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This report is to recap and document Lillian's visit to the ER yesterday. Retta and I were in touch over the phone, and Lillian is back at home and doing well now.
At about noon on Saturday, I received a call from Retta that Lillian was on the way to the ER at Jefferson Hospital. She had been called by Jefferson Creek staff after they called 911 for Lillian.
Lillian had been visiting with Alma and when she stood up from her chair, she wavered a little and sat back down suddenly. She had fainted. Alma asked if she was alright and gave her a little shake and Lillian woke up, but said she wasn't feeling well. Alma called the front desk, which set things in motion.
I arrived at the ER about 45 minutes later, and was taken to the room where Lillian was being treated. She had an IV in and she looked quite pale and tired. She was awake and talking, and she seemed glad to see a familiar face! Even though she was awake and coherent, she said she felt worn out, and she didn't really want to talk very much.
The nurse came in, and I was able to provide Lillian's list of medications, allergies, and HIPAA documentation. She explained that when the ambulance picked her up, Lillian had low blood pressure and a slow pulse, and that's probably why she fainted. She was also mildly dehydrated. They were giving her IV fluids (no medications) and they had already given her some anti-nausea medication IV. She had thrown up once before getting in the ambulance.
I told the nurse about Lillian's new medication, Toprol XL, and that she had just started taking it. That was important information, it turns out. Toprol XL sometimes brings blood pressure down too low for some people, and they thought that might be what has happened. They asked for the name of Lillian's cardiologist, Dr. W.
We stayed in the ER for another 3 hours. Over that time, Lillian started to look better and better as she received the IV fluids. She reported feeling better, too. She even ate a little snack. When the doctor came in, she said she had contacted Dr. W. they decided to reduce Lillian's dose of the Toprol XL. She said they thought this would address the problem.
The nurse came back after the IV fluids were done, took out the IV in her hand, and gave us instructions for going home. By the time she was discharged, she looked a whole lot better - more color in her face and cheeks!
The ER had sent a new prescription to Kroger, so we stopped by there on the way home. I ran in and picked it up while Lillian waited in the car.
When we got back to her apartment, I made sure she was settled in. Alma knocked on the door to check on her. Alma agreed to pick up a take-out meal from the dining room for Lillian and to stay with her for dinner. Lillian and I updated her pillbox once again, with the new, lower-dose Toprol XL and threw out the old bottle of pills.
I felt alright about leaving Lillian by then - it was about 5:30 then. She looked a lot better, and was almost back to her normal amount of energy. Alma said she'd check on her, and as I left, I stopped by the front desk. They said they would check on her daily, too, for the next 3 days.
Unless another urgent need comes up, our next visit will still be Wednesday, February 11.
