14dabucs's Blog

Tonight was supposed to be awesome.  Billy Donovan up close!  The atmosphere of March Madness IN PERSON.  What could be more awesome?  With the way every game seems to be coming down to the wire, you never know who is going to finally run out of steam.  I was hyped, as they say.

 Instead I spent the evening with my M-I-L at the emergency room.  I don't think I'd have it any other way, either.  She's been bummed a bit, but when Wednesday was so gorgeous and she wouldn't even go for a ride in the car, I knew something was really wrong. 

 It's tough trying to help an elderly parent.  You want to be respectful, but you want to see them better too.  It turns out her congestive heart failure is acting up again.  I'm blessed with a M-I-L that is easy to deal with and that I love hanging out with.  Sure, she's over 80, but she has a great sense of humor, shares great stories and in general, is just plain fun to be around.  However, since the new year, she didn't seem to be interested in the things she was.

 Another tough part is being the daughter-in-law and not overstepping bounds.  She would have tests run every few weeks to make sure her blood-thinning medicine was okay.  We've barely been to the office this year to have it checked.  I thought that was odd and mentioned it to my husband and he said he wasn't sure about it either.

Tonight in the emergency room, the doctor asked about her blood medicine and if there had been any changes lately, to which she said not really.  Turns out her blood was WAY too thin.  I make myself very available to her, and I cannot help but feel guilty for not pressing the issue of getting her blood checked more. 

 I guess my question to you guys is how do I handle this?  Gentle prodding?  Maybe some semi-tough love?  This is totally new territory for me.

Sorry I missed Glen's show and I'll do my best to get to blogapalooza, but I may be at the hospital instead.  Hope everyone is well and hug your family!

Bethany