I'll be back...
So much has happened since my last entry. I've started my new job, which is good so far. The department seems a lot more willing to spend money based on the jars of chips, cookies and other snacks stockpiled in the kitchen. My working hours have been unstable as we're trying to work through a few things at work. Hopefully once its settled down, my hours will be more consistent. The people are really nice here, but it doesn't look like a team that will appreciate my flying screaming monkeys. Not that my old team appreciated them that much either.
A few weeks ago, my Grandma had a fall. Not just once, but twice in an hour. Since October last year, she has been falling more and more frequently. I purchased a phonealert system, where you have a waterproof pager that she could wear 24/7. When she needs help, all she has to do is press the pager, and the phone will automatically make an emergency call to all the phone numbers I've set in. This time, she set off the alarm twice. Luckily, I was at home both times. The second time she fell, she must've hit her head on her walking frame, because her head was covered in blood. She had basically tore the skin on her forehead and there were massive gaping wounds on her head. We immediately called an ambulance which arrived within 10mins (We're only 2mins drive from the ambulance depot). I hop into the ambulance with her so I could translate and we're driven to the emergency room.
Now I know that public hospitals are stretched for resources, and given a choice, I would have gone to a private hospital. But private hospitals don't have an emergency department so we had to go public. This was the start of a 4-5hr wait where my grandma basically got ignored for the entire time. 3hrs wait in, a nurse comes in and draws some blood and checks her blood pressure etc, then she disappears again. It wasn't until about 1:30am that a doctor came to check on her, and it was only then that they bothered changing her bandages properly. She's 94yo for f*cksake. A little more attention would've been appreciated.
We left her in the hospital for more tests throughout the night and basically she stayed in the hospital for over a week where they did test after test. And the conclusion to all of that was a recommendation that she should go into a nursing home. We kind of expected this as it is getting harder to ensure her safety at home. You basically need someone at home 24/7 to look after her incase she has another fall. We've been lucky in the past that everytime she's had a fall, she hasn't broken any bones and was concious to press the emergency pager, but we're not always that lucky.
My dad and sister has spent the past 2 weeks looking at nursing homes, hoping to find one close to us, is mainly occupied by people who speak cantonese AND has room for her. We eventually found one about 5 mins drive away, is fairly small so she gets more attention, has predominately cantonese speakers and is quite spacious. Under the hospital's recommendations, she was discharged directly to the nursing home. They basically recommend that she doesn't come home for a few months until she settles into the new place. My grandma has been living with us even before I was born. Its going to be a big change without her around.
When she was in hospital, I went to visit her with my parents, sister and youngest nephew. As we were visiting her, my nephew started acting strangely. Next thing you know, he's telling us that he can't open/close his jaw. I noticed his face was kind of swollen, but everyone thought he's just put on weight. Then he started telling us he was having problems breathing. My sister immediately rushed him to the emergency department, which was only on the floor above us. Luckily we were already at the hospital, because my nephew's face and throat started to swell, cutting out his oxygen supply. It looks like he was having a slow allergy reaction to a new medication he was taking so we had to keep him there overnight to monitor his condition.
Like I said, a lot has happened since my last entry. Hopefully things will calm down soon so I can do some mego blogging.
A few weeks ago, my Grandma had a fall. Not just once, but twice in an hour. Since October last year, she has been falling more and more frequently. I purchased a phonealert system, where you have a waterproof pager that she could wear 24/7. When she needs help, all she has to do is press the pager, and the phone will automatically make an emergency call to all the phone numbers I've set in. This time, she set off the alarm twice. Luckily, I was at home both times. The second time she fell, she must've hit her head on her walking frame, because her head was covered in blood. She had basically tore the skin on her forehead and there were massive gaping wounds on her head. We immediately called an ambulance which arrived within 10mins (We're only 2mins drive from the ambulance depot). I hop into the ambulance with her so I could translate and we're driven to the emergency room.
Now I know that public hospitals are stretched for resources, and given a choice, I would have gone to a private hospital. But private hospitals don't have an emergency department so we had to go public. This was the start of a 4-5hr wait where my grandma basically got ignored for the entire time. 3hrs wait in, a nurse comes in and draws some blood and checks her blood pressure etc, then she disappears again. It wasn't until about 1:30am that a doctor came to check on her, and it was only then that they bothered changing her bandages properly. She's 94yo for f*cksake. A little more attention would've been appreciated.
We left her in the hospital for more tests throughout the night and basically she stayed in the hospital for over a week where they did test after test. And the conclusion to all of that was a recommendation that she should go into a nursing home. We kind of expected this as it is getting harder to ensure her safety at home. You basically need someone at home 24/7 to look after her incase she has another fall. We've been lucky in the past that everytime she's had a fall, she hasn't broken any bones and was concious to press the emergency pager, but we're not always that lucky.
My dad and sister has spent the past 2 weeks looking at nursing homes, hoping to find one close to us, is mainly occupied by people who speak cantonese AND has room for her. We eventually found one about 5 mins drive away, is fairly small so she gets more attention, has predominately cantonese speakers and is quite spacious. Under the hospital's recommendations, she was discharged directly to the nursing home. They basically recommend that she doesn't come home for a few months until she settles into the new place. My grandma has been living with us even before I was born. Its going to be a big change without her around.
When she was in hospital, I went to visit her with my parents, sister and youngest nephew. As we were visiting her, my nephew started acting strangely. Next thing you know, he's telling us that he can't open/close his jaw. I noticed his face was kind of swollen, but everyone thought he's just put on weight. Then he started telling us he was having problems breathing. My sister immediately rushed him to the emergency department, which was only on the floor above us. Luckily we were already at the hospital, because my nephew's face and throat started to swell, cutting out his oxygen supply. It looks like he was having a slow allergy reaction to a new medication he was taking so we had to keep him there overnight to monitor his condition.
Like I said, a lot has happened since my last entry. Hopefully things will calm down soon so I can do some mego blogging.
2 comments:
Hope things are ok with your grandma. I just lost my grandpa on Sunday. I miss him already :(
Sorry to hear about that. I hope you and your family are ok. :(
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