Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Update

(photo not mine)

A big thank you to all of you who dropped by to send positive thoughts, prayers and best wishes to my mother and my family. They were greatly apreciated.

My parents and other relatives all live in Gloucester which has been badly hit by the flooding. You can view many pictures here. Yesterday the water was receding but today another inch of rain is due and then more rain is expected later in the week. With the rivers full and the ground already saturated this is a big threat and will hamper the clean up operation. My family escaped actually being flooded but were without power for a day (now restored) and have been without fresh water since the weekend. It could be two weeks before this is restored! Emergency supplies are being shipped into the area as shown here.

As you know my mother was taken into hospital at the end of last week as her legs had become very bad and the treatment would exacerbate some of her other medical problems. Well, they strated her on anti-biotics and said they would need to keep her in but yesterday all but the critical cases were dischaged and my mother was sent home! She was simply told to keep taking the anti-biotics and that was it! I can understand them not having water and needed to reduce the strain on the resources BUT I cannot understand how they can wash their hands of these people so easily. There has been no plans to re-admit them, no follow-up appointments made, nothing. My poor father has just been left to care for her. I am quite concerned as he is not a nurse and I worry about the strain on him.

16 comments:

kenju said...

That is a bad situation to be in, Bob-kat, especially since you are too far away to help them on a daily basis. I hope things change for the better and soon!

David Edward said...

rain go far away, like to souther calif where we are parched!

I hope things continue to work out for your folks.

Beckie said...

That is a difficult situation. No follow up appointment? How absolutely frustrating for everyone involved.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

This is truly horrendous and pretty frightening...Those pictures really give you the impact of all this rain...
I feel for everyone there, but especially your Mom....As you said, you can understand them not having water, etc..BUT, to just pretty much abandon people like your Mom...Well, something is terribly wrong with that.
I hope the rain will abate soon...! And people here wonder if there is Global Warming???
Has there been this much rain ever before in The UK?

Lia said...

Hi, Michele sent me.

That's a pretty scary looking picture. I hope things get fixed and cleared up sooner than two weeks! That's crazy. And I hope your mother gets better. And that she gets the care she needs.

craziequeen said...

Good grief - we heard they had evacuated hospitals, but the reality of it hadn't hit me til I read this.

I'm keeping your mum and the family in my thoughts - and you, don't overdo it.....

Let's hope some of these helicopters flying non-stop over my house are taking plenty of water in.

cq

Anonymous said...

Scary stuff Bobkat. Hope things turn for the better for your mother and her antibiotics do the trick. Surely the hospitals will start admitting once again when the water problem is solved?

Michael K. Althouse said...

I am so sorry for your parents - I hope all works out and your mother and father come out of the crisis with no ill effects.

That is quite a lot of water there - it brings back memories.

Michele sent me,

Mike

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Michele sent me to you, my dear...I hope the rains have stopped by now...And I also hope your Mom is a bit better, too...!
And how are you, my dear? Working hard I am sure. I'm off tp Zzzzzand in just a few minutes! YOU have a good day, and a better weekend, too!

Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator said...

Michele sent me and holy cow.

I hope everything turns out OK. Our house was just flooded here in Chicago about 4 weeks ago, but it certainly wasn't that bad.

Ramona said...

Bobkat. Yikes! Is there such a thing as Homecare Nurses in the UK? I should thank that there would be. Maybe you could call them for a referral, or, perhaps her family physician could. Alternatively, is there perhaps a nurse in their neighbourhood that can pop by and check on your mom? I know that I have helped my neighbours out when I could. I can give you some advice on what to look out for, but I would think that with your mom's diabetes, and kidney issues that she would need some regular bloodwork taken. Does she need any dressing changes on her legs?
I am astonished/appauled at the flooding! That is just crazy! And here I am wishing it would rain on my garden and brown grass. It's always greener on the other side of the fence! (just trying to throw some lame humour into a bad situation for you)

carmilevy said...

Canadian hospitals seem to follow a similar approach: treat 'em, and kick 'em out as soon as possible. They've done studies that show the number of bounceback cases because of this aggressive discharge policy is skyrocketing, and the total cost to the system is actually much higher than would otherwise be the case.

Of course, you already know this. And we haven't even begun to factor in the life-related costs, the strain on families, etc.

Your mum is going through a similar thing now as my mother-in-law is. Infection, antibiotics, bouncing between hospital and home, strain on dad... Well, my MIL isn't dealing with a flood, but it's close enough.

So every time I think of her, which is often, I think of you, too. I continue to pray that everyone ends of healthy, happy and safe.

Your strength through this all amazes me. I know she knows how lucky she is to have a daughter like you.

Michele knows, too.

SzélsőFa said...

ouch, I'm sending you my best wishes!
Michele sent me today.

kenju said...

How are the water levels now, Bob-kat. Surely they have receded, I hope. Michele sent me today.

BreadBox said...

I do hope that your parents are okay, and that the water has receded now: my parents got very lucky, I think --- they were under a flood warning that failed to materialize (downriver of Windsor). I think that the fact that it rained less on Monday than had been expected was the lifesaver there...
Michele sent me, today, but the wishes are from me too.
N.

Panthergirl said...

Hope things get better for your family very soon! How scary.