Cathy Dowers Updates on Mom

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Most of you know that mom has had a rough time lately. She fell about 8 weeks  ago and was in a lot of pain. She continued on working full-time but the pain was very bad and made it difficult for her to get any rest or relax. A little over a week ago the pain got so bad she went to the emergency room where they gave her a shot for the pain. Immediately following she began vomiting for several days and wasn't eating or drinking. She also wasn't taking her insulin since she wasn't eating because she didn't want to bottom out.


On Tuesday night she fell in her family room and couldn't get off the floor. She still doesn't really know what made her fall but she became disoriented. When morning came she was able to orient herself and get up. She called Jessie who then called me to come over. She didn't have any visible injuries but was a bit confused and disoriented. I talked her into coming with me and I took her to the emergency room.


When she was assessed, they found that her blood sugar was in the 700s, her kidneys weren't functioning very well, and her heart enzymes were high indicating there may have been a cardiac event. She was admitted to St. Francis South in Indianapolis where we have been since.


They have done many tests on her and have ruled a lot of things out (no heart attack, no clear evidence of a stroke, no infection) but she continues to have the confusion. At this time her blood sugar is better although it does spike up into the 200s every now and then. Her kidney function is back to normal and they have ruled out any type of heart issue.


The mystery is why she is still dealing with confusion. Her labs and tests are all good and the doctors are still trying to figure out what is going on. She is neglecting her left side and has difficulty moving about. There has been talk about possible seizures and/or a mild stroke.


She is in much better spirits and is very happy with the care she is receiving here at St. Francis. It is going to be a long road back but she's tough and independent. Jessie and I are with her regularly and will keep this site updated.