Heart Tests

On October 8, 2011, at 4:00 in the afternoon, Mom called my cell phone. "Donna. I fell down and my nose won't stop bleeding. I'm not sure what I should do." I was 40 minutes away at the new house my son and his wife had just purchased--it was actually their move-in day.

"What do you mean it won't stop? Is it gushing out?"

It wasn't gushing, but it wouldn't stop, she said. "Do you need an ambulance?" She didn't think so. "I'm leaving now. I'll be there soon."

As I sped North on Hampstead Road in Derry which has terrible cell phone coverage, I prayed I'd have service long enough to talk with my neighbor. I asked her to run over to check on Mom and determine if she needed an ambulance. Within 10 minutes, I had her husband on the phone as he talked with Mom. He didn't think she needed an ambulance, so I breathed a sigh of relief for the remainder of my drive back to Nottingham. We ultimately wound up at the Elliot Hospital ER and Mom was admitted in the wee hours of the morning of October 9. There was concern about her heart because of the inexplicable fall which we all suspected was the result of a fainting spell. She had a broken nose which had taken the brunt of the fall. They did a bunch of tests and sent her home in the morning of the 11th.

We had follow up visits with a cardiologist who prescribed a battery of tests. It was clear she had an area of blockage requiring a beta-blocker and follow up testing within a couple of months. So last Thursday at 10:00 am I took her back for her second 24-hour Holter monitor fitting. Since it was the second time for this, I was unconcerned when they called her name during my brief visit to the ladies room. I simply waited for her thinking she knew the drill. I didn't anticipate the effect of her short-term memory issues complicated by the fact the nurse told her someone else could drop it off the next day, she didn't have to physically go into the office for that.

The next morning, my phone rang at 8:00. "Donna. They said anyone could drop this damned thing off today. Will you be able to?" We had talked about Nancy (our Easter Seals employee who comes three mornings a week and gives me some much needed respite from dealing with Mom) driving Mom back to The Elliot to take off the monitor. I told Mom I was just about to call them and ask because I remembered they said that during the first Holter monitor testing.

"Good. It's here, all ready for you to take back," she said.

"You took it off already?" I said in an edgy voice.

"They said I should take it off when I got up. So I did."

"What time did you get up?"

"I dunno, maybe 7:00."

"Mom, you were supposed to leave it on for 24 hours, until 10:00!"

These kinds of things are exasperating, to say the least. I realize now that I cannot assume anything and have to repeat instructions often. I also cannot let her go alone for these things no matter how routine they might be.