My grandmother took one heck of a spill this week (she's about two weeks shy of her 88th birthday.) She apparently tripped going up the back steps to her house and appears to have landed smack on her face and arms. That was Wednesday. We think in the meantime between then and Friday when my aunt called the ambulance that Grandma may have been taking aspirin for her pain (because that's what she's got in the house. She doesn't have good painkillers like us other Koshaks over here have.) That would explain the frankly phenomenal amount of bruising she has.
Realize I was seeing these injuries five days after they happened. She honestly looks like she was beaten. My mother said if she'd passed her in the hallway she wouldn't have recognized her. The upper part of her left arm is all black (I really couldn't help my exclamation at the sight of her arm like that,) her face is green, purple, and swollen all the way around her eyes and up the side of her forehead, she apparently has bruises all up and down her back...I could go on. She managed to crack the tips of two vertebrae, compressed a third, and had a bleed in her brain.
We are all thoroughly impressed with how much bruising/damage one person can manage just with one fall (though she does bruise easily, even without the aspirin,) and how long one person can stand to be in pain before they wind up getting carted to hospital. Someone else who's a member of a church and about ten years older broke his neck and it was three days before he caved. I can only assume stubbornness is either a Lutheran trait, a German trait, or both.
Apparently Aunt Sue went over to check on her on Friday (the circumstances of why she did are still a little hazy, as Grandma doesn't remember anything), got one look at her mother's face, and called the ambulance (considering how absolutely bashed up her face looks three days later, I would have done exactly the same.) They carted her down to the bigger hospital in Marshfield an hour and a half away and stuck her in a neck brace (she's not getting out of that for 3 to 6 months.) We have no idea when she's going to be released from downstate and brought back home until tomorrow when they run more tests. She will go to rehab for a bit if and when they let her come home.
She's not in a lot of pain, but the neck brace looks mighty uncomfortable. She can't twist or anything, so she's incapable of reaching for the things she wants. If I were her, I would be totally annoyed with this whole business already and it's only been one weekend. That brace is going to be a misery in August and September when it gets really warm out.
I don't love my grandmother, but I can't help but help someone who's clearly helpless. Before we left today, I asked her if she wanted water, got the cup for her, and made sure she got some liquid down because it was going to be an hour at least before she got to drink anything else. I know I would hate laying there, bruised and battered, unable to twist my stupid head, and be thirsty for ages without any ability to get a drink or anything else to think about but how thirsty I was.
This little spill of hers may cost her a lot more than just a few nights in hospital. It'll be a testament to her tenacity if she's back to any semblance of normal at this time next year.
The truly sad and mildly awful part of this was that the ONE person who works with my dad who is NOT family told us Grandma was in hospital. My uncle didn't call us till yesterday (when listening to the message he left, I had some CHOICE words I called him, and not quietly, either.) I'll update when I know more (might find out next Christmas what's been going on, considered how behind the lot of them are on giving updates.)
Ta,
Bec
PS: We gained and lost a pitbull in the last couple of days. We came home from church last night and my sister (right in the middle of a sentence) goes, "WHOA." There, in the grate below her feet, was a 90-pound brown and white pitbull, cowering in terror.
We surmised that the fireworks scared the willies out of him, he had run away from his family and found a good place to hide (understandable, as our two regular pets were both scared of the booms.) When he'd calmed down a little, we found out he was a very sweet boy who didn't want to hurt anybody at all, but he had no tag to identify him with.
We let him in the house, gave him a snack, and let him stay the night, as we couldn't raise anyone who could take him (it's a rural area; it's a holiday, it's a weekend, nothing's open.) He caused us no trouble whatsoever. This morning, we gave him breakfast, called some people, and someone came and took him home with them. They called a little later to tell us he'd been reunited with his humans. Best outcome for everyone (although Echo kind of wanted a playmate, and though he was big, he was good at playing.)
