Taking care of elderly parents takes diligence

Just a warning.

My Mother had emergency surgery.

After laying in a hospital bed for two days requesting that her old primary care physician be called in and with her very devoted daughter requesting that her old primary care physician be called in, he finally was and immediately determined that the blood supply to both of her legs and lower pelvis was completely blocked.

The prognosis was as favorable as we could expect but could have been better if she and I had been taken more seriously when we repeatedly tried to get attention for her legs, which were as cold as ice, mottled and turned almost black when they were not elevated.

This happened WHILE she was laying in a hospital bed, while the doctors caring for her in the absence of her primary care doctor were discussing discharging her to a rehabilitation facility.

This is a warning. If you find your elderly parent in the hospital and his or her usual primary care physician is away from the office and practice partners are overseeing her care, practice partners who do not know your parent and do not know your parent's health care history, BE ON GUARD. You may be the only thing between saving your parent's life or watching your parent die, or lose a limb.

Thank God, the people praying for my Mother, the family who has been there with me and the primary care physician who had overseen her care for 12 years in the past.

Diligence.

She is not out of the woods yet. She may yet lose a part of one of her legs. Those who pray....shoot a prayer out for a sweet little old lady who knows what she's talking about when she says something isn't right....

....and for my Mom: HEWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You little birdie.