon's office and the nurse there said the same thing, so we packed and came in.

As we were packing I noticed that [Loopy] has gotten more wobbly and unsteady, and I think both of us have had a growing fear that she would fall again and really hurt herself (heaven forbid she should fall down the stairs!) or fall and not be able to get back up, and even tho she's lost more than 100 pounds in the last year, I still can't lift her! Seeing her wobbling, I became more determined to get her admitted.

The ER was a bit of an ordeal as it always is, but we persevered and insisted that she was not safe or comfortable at home. At our lowest moment I called a friend who quickly brought a wonderful dinner and absorbing gossip (thank you thank you!), and who I felt could help back us up if it really came to a fight to get her in. Fortunately, shortly after she was finally admitted to the hospital.

Now she is safely in a very nice room, private even, with wonderful nurses and a morphine pump. The pain is not bad but not totally controlled either, but they're working on it, and she doesn't have to go up and down stairs, and we both feel a lot safer and relieved of a lot of worry.

Also, in the ER we were able to talk to a resident who works with the neurosurgeon who will do [Loopy]’s surgery, and he said the surgeon said they will try to get the surgery scheduled for this week so she can just stay here until the surgery. That would be ideal.

For local folks or anyone sending anything, she's in [room number] at [hospital] - you enter in the clinics entrance from the parking garage, find the D elevator, go up to the fifth floor, and she's just a few steps from the elevator. She has a phone in her room but our cell phones work fine so just use those—[number] for me and [number] for her.

Thanks so much for all your good wishes earlier. I felt a bit desperate and panicked but now I feel much better and I think [Loopy] does too.

Will keep you posted. THere are just a few of you on this list that didn't ask to be kept posted, that I think might not have seen the message yet, but I'll drop you off the detailed updates if I don't hear otherwise, so don't worry that you'll be inundated.

Also I have gotten behind on thanking each person individually for their messages but please rest assured that your words are SO appreciated.

Love to all
[me]