Going Out on Friday Night

Well, I ended up calling 911 and having Mary taken to the ER. I had a feeling it would come to that, what with a UTI, a bad cold and chest pain. I fed her a poached egg and toast with a cup of tea for dinner. I had taken her temp before then--100. I noticed after dinner that she was sweating profusely and her temp was the same. I called Mom and she and Dad both said that sweating meant that her fever was breaking, but I had a bad feeling. As soon as I hung up, Mary said her chest was hurting again. I gave her some Mylanta, but I didn't think it was heartburn. I mean, we'd only just finished eating. I think I asked if she wanted some coke to try to belch, but I think she said no. She was sweating more and more and getting really restless, so I called Mom again, who wasn't much help, but I shouldn't expect her to be. I mean, she's not there, so how can she judge? I decided to call 911.

The people in the ER were so nice. It took forever, of course, but I felt patient--probably from experience. Mary wasn't in pain anymore (They'd given her nitrate (?) in the ambulance.), so I was satisfied. I had been a nervous wreck, but I'd had the forethought to bring an extra coat, Mary's knitted cap, my cross stitch work, a book to read and a bar of chocolate, which I ended up giving to the nurse (and which I regretted as our visit extended into the wee hours). I need to fix up a folder with her current medications (and a chart of when she gets what) and her living will, oh, and also the papers from this ambulance company, which they told me to give to the EMTs the next time she needs an ambulance, as it would help them with their paperwork.

The doctor in the ER said that Mary's white bloodcell count was up, so there was an infection of some sort. I told him it was probably a UTI, since I'd noticed that her urine was cloudy the last few days. That turned out to be true. He also said that one of Mary's heart enzymes was up a bit, but since she has an appointment with a cardiologist coming up in the next week or two, they decided (after talking to Dr R), to send her home. Yeah!

So now I need to get to bed! Definitely not the way I want to spend my Friday night, but I can't tell you how relieved I am that I didn't have to take her in to Dr R to get her tested for the UTI!