Was over there this morning, and she was a lot better.
(Stepfather went to work today).
Gave her some applesauce, some leftover rice combined,
made her a tea (black). She had a bit of tea last nite and it tasted real good, she said.

A couple hours later she started getting stomach and chest pains again, and has been burping gas. She wants to vomit, thinking it would feel better.

No diarr, and hasn't gotten sick since Sunday.

I had to come home at 3:30 and told her that if she hasn't improved I'm taking her to the on-call doctor tomorrow.

Don't forget, when the EMS people were there Sunday nite, they didn't see any urgency or reason to take her in as an emergency.

Jasdip...that is the flu/cold that is sweeping the province.Not trying to make less of what is wrong with your Mom for sure,but her symptoms are typical of what a lot of us have been thru,and are still going thru-which is likely why the EMS didnt make a fuss...but still,keeping her age in mind,keep a watchful eye on her.Stick to the fluids and very little food.

Jasdip, I do not want to scare you but those symptoms are what my mother was suffering with when she had her first heart attack. And those same flu-like symptoms are what she suffered when she died.

We exhibit very different symptoms than men, we often do not have the pain that people associate with a cardiac episode. We just lost our dear Trinity TX, she thought she had the flu.

I do not want to scare you, but do want you to be aware.

Here is a link that might be useful: Women's heart issue symptoms.

She's in the hospital.
SF came home and she was complaining of chest pains and told him to call 911. I just came from there, I was out on a couple of appts and he left a voicemail, we just came back from seeing her.

She had some pains when we were there, and I told her I wanted her to go to the dr in the morning, but she didn't want to (of course). She's on iv and waiting to see a doctor.

The pains are between her boobs in her chestbone. Don't know if that's the heart. They didn't say heart-attack when they brought her in, but she's not officially checked in, still in emergency waiting to see a doctor.

When I had my allergic reaction to something (eyes swelled shut), the first thing I told them was that it started with a tightness in my chest. That threw me into the caradic care unit - I was in a bed within minutes and had an EKG immediately. The hospital policy is to keep you for at least 24 hours. I ended up there 3 days for tests and a heart catherization. Results were good - they didn't seem concerned that my eyes were still swollen 3 days later, even with all the meds they gave me for it.

Don't be surprised if they keep her for a few days. Better be safe than sorry.

I'm glad she's there.
I was wishing the EMS crew the other nite did more for her.
I felt she was dehydrated then. She's definitely dehydrated now, hence the i.v.

I'm glad she's there too. It may be it's just the flu but it's best to have all other options ruled out before writing it off as just the flu. I hope she feels better soon.

Oh, Jas, do let her know, we are wishing her the best.

Moni

I'm glad she's finally been admitted to get the care she needs. Hope she is on the mend real soon. Stay on top of things. Sometimes our elders downplay things. We have to advocate for them even when they say they don't want it.

I just spoke to Step-father.
Her heart is fine, but they don't know what's causing the pain. It's too low for her heart. She's severely dehydrated, no surprise.
They're doing ultra-sound and x-rays on her chest.
They're keeping her for a couple of days.

I guess it all stemmed from the flu but it's a flu like she's never had before.

Thanks so much for all your concerns, and the butt-kicking.
I'm not being snide, or sarcastic, I really am thanking you. :-)

Has she had her gall bladder out? A lot of time gall bladder pain will cause nausea, vomiting and chest pain similar to your Mom's. Hope she is on the mend.

I'm glad that you got her to the hospital and that you did not take offense at my post. I posted out of concern for a friend and her mom.

yea! I hope they find an answer soon!

DS was having some of these symptoms, went through tests
and tests... then one of the docs suggested it was
heartburn. GERD... never heard of a racing heart,
pain, vomitting, diahrea.. but guess what? He started
on prilosec and it helped the next day! He has non of the
symptoms any more. He had exrays, colonoscopy,
endoscopy, blood and stool samples, etc.

I am glad she finally got to the hospital. Now she can mend quickly.

Sending healing thoughts and prayers for your Mom and some major hugs for you and your Step Father.

Thanks guys!
It was after 11:30 last nite before a dr. could see her, so obviously they didn't think it was her heart!

I thought of Heartburn and gall-bladder too.

The pain seems to have subsided. She's parched, but they're not letting her have anything to drink till they get x-rays done and ultra-sound.

They gave her a needle for her back pain.....she has arthritis and because she wasn't eating, she didn't take (m)any of her meds. They need to be taken with food.

I'll be glad when she's home again, but in the meantime, she's in the best place.

She's in the best place now. They will monitor her and deal with her symptoms.

I'm so glad she's finally being seen in the hospital. I'm sending good thoughts to her and to you.

I've been reading, but really didn't have anything of value to add. I'm glad she's getting the help she needs so badly, and it's a good thing your Thanksgiving isn't tomorrow because she ain't gonna like the food they give her when she can finally have some. Hope she gets home and back to normal soon. I know you must be a worried wreck!

Glad she's finally in hospital. Hope they can get to the bottom of her problem. Could be esophagus, stomach, colon, heart. Lots of 'parts' in that area of the body. Keep us posted.

I just spoke to W (step-father). The Dr called him, and they don't know what's wrong with her. They are concerned!

Instead of an ultra-sound, she's going to have a cat-scan. She's severely dehydrated and they upped her fluid from 200 ml/hour to 500 ml. I guess she can't have the cat-scan till the bag is empty and she has to drink the stuff.

She still has shallow, fast breaths, vs deep ones. He told her to take some deep breaths so he could check her lungs, and she had trouble doing that, and it hurt.

I still would love to know what made the medics take her in last nite vs Sun. nite when I called. I guess it was the chest pains. She was dehydrated Sun nite, her colour was awful and she was weak. They checked her heart rate and it was fast. The ones last nite hooked her up to the iv so she got fluids right then, and took her to the hospital and kept her on the stretcher till a bed was available.

That wasn't even an option Sun. nite. We told them that she wasn't strong enough to sit in a chair for several hours in Emergency. So she didn't go in. They didn't offer to leave her on the stretcher.

Follow-up...
The doctor called. The cat-scan showed a perforation in her stomach. He doesn't know what would cause that. He wants her to get surgery, hopefully today. They'll be taking her to the other hospital in town. (2 hospitals....they do different health care of patients.)

I'm so glad they found something, as her symptoms sounded awfully odd for just the flu. If I may stick my nose in, after her surgery try to have a family member there to monitor her care as much as you can. Many older people don't ask questions and won't speak up when they should. I'll say a little prayer for her.

I'm glad they finally were able to diagnose her.

Sending good thoughts for an uneventful surgery and fast healing.

Like Sjerin mentioned I have to say again, make sure there is someone to advocate for her.

I am glad folk spoke up about getting her into hospital - and I'm glad she is in good hands, you know what it is now. May God Bless all of you for your care and your Mom for hanging in there. May her surgery go without a hitch and she has a positive recovery.

Peggy

Oh, I'm so glad she's finally getting treated. Best of luck to her, and hoping for a fast and full recovery.

The pain could be a pulled muscle from all the vomiting. I've had that when I had food poisoning.

I hope your mom makes a fast recovery. Poor thing. I'll bet you'd like to throttle that 1st ambulance crew who refused to take her to the hospital.

I'm so sorry to hear this about your Mom Jasdip. Thank goodness they're on it now.... you must be so worried. Sending healing thoughts and prayers for your Mom and hugs to you.
Patti

jasdip/sherry - I've been following this with concern and certainly add my prayers. I'm thinking of you, your mother, and stepfather and sending best wishes for a positive outcome and quick recovery.

Suzieque

Glad your mom is getting the help she needs. Canadian medical is quite different that what we are use to here in the states. --that is if I am not wrong, it is gov. controlled --that is rules and regs. Like anything else some medical personal are better trained than others.
I wish you the best.

I'm glad that they've figured it out!
pryaers for a speedy recovery!

Glad there's a diagnois on it. My big concern here was dehydration. With people or critters I get very concerned about that these days. I've been dehydrated a few times in the past 5 years or so and let me tell you, that is no fun. Really does strange things to you. Was hospitalized for it a year ago. It can happen quickly and easily. Vomiting and diarrhea will zap your fluid levels quickly even if you're trying to drink fluids.

Here's wishing all of you the best. Keep drinking plenty of fluids and hope she has a speedy recovery. After a couple liters of fluid It can make a world of difference in how you feel.

Oh and when I had the CT Scan I had to drink that junk. Talk about repulsive. I asked if they at least had some brandy to mix with it. Not sure if it would help but sure wouldn't have hurt.

And BTW Jasdip, feel free to stop by for a butt-kicking anytime! Boy there's a joke here that writes itself but I'll refrain! :)

It turns out the prognosis was NOT good. She underwent surgery for a hole in her **bowel** , not her stomach as I originally thought. They aren't sure what would do that, but it may have been her pooping.

So they removed some of her colon and she now has a colostomy bag. It MIGHT be temporary and they'll go in a try to re-attach her colon and she won't need the bag. God I hope so. She's not as strong emotionally as W. (Step-father) HE had his bladder removed June/09 and has a urostomy bag.

Anyway she's in ICU on a ventilator, blood pressure low, still dehydrated. My gosh. This isn't Mom!!!

She'll be there for another day possibly two, then upstairs to a room. It's going to be a while (not saying how long of course) before she can attempt solid foods. Have to get her colon healthy.

I just want her to get better and get back home.

Thanks for listening.....

OMGoodness! I'm so sorry to hear of her troubles Jas... that's awful and had to be so painful for her and scary for all of you. Thank the good Lord they have found the problem and she's being taken care of. Prayers being sent for healing for your Mom and for strength for you and W Hang in there Missy.

Glad they found something they can treat. Hope your Mom gets well fast.