Today (well, Saturday) I called to check on my mom around 5:00 pm. My father answered the phone, and immediately I could tell something was wrong. Initially, my father insisted everything was fine, and handed the phone to my mother. I asked her how she was and why Dad sounded so off, and she informed me that she kept falling and cracking her head. Actually, she informed me with…irritation in her voice…that Dad kept “dropping” her and he gave her several large goose eggs on her head, and that he was annoyed because he couldn’t go run any errands because he was worried she would hurt herself.
I offered to go over with the baby and sit with mom while my father ran out. I arrived around 4:45, and went upstairs to the bedroom to hang out with her. Shortly after I arrived, my mom needed to go to the bathroom, so I helped her up. I was amazed by how much she had deteriorated over the prior few days – she could barely stand and walk, and couldn’t get to and from the bathroom (or balance on the toilet) without significant assistance. She kept leaning towards the left when she walked, and the way she moved her left arm looked…wrong. It was as if she kept missing her mark with her left arm. I was very worried that she wouldn’t be able to safely stay at home before her neurology appointment on Thursday.
I spent the next few hours trying to convince my mother that she should go to the hospital. I called a friend of mine who is a neurologist and asked whether we should go to the ER, and she suggested that an earlier workup wouldn’t hurt. Our friend Arleen stopped by to see the baby around 7:30 or 8, and together we convinced her that a trip to Suburban Hospital was the best option – to get a full workup and have all of the scans run before her appointment later in the week.
It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get her dressed and out to the car. Poor Maya – she was so upset and shrieking and screaming in her car seat while we took care of my mother. We arrived at the hospital around 10 and the ER staff would not allow me to bring the baby back. Luckily, my house was minutes away, so I ran home, nursed the baby, and left her with Elliot. I hoped that she would fall asleep and make it through the night (since she is unable to drink from a bottle).
They did a quick evaluation and ordered a CT scan to see if any of the falls had caused injury. Around 1:00 am, they came in to tell us that the CT scan showed swelling on the brain, indicative of a tumor. We were told we would meet with a neurosurgeon, and we specifically requested Dr. Powers.
Shortly thereafter, Keith, the PA for Dr. Powers, came by to do an evaluation. He explained that my mother had a tumor in her brain and the pressure and swelling had caused my mom to lose the vision in the left half of each of her eyes – a condition called hemianopsia. He said that, and the weakness on the left side of her body, likely caused my mom’s balance issues. At that time, he indicated that the tumor could likely be malignant.
He put in orders for a CT scan with contrast to delineate the tumor and an MRI with contrast for the morning. I ran home at 3:00 am to get some food for all of us, and returned around 3:30. I met my mom and dad in my mom’s ICU room, and my father and I stayed until 4:15 am. Because of the late hour, I brought my Dad home with me, and he spent the night on our couch.