To leave a&e?

[Helladelinquent]

Mum fainted at mass this morning and an ambulance was called. She was sitting down and felt everything going black and fainted.

she came to and seemed fairly coherent but pale. Ambulance assessed her as blood pressure fine but pulse tackicardic (not sure how to spell that).
she said she hadn’t slept well, hadn’t had anything to eat or drink before mass and had taken her tablets (that make her sleepy) in the middle of the night as she’d forgotten them earlier.

I met her at the hospital at about 11.30 and we’ve been here ever since. Her bloods were fine but then they wanted a CT scan of her head.

she’s insisting on going home now before seeing the doc about the results and to be honest I’m not sure how to argue that she shouldn’t. Shes 82 and has been sitting on a waiting room chair for 7 hours. I feel it’s healthier for her to be at home in front of her fire and having her dinner.

she’s had no episodes/symptoms since we’ve been here.

I don’t know about her staying or going, but I just wanted to mention something. Is it a Catholic mass she was at? If so she might not be aware but she doesn’t have the obligation to fast before mass, this is from Canon law:

“Can. 919 §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.
§3. The elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have eaten something within the preceding hour.”

Sorry if you/ she already know this and maybe she wasn’t deliberately doing the fast but I thought I’d mention it just in case because she’s free to eat before mass which might be helpful to know in the future x

@Helladelinquent if you see any accompanying people who can go in search of food and drink, do ask. Our 22 hour stint, I went to the vending machine many times for others and took two unaccompanied ladies to the loo.

I should probably take out personal liability insurance....!

I'd be off home now myself, problem with A&E is they have easy access to all the kit and some doctors just seem to love running tests for the sake of it.

The CT was clear, take her home and let her get some rest.

My BIL had what the hospital thought was a chest infection but they wanted him to stay and have more tests done. He refused as he’d been at A+E for over 8 hours - later that day he collapsed and died from DVT.
If the staff at hospital think you should wait then I would wait.

No, best get her checked-over. My mum fainting out of the blue in her late 70s was the first indication there was of a condition for which she'll be on medication for the rest of her life. There are usually other earlier symptoms but she hadn't had any of them. She was initially a bit annoyed that someone phoned for medics, for 'funny turn' but ultimately it turned out to have been a sensible call.

Your poor Mam and you. I'm in Ireland and know how bad hospitals are, people would actually rather suffer at home than sit in one. They are appalling for food and drink after 5pm, most don't even have a vending machine.

I think seen as you've both done this long, I'd stay, if she goes to her GP he'll just refer her back to the hospital. Sometimes they get the x-rays done quickly, as soon as it's done tell the doctor you're back from x-ray, they're sent pretty much immediately by computer to the a&e.

If there's a McDonald's near by to get drinks, we usually have to go to centra's or McDonald's for drinks as the hospitals never have anything. Also inform them your mam hasn't eaten or drank. Very important... Her blood sugars may have dropped and they can give her some glucose.

Go and get her some food and a giant cup of tea! Then ask her whether she wants to stay and wait it out. If they say she can't have food, tell them to do one. That age with no food inside her could lead to a fall, a broken hip etc etc. She could easily be tachycardic because of the dehydration.

My Dad passed out sat down once and we also spent a long time in A&E... I think there's always more concern when someone passes out sat down (so not when standing up or exerting themself)

It turned out he had a tumour so we were really glad we stuck around and got the results. As frustrating as it is, so often symptoms are ignored so it's really good they're doing all the checks.

Right apologies for disappearing- I was taking mom home via McDonalds (her choice, bit of a hospital tradition).

As someone mentioned upthread - Mom made peace with Death years ago after Dad died. A bit too much peace for me sometimes but her choice.

I will call her GP (she has signed a form that allows them to talk about her with me) and see what they say.

At one point today she made the point that 46 years ago she was in hospital looking after me and today I’m looking after her.

when I got to the church today she was lying out on a pew with a nurse at each side of her, one man holding his coat under her head and another keeping her legs elevated and the first thing she said when she saw me was “Happy Birthday, I made it memorable anyway”.

You won’t regret getting her home x

Oh and I went on Facebook around 8pm and there was an article about the hospital we were at - it was closed to visitors that day due to the prevalence of flu, Covid & Respiratory infections!

Thank you - that is really nice of you but she wasn’t fasting deliberately. She never eats much in the morning. It was a catholic mass.

@Helladelinquent oh my dear, so much of this resonates!

I hope your mum feels fine after a rest. She might be like mine from the sounds of it - mine could have a pacemaker but won't in case it prolongs life.

hopefully it was just a blip from being dehydrated etc. I'm having to ask mum to eat these days.

and it's your birthday? I hope you get to have a proper birthday later this week?

I had started my birthday, I had cuddles with my girls and a rasher sandwich in bed! And a Lego set I’ve wanted for ages

I just missed out on the family party bit - it was my 8 year olds birthday yesterday (obv runs in the family) and she picked the cake for her friend party yesterday and I picked the cake for the family party today. There’s still some in the fridge I’ll have tomorrow.

Glad she got home, you can't beat your own bed. Belated happy birthday, enjoy the cake!

Mom is doing good. She didn’t get up till 1pm today!

So pleased to hear she's doing well.