Dramas With The Mamas

[eurodancemix]

Well, certainly yesterday was a day full of "mom" excitement.

First, Eric/ermago had to deal with some problems at the rehab where his mom is located. It appears that during her first night there, she was given only two of her medications. Then, in the middle of the night, the fire alarm went off (it was not a drill), and staff members quickly went to each room and told the residents to stay put and not get out of their rooms. It scared Eric's mom because her room was on the 2nd floor, and she can't walk because of her leg.

Fortunately, the med situation has since been resolved, but the feelings of uneasiness remain. So, this has spurred his parents to *finally* move into their Frederick condo ASAP. This weekend, we'll make arrangements with movers, Comcast, Verizon, etc., to get all this done as quickly as possible. One of the reasons for this is also because the doctor won't release her to go to her current condo because there are steps. The Frederick condo has no steps.

As far as my mom is concerned, when I called her yesterday afternoon she was sobbing like a child. When I asked her to tell me what was wrong, she kept blubbering incoherently about nurses coming in, putting ointment on her, telling her she can't leave her apartment, and taking all her clothes and sheets away. Oh dear.

So I called the infirmary at the residence and spoke with the head nurse. For the last several months, Mom has had a very bad rash on her back that constantly itches. It drives her crazy, and she scratches to the point where she bleeds. The doctors have prescribed various creams and calmants, including Valium, thinking it was due to nervousness. None of it helped. Mom has not been sleeping well because her back would start to itch intensely whenever she laid down. During her last checkup on Monday, the nurses noticed that her rash had spread to her buttocks, thighs, stomach, and groin area. Her skin was raw from the scratching.

So, yesterday, three nurses came to Mom's apartment, dressed up in protective gowns, masks, and booties, stripped her room of all clothing and bedding (and washed them), covered Mom in a strong prescription ointment, gave her a nightgown to wear, and told her not to leave her apartment for a day. The reasoning for this is, until skin culture results come back, they're not sure if her skin condition is contagious, and they wanted to make sure she wasn't posing a problem to the other residents. They explained this to Mom, but in her state of agitation, she forgot most of it and became confused, hence her crying and not understanding what was going on.

Once I called Mom back and explained it all to her, she calmed down and understood how and why it all happened.

But we also discovered why she got the rash in the first place, at least we think. Since last summer, when it all began, Mom's been adding that OxyClean cleaner to her laundry to help make it brighter. Mom has sensitive skin, and we now think this is what started it all. As the rash progressed and her clothes became blood-stained, she'd use the Oxy more often to make sure all her clothes were clean. Vicious cycle ensued.

So, I'm hoping that this is the solution to the problem. The nurse told me they confiscated the OxyClean (for now), and Mom will get one more ointment treatment this morning. She'll be able to leave her apartment and rejoin her neighbors later this morning.

*sigh*

Comments

[gyr8or.livejournal.com]

Sorry, about your mom, boo. I hope they can get that rash cleared up, bless her heart. I'll be thinking of her and sending healing thoughts in her general direction!

[eurodancemix.livejournal.com]

Thank you, C. I appreciate that very much.