Spent another day with my mom in the ER. This time she mistaken a hearing aide battery for a pill. I witnessed her taking it. It happened so quickly and I couldn't believe what I just witnessed.
It was Monday morning, mom's regular day to go to adult daycare. As my sister-in-law curled her hair, my dad showed my mom that he changed the battery in her hearing aide. As he put out his hand, my mom took the battery and put it in her mouth and swallowed it. SHOCK!! She had NEVER done anything like this before.
I immediately called Poison Control after I was unable to reach her doctor. I was told I need to take mom to the ER and have an x-ray done. Apparently, the battery can get stuck in her esophagus and could start to erode, releasing toxins.
My sister-in-law and I put mom in the car and took her to the ER. Once again her vitals were taken along with an EKG. A gastroenterologist was called in after x-rays were taken. After talking with the doc and seeing mom's x-ray we learned that there was another unknown object in her stomach besides the battery. The doctor was unable to determine what it was, but said it was the size of a nickel. An enteroscopy was scheduled for my mom.
The procedure only took a little while. The doc came to the waiting room to give us the report that the objects have moved too far down into mom's intestines and that he was unable to remove them. That meant another trip to the hospital for another x-ray.
This is another example of why taking care of my mother is so stressful. She has to be watched like a child and can't be left alone. She and my dad still live independently in their own home, but it's obvious that she has become too much to handle alone for my elderly father. He has his own medical issues.
Last night I decided that my dad cannot be left alone with her and I need to stay with them until either a scheduled is made for me and other family members to regularly check on our parents. A sibling meeting MUST take place and future plans for our mother MUST be discussed.
Caregiving for parents requires ALL siblings to participate, not just one or two. Caring for our elderly parents takes sacrifices, just as raising our children have.
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