It was a long sleepless night reaching into today after a 10 hour ER stay. Ending first, everybody is fine.
Mom will be 90 in a couple of months and has the typical litany of issues and meds (including blood thinner). About 4 days ago her shoulder really started bothering her to the point of not being able to do much with that arm. Figured it was just a pull or a strain and would get better with some rest. She'd been sleeping in a lift recliner for support, but last night, no matter what I did, or what pain killers she took, it was getting worse. I hadn't been to bed yet, and at 3:00 am I finally convinced her to go to ER. We jumped the line when we got there as an elderly woman with shoulder pain radiating down the arm is a warning sign for heart attack -which we both knew it wasn't, but you have to have all the tests to make sure. Complete blood workup including cardiac enzymes and EKG. All negative, but sit and wait about an hour for blood tests and on call cardiologist to review. Next up, X-ray to rule out a break. Another hour to wait for radiology report - negative.
At this point they finally actually probed and looked at the shoulder, and kept asking about falls or trauma to the shoulder, which neither of us could point to anything. About this time, we hit the 7 am shift change so for a while new set of doctors and nurses. After that, decided to do a CT scan to look for hidden breaks and soft tissue damage and check for cervical issues. Hour wait for CT and another hour wait for radiology report. No breaks, no visible soft tissue tears, but area of fluid buildup. Now we wait for a Ortho consult.
Ortho Doc recommended draining fluid, so now we wait for the main OR Doc and her PA to find time and set up the procedure. They finally put her in a gown and I got my first look at her shoulder and couldn't believe the bruising. I'd never looked at the shoulder as Mom always wears long sleeve shirts, and I had just reached through the neck of the shirts to rub Asper Cream for her. Mom had never looked at the shoulder as it was painful and it was all she could do just to change shirts.
Finally get going and drain 25ml of what looks to be blood. Some relief, but by this time we are both uncomfortable and irritable from lack of sleep. No discharge yet, as need to have another consult with Ortho doc, and they want the fluid analyzed to make sure there isn't something "funky" going on. Takes another hour for the blood analysis, but guess what, the Ortho doc is now in surgery and still need a consult from him.
Finally, just before 1:00 pm the ER Doc comes in to discharge and get a sling fitted. Closely followed by 4 nurses that almost pushed us out the door getting the room ready for one of the many other patients laying on beds in the hallway.
Will wear the sling for 2 days and should be good to go. Got home and both of us crashed for 4 hours. Woke up to eat and now try to stay awake until normal bed time to reset sleep schedule.
Bottom line, it's hell to get old, but beats the alternative. Also if you are caring for the elderly, or yourself, it's amazing how fast you learn about the meds, conditions, tests and treatments.
