Update Mom - Final

 

Mom passed away on January 31, 2017.  She was 84 years old. 

Update 17 Mom

 

Mom has been transferred from the ICU at Mary Black Hospital to White Oak Estates.  Her Address is:

Florence Hollifield
Room 229B
White Oak Estates
400 Webber Road
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29307

Yes, we got her as close to the house as possible and it is on Debra’s way home, so she can stop by everyday.  

Here is what happen.  I took Mom to Dr. Shah on Friday the thirteenth for a scheduled appointment.  Her heart rate was thirty, so Dr. Shah admitted her to the ICU.  Her heart rate in the ICU feel to twenty-nine, before it started back up.  She did not have stroke, but she is having some of the same symptoms.  Her short term memory is not working like it should.  People come to see her and she does not remember.  She does not know where she is and she does not remember being in the hospital.   

I am still holding out some hope that she comes home, but she is under end-of-life care at White Oak.  

Mom does have a Living Will and she is under a DNR at White Oak.

If you have any question just give me a call.  

James

Update 16 ER

 

Mom has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mary Black Hospital.  She is in room  15.  Sorry, but only Debra, Mary and me can get updates on her.  I will keep you informed.  

Debra came Friday morning to help Mom get dressed and I told her that Mom would not come back home.  I took her to see Dr. Shah (heart doctor) Friday morning.  In the office her heart rate was 34.  Her blood pressure was 124/60.  When I left the hospital Friday night her heart rate had fallen to 30 and her blood pressure was down to 115/50.  

You can call me at: 864-384-6072.  This is my cell phone number.

James

Mom Update 15

Hi, 

Mom has just finished the latest round of doctor’s appointments.  We did talk about her forgetfulness.  She has had a problem with not knowing what time of the day it is for about two years now.  She is now having a problem remembering what day it is.  I have been helping her with her meds for a year now.   Mom is just slipping away.  Some days she can talk for hours about what happened years ago and some days she don’t seem to remember anything.  

If you haven’t seen mom in a year or so, she is bent over more.  She is unstable on her feet.  She may seem to be off in another world, sometimes when you talk to her.  She has a hard time following conversations.  

I don’t check my e-mails, but once a week now.  I don’t want to leave her alone for long.  I am afraid that she just may walk off one day or fall.  

Have a good day,
James

 

Update 14
Hi,

Been sometime since I have updated you on Mom.  It has been a long winter and Mom was sick.  She just had a four month check-up and she is doing O.K.  She told Dr. Edwards that she has never been sick a day in her life.  He did not say anything, but just looked at me.  She is sick and
Dr. Edwards nor I can get her to understand how sick she is.  She is using her cane when she is not with me.  When she is with me she uses me as her walker.  We have talked about getting a wheelchair.  All she says is no, but she is beginning to walk like a drunk.  

She went to see Dr. Gwinn (eye doctor) and he order a Field Vision Test and said that he wants her to have one every year from now on.  The test shows that she only sees what is directly in front of her.  She has no side vision at all in either eye.  She is going blind, but Dr. Gwinn want take a guess as to how long it is going to take.  She told me the other day that she can not tell how big a drop off is.  She walks up to the edge of the curb to step down and she can not tell if it is one inch or ten feet, so I am having to help step down.  Sometimes it is like guiding a blind person.  

She goes back to see Dr. Shah (heart doctor) in August.  

James

You can view this online at: https://jehj.tripod.com/blog

Update 12

 

I have not update Mom’s doctors in awhile so let me do that.

Orthopedic Surgeon: Dr. Monroe  

Mom does not see this Doctor, but as needed.  She is walking with a cane now.

Dermatologist: Dr. Blair Clementson

It has been almost a year since the golf ball size tumor was remove from her forehead.  Dr. Clementson is pleased that there is no sign of it’s return.  Mom has an appointment in July and if the tumor has not return and the area where the tumor was still looks good this will be her last time she will need to see the dermatologist,. unless there is a sign of skin cancer again.  

Eye Doctor: Dr. Todd Gwin

As long as Mom uses her eye drops to keep her eye pressures down the chances of her going blind are low.  She see Dr. Gwin every three months.

General Practitioner: Dr. Michael Edwards

Well here we go with another new doctor.  Mom has had a problem with her blood being thick since before Thanksgiving.  The problem is that she like greens.  I don’t care what kind of greens it is she likes them (collared, turnip, etc.).  Her blood work came back ok this time.  Her insulin has been reduced to 12 units of a morning and 15 units at night. It was 15 units morning and 22 units at night.

Kidney Doctor: Dr. Matt Lambert

Mom’s medications are causing problems with her kidneys, so the doctors are changing some of her medications or they are reducing the amount taken.  The problem is that Mom thinks this is being done because the doctors she has had were over medicating her.  I have not yet got her to understand that she is not being over medicated, but she is in the early stages of kidney failure.  

Cardiologist: Dr. Ritesh (Jay) Shah

Mom saw Dr. Reardon last fall an he said nothing about a heart problem, other that the congestive heart failure that she has had for twenty years.  She sees Dr. Edwards for the first time and he ask if she had been told that she has a heart murmur.  The upper left heart value is not opening all the way.  Dr. Shah says that he wants to way till it gets worse before he replaces it.  

Eye Doctor Update

 

Took Mom to the eye doctor today. Everything is fine. Her pressures are right were the doctor wants them.

 

Cancer Update

Took Mom to the cancer doctor this week. Listened to what he had to said and I am not going to put mom through what he is talking about at this time. He is wanting to cut a big gap in the upper left side of her head. After he is thought, she would need to go to a plastic surgeon to fix the damage done by the cancer doctor. There is only a 50/50 chance that it will return, so I am going to what and see what happens. If it comes back we will have it removed again.

James

 

 

Tumor

If you have seen mom recently you know she had a golf ball on the upper left side of her forehead. It was removed yesterday. It was a Granular Foam Tumor. Dr. Blair said that these are so rare that this was only the third one that she had ever seen. I watched her operate on mom. When she cut into it, foam (looked like sea foam at the ocean) came out of it. It was deep and took Dr. Blair about an hour to cut it out. Mom now has a sore head. She goes back in two weeks to get the stitches out.

 

Mom's Eye Check-up

Mom went to the eye doctor and her pressures are down to 13 in the right eye and 12 in the left eye. This is within the target the doctor set for her eye pressures, so she is doing good. She just needs to keep using her eye drops.