Push Your Button

What a day! We are boo-zausted.

It all began this morning.

I had a Doctor appointment and blood test at 8:30 a.m. (Everything is fine)

Dick came with me so we could go out to breakfast afterwards. We went to the FlapJack Shack (Breakfast bar for Dick, blueberry pancakes for me) . We brought along the real
estate papers from John so Mother could sign them this morning.

As we were driving away from the restaurant, I called her on the cell phone. She answered, and then there was a big crash. I couldn't hear her for a while, and then she said "I fell out of my chair" (followed by miscellaneous noises).

Then she said in a panicky voice "I'm bleeding."

I said,"Mother, push your button. " No response.

"Mother, push your button."

"I can't find it. " I gave her time to look for it. She finds it.

" Did you push it?"

"Yes."

"Push it a couple of times more."

We wait for a bit, and then I hear her say "I fell out of my chair", and someone replied, "Well, I can see that!"

Whew! So then we knew that she was not alone, and that she would be tended to. By the time we got there, she had already been evaluated by a nurse from Bortz, and Betsy was cleaning her up and holding ice to the back of Mom's head. Her blouse was all bloody - the phone was all bloody, and Mom's hands were bloody from touching the back of her head. It really was just a minor abrasion and a bruise and a bump on the back of her head. She didn't need stitches or anything. They got her all cleaned up, changed her blouse, cleaned things up, checked her vital signs, and that was it. She was a little shaken up, but she really is a trooper. It is such a comfort to know that all of that help is just a buzzer away.

She said that the staff had wanted to call 911, but she talked them out of it. I'm glad to know that they think of doing that first, because who knows when it may become necessary and we would want them to do that. Then they wanted to take her to Dr. Auer, but she talked them out of that too. She has such a firm grip on her faculties, and she's very sensible, so they respected her wishes. I was also very glad to know that they would take her to the Doctor. That gives us such peace of mind if we're out of town or unavailable. We thought that everything was very well handled.

After a couple of deep breaths, and a chance to settle down a bit, she signed and initialed the 14,000 real estate papers that are necessary if you want to sell a house. She was still a little shaky, but she got it done, and she was able to converse, and joke a little bit. Her pupils weren't dilated or anything. I know that the staff will be keeping an eye on her all day, and I'm sure that her head will be sore for a few days.

Then we went home to take a breather, check e-mail for Family Tree information, and make an appointment for Dick at the barber shop, and an appointment to meet John to give him the signed papers.

Back into town to meet John and give him the papers. He was going into the house to do some measuring. Now I feel like the whole thing is out of my hands - John will handle the sale of the house, Joan will handle the estate sale, and we just stand by and let it happen. It's kind of a weird feeling, but in general it's a good feeling. I almost feel like celebrating.

Dropped Dick at the barber shop, deposited the Income Tax refund check, and went to Horizon to wait for Dick. Two iced teas later, we did a couple of errands, and then went to K-Mart and found some white wicker furniture that we want for our new porch. It was not easy to purchase - a long story - but in the end we have a wicker love seat and 2 chairs on our new porch.

Footnote - on the packaging of the loveseat, it said Do Not Use Outdoors. Oh well - maybe we made a big mistake. At least the porch has a roof!