I need
to tell you folks that there is not so good news about ‘Sela. On 25th July we received the visit
of a nice young man who brought braces to support ‘Sela’s knees. We both opted for the most comfortable ones
and she walked around feeling more secure and less fearful that her legs would
buckle under her. Then, I went upstairs
to prepare my afternoon class having left her in the kitchen on the way to her
bathroom. Ten minutes later I heard a
big commotion and came down in a flash with hands to my heart, fearing the
worse. I found her flat on the floor, on
her side, orange Jello splattered all over the kitchen floor. I checked her thoroughly, she, was stunned
but alert, there was no blood, nothing to indicate a broken limb. So, I gently placed a pillow under her head,
covered her with a blanket and called 911.
I washed away the Jello from and around her, and sat next to her to wait
for the sirens for I was told not to move her at all –as if I have the strength
to do so. Then, the doorbell rang and in
came my friend Teresa –who had promised to visit me- followed by the firemen’s
truck. She took charge of Renny by putting
him on a leash and I showed five young, very strong, firemen to the kitchen.
She was
not incoherent, but a bit confused, dizzy and shocked. When asked she answered her name, could not
understand the year question, but when the name of the President came up, she touched
her face with her index finger and said… the
black one. So, all seemed well,
until they placed a collar on her neck, as she complained of hitting her head
against the kitchen wooden cabinets. She
did not like that at all, and even less when three more men arrived in an
ambulance and started checking blood sugars, pressure etc., and eventually
placed her on a long plastic yellow tray, then tied her up like a papoose. She complained bitterly of being dropped but
she had no other choice but to lie down and let them do their job, as she said cuidado, cuidado!
While all
this was going on, I called Roberto, but did not get an answer, so I dialed
Melissa’s phone and as she was off, she came over before we all left for the ER
at Carolina’s Pineville. As we came down
the driveway, we found our neighbor and friend, Mercedes, who had seen the
commotion outside, and she also followed us to the ER. There, we were asked to wait while ‘Sela was
being assessed, and then Melissa and I were shown in. Teresa and Mercedes kindly stayed with us for
a while.
When we
saw Sela, she had been given painkillers and was beginning to float in and out
of consciousness. She was then taken to
X rays and about an hour later the doctor came in and told us that there was no
fracture visible in the X ray and that we could go home. We were given instructions and painkiller
prescriptions and asked to have her doctor follow up in a couple of days.
Roberto
was waiting for us here when we came back and helped us bring her up from the
garage. She had difficulty climbing unto
the lift chair, but eventually we put her in bed and she slept soundly for
about four hours. I then gave her some
supper and another pain killer and we both went to bed. I have the baby monitor in my room and can
hear a pin drop, so I saw no need to sleep next to her, with the puppy.
On
Sunday evening ‘Sela started to have pain on her lower back. I made an appointment with her new doctor –our
previous doctor retired- and off we went on Tuesday afternoon. The doctor saw
no reason for any more painkillers than she already takes for her arthritis,
and told ‘Sela to rest and put heat on her back. Then during the week, the pain got
progressively worse. Carla came back
from Atlanta on Wednesday, and I was relieved to have someone to lean on, once
more. When we heard her screams each
time she moved, we decided to make yet another appointment with the doctor and Sela
was given a different painkiller and a muscle relaxant. Roberto came with us this time, as ‘Sela can
hardly move by herself and is back to driving her little scooter. The doctor told us that if the pain
continues, ‘Sela might have to see a spine specialist as she may have a
hairline fracture or a pinched nerve that did not show up at the ER. We came back and put her to bed and went off
to fetch the new medicine with heavy hearts.
The doctor told us that it was very possible that she could not have
surgery but that the spine doctor may decide to give her an epidural or cortisone
shot to alleviate the pain.
Since
then she’s been taken something called Tramadol and a muscle relaxant at
night. She sleeps most of the day and is
very lethargic and incoherent when awake.
Roberto, Carla and I have decided that she might as well sleep it off
instead of suffering with that horrible pain.
She sleeps through the night with the muscle relaxant, and we move her
around during the day for her meals and bathroom trips. I called the neurosurgeon that did my back,
and she’s got an appointment for the end of the month –yes, not before. Meanwhile she needs to be flat on her bed and
take her painkiller and apply the heat pad on her back.
Carla,
Roberto and I take turns as we go through our daily routine and run errands. ‘Sela is in a lot of pain but only when she
moves. She has incredible dreams which
become part of her reality. Today she
told us how she and Angelita were here having been taken prisoners and
interrogated by Juan Tomas Diaz. Carla and I listen and try not to contradict
her, and we all laugh, which is good medicine for all.
I will
keep you all informed through e-mails and the blog.
