Some of you may
remember my previous “Prom Queen adventure” when we spent two hours at the DMV
to replace a lost car title. The actual transaction took about five
minutes. The waiting took another hour and fifty-five.
Well… yesterday we
had another one.
I had my own
dermatologist appointment first. By the time I got back to the apartment around
mid-afternoon, I saw Prom Queen standing outside with blood running down her
arm and elbow. She had fallen again.
Prom Queen is 90
now, tiny as can be, and her skin is like tissue paper. This was probably the
fourth fall this year where she ended up with a large skin tear.
When I saw the large hole and lots of blood, I didn't hesitate and told her come on, we're going to the hospital. She's at that age where she has to ask a dozen people what to do. It was obvious. Hospital. Now. Then everything became a big production.
She called a nurse
who told her to come to the doctor’s office for stitches. We drove over there,
checked in, and waited while Prom Queen continued bleeding through towels and
tissues. Finally, the nurse came back and said there had been a
misunderstanding.
The doctor didn’t do
stitches.
We needed to go to
the hospital.
At that point, all
you can do is laugh internally and keep moving.
Luckily, the
doctor’s office and hospital are close to our apartments, though we still
wandered around trying to find the correct emergency room entrance. Eventually,
we got checked in and settled into what looked like one of the busiest ER
waiting rooms in Houston.
They finally took Prom
Queen to the back while I stayed in the waiting room. Since I knew it might be a
while, I figured out how to watch Netflix on my phone, which honestly may have
saved my sanity.
Hours passed.
At one point, a
concierge nurse kindly let me go to the back just long enough to reassure Prom
Queen that I was still there waiting for her. Later, another nurse quietly bent
the rules and let me stay with her because, I think, Prom Queen is such a sweet
and respectful little lady to everyone she meets.
And I think nurses
notice that kind of thing.
Finally, a young
doctor came in to stitch her arm. I worried the whole time because older skin
tears so easily. I kept thinking every stitch might pull through and create
another tear. But he was patient and careful and somehow managed to pull
everything back together without making it worse.
By the time we
finally got home, it was around 8:30 that night.
Five hours had gone by
in what felt like the blink of an eye (Ha, just kidding. It felt like FOREVER).
One thing I’m slowly
learning in this season of life is that older people spend an amazing amount of
time simply managing life itself: doctor visits, paperwork, pharmacies, waiting
rooms, falls, insurance, medications, phone calls, and helping each other
through it all. It is almost its own part-time job.
But there is also something strangely touching and funny about it, too. Two old women driving from place to place with blood dripping, trying to find the right hospital emergency entrance, sitting in the emergency room, people watching, sharing snacks and stories.
I have never watched TV on my phone before, but I highly recommend you learn how before you have a hospital wait. Even if you are too nervous to watch it, it is a good distraction - unless you want to watch Lion King on the big TV.
Not exactly what you planned for your retirement, but real life rarely is.
And this morning,
thankfully, Prom Queen is stitched up, bandaged, sore, and still smiling.
More later …
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