Please lock me up for my own safety.
Yesterday, we got to spend an ever-so-exciting evening at the ER with my mother. She's known she has been sick for about a week, maybe longer. Yesterday, she looked ill, and after a nap, she was disoriented, had slurred speech and could not stand up or walk. My sister called an ambulance.
My stepdad had tried the night before to get her to go to the ER. She refused. Now, understanding my mother, we all know that on a good day, she must be given space to do things her way. When she's sick, that's a double ditto, and you have no choice, unless you want to have her eternally pissed off--at you.
Much like dealing with a 3 year-old, you simply must know how to choose your battles. This is especially important if she's not feeling well. It's not about being cowardly, it's about knowing how to preserve your own skin, and not make things worse for others.
The slurred speech scared my sister--and rightly so. She had tried to convince my mother to get in the car and go to the ER. I had tried on Monday to convince her to at least call the doctor. No dice.
My sister called an ambulance, then called my house for me to get there. I had to take the kids, of course, and luckily, Theo, at 17 was able to be helpful and the Howler, at 4, for once, actually listened and did as she was told.
They hauled my mother away in the ambulance. I had to go home, get some phone numbers, get Theo to work, drop off the Howler and get up to the hospital.
They finally released her (partly because she refused to discuss some issues that were discovered while she was there.) She's home and fine. But the issues that were discovered last night are still there, and stilll very much on our minds, if not on hers.
Sooner or later, we will have to stage an intervention in order to get her *fixed*, or at least, get her to be more co-operative, medically speaking.
I'm looking sooo forward to this--NOT. While I like a good arguement, I can live without the drama. While I am also not afraid to have her mad at me, I don't relish the idea that she'll keel over one day and no one will find her for hours--and I am not looking forward to the inevitability of the situation to degrade into her becoming her mother, and the expectation that I become mine.
I am not going to turn into my mother, even if she insists on turning into hers. How, exactly, to accomplish that, I'm not sure, but I see it taking lots more energy than I want to expend at this time.
Just my luck. The path of least resistance is also one of the most emotionally exhausting, and emotionally upsetting....while the path of most resistance is also likely to be filled with much swearing, smoking, distress and stress. Either way, it's not going to be attractive--and I can't really afford to lose much more in the attractiveness department.
So, the time is at hand--staring at the business end of 40 and turning into my mother. Lucky lucky me.
Yesterday, we got to spend an ever-so-exciting evening at the ER with my mother. She's known she has been sick for about a week, maybe longer. Yesterday, she looked ill, and after a nap, she was disoriented, had slurred speech and could not stand up or walk. My sister called an ambulance.
My stepdad had tried the night before to get her to go to the ER. She refused. Now, understanding my mother, we all know that on a good day, she must be given space to do things her way. When she's sick, that's a double ditto, and you have no choice, unless you want to have her eternally pissed off--at you.
Much like dealing with a 3 year-old, you simply must know how to choose your battles. This is especially important if she's not feeling well. It's not about being cowardly, it's about knowing how to preserve your own skin, and not make things worse for others.
The slurred speech scared my sister--and rightly so. She had tried to convince my mother to get in the car and go to the ER. I had tried on Monday to convince her to at least call the doctor. No dice.
My sister called an ambulance, then called my house for me to get there. I had to take the kids, of course, and luckily, Theo, at 17 was able to be helpful and the Howler, at 4, for once, actually listened and did as she was told.
They hauled my mother away in the ambulance. I had to go home, get some phone numbers, get Theo to work, drop off the Howler and get up to the hospital.
They finally released her (partly because she refused to discuss some issues that were discovered while she was there.) She's home and fine. But the issues that were discovered last night are still there, and stilll very much on our minds, if not on hers.
Sooner or later, we will have to stage an intervention in order to get her *fixed*, or at least, get her to be more co-operative, medically speaking.
I'm looking sooo forward to this--NOT. While I like a good arguement, I can live without the drama. While I am also not afraid to have her mad at me, I don't relish the idea that she'll keel over one day and no one will find her for hours--and I am not looking forward to the inevitability of the situation to degrade into her becoming her mother, and the expectation that I become mine.
I am not going to turn into my mother, even if she insists on turning into hers. How, exactly, to accomplish that, I'm not sure, but I see it taking lots more energy than I want to expend at this time.
Just my luck. The path of least resistance is also one of the most emotionally exhausting, and emotionally upsetting....while the path of most resistance is also likely to be filled with much swearing, smoking, distress and stress. Either way, it's not going to be attractive--and I can't really afford to lose much more in the attractiveness department.
So, the time is at hand--staring at the business end of 40 and turning into my mother. Lucky lucky me.
1 comment:
Yikes hun, sorry to hear about your Mom.
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