Imagen in pixabay by TungArt7
It was an April afternoon where it was very hot, there was no breeze and the radiant sun was in all its splendor, even though it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon.
I arrived at my mother's house as I do every day to visit her. She has been diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 for more than 15 years, although it is controlled with medication there are times when emotions play against her and her levels shoot up.
I enter the house and I don't see my mother around, it seems strange to me since she is always at this time, usually waiting for my arrival to enjoy our pleasant conversations together. I feel that the air conditioning in her room is on and I knock on the door to let her know I have arrived. But in a wailing voice she answers me
Come in, daughter, I can't get up".
When I hear those words I immediately turn the door handle and enter, the first thing I do is to observe her and when I touch her I feel her very cold, I ask her what she feels and she tells me
I feel nauseous and very cold, I can't get up because I feel very dizzy".
When I heard this I immediately looked for the glucometer to know her blood sugar levels, I tried several times but every time I got an error, when this happens there are two options, either her blood sugar is too high or too low, these are two things that can happen to a person with diabetes very easily. When I didn't get a result I decided to take her to the hospital.
To get my mom out of bed I had to call my husband because she was too weak to get up by herself, we called a friend who was going to take us and between the three of us we helped her to get to the vehicle, while she kept on insisting
Daughter, I'm fine, you don't need to take me to the hospital, it must be a virus".
I answered her to reassure her
It's just to be sure, mom".
When we arrived we had to wait for a while even though my mother was not well, when they attended her I explained to the doctor her symptoms and he said
It's probably her glycemia",
In order for her not to walk so much, he sent us to the hospital lab to do an emergency test, where you can have more accurate and quicker results, the doctor took the blood sample and we sat on the chairs outside, we waited about an hour, while my mom kept telling me
Daughter, let's go home, I'm fine, your dad will be home from work soon".
Finally it was time to get the lab result and to my surprise it showed 747 when the normal is up to 110, the doctor when he saw the result started to complain to my mom and to say that she had to take more care of herself, I agreed with everything the doctor said, he added
He added: "I am going to give her insulin and hydration so she can go home stable".
I innocently said
Doctor, she does not normally have her blood sugar stabilized with insulin, it usually takes days for the insulin to have the desired effect".
The doctor with a smile said
Then we are going to enjoy your mother's company for several days because as long as she is not stable she is not going to leave here, I am going to look for sheets to make the admission".
I didn't even want to look my mother in the face, I knew she would be upset with me, she said to me
"Thank you for all your help, you added fuel to the fire".
I gave her a smile and tried to cheer her up, I know no one likes being in a hospital but it was for her own good. The following days I was constantly coming and going to the hospital to visit mom, her glycemia was so high that it took her a long time to stabilize, the doctors were surprised because for less than that a person could get a diabetic coma.
It had already been 7 exhausting days and after the medical review the doctor told me that my mom was discharged, how exciting, she was already stable and we were going home.
When I went to give him the news he was thrilled and told me
Let's go home quickly before you tell the doctor something else and leave me for more days". I couldn't stop laughing at his words.
It's been a few years since that day and my mother still tells me that it was my fault that she was hospitalized, it wasn't because of her super high glycemia, nor her weakness and dehydration, she says it was me for adding fuel to the fire.
When she is messing up with her food I tell her.
You have to take care of yourself, last time you were hospitalized for 7 days for messing up".
She tells me
"I have to take care of myself is to go with you because you make them leave me there because of the things you say".
Publication originally written in Spanish and translated into Spanish by translator Deepl
Español
Mi madre y mi imprudencia
Imagen en pixabay por TungArt7
Era una tarde de abril donde hacía mucho calor, no había brisa y el radiante sol estaba en todo su esplendor, aunque eran las 5 de la tarde.
Llegué a casa de mi madre como todos los días a visitarla. Ella tiene más de 15 años con diagnóstico de Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2, aunque se controla con medicamentos hay ocasiones donde las emociones le juegan en contra y sus niveles se disparan.
Entro a casa y no veo a mi madre por allí, me parece extraño ya que siempre a esta hora, por lo general está esperando mi llegada para disfrutar juntas de nuestras agradables conversaciones. Siento que el aire acondicionado de su habitación está encendido y toco la puerta para que sepa que llegué. Pero con una voz de lamento me responde
"Pasa hija que no puedo levantarme".
Cuando oigo esas palabras inmediatamente giro la manilla de la puerta y entro, lo primero que hago es observarla y al tocarla la siento muy fría, le pregunto que siente y ella me dice
"Tengo nauseas y mucho frío, no me puedo levantar porque me siento muy mareada"
Al oír esto inmediatamente busqué el glucómetro para saber sus niveles de azúcar, lo intenté varias veces pero todas las veces me marcaba error, cuando pasa eso pueden ser dos opciones o tiene la glicemia muy alta o muy baja, son dos cosas que pueden ocurrirle a una persona con diabetes muy fácilmente. Al no obtener un resultado decidí llevarla al hospital.
Para levantar a mi mamá de la cama tuve que llamar a mi esposo porque ella estaba muy débil para levantarse por si misma, llamamos a un amigo que nos iba a llevar y entre los tres la ayudamos a llegar al vehículo, mientras ella seguía insistiendo
"Hija yo estoy bien, no hace falta que me lleves al hospital debe ser un virus".
Yo le respondía para tranquilizarla
"Es solo para estar seguros mamá".
Al llegar nos tocó esperar un rato a pesar de que mi madre no estaba bien, cuando la atendieron le expliqué al doctor sus sintomas y dijo
"Probablemente si sea su glicemia",
Para que ella no caminara tanto, nos envió al laboratorio del hospital para que hicieran un examen de emergencia, donde se pueden tener resultados más exactos y rápidos, la licenciada extrajo la sangre de muestra y nos sentamos en las sillas afuera, esperamos alrededor de una hora, mientras mi mamá me decía constantemente
"Hija vamos a casa que yo estoy bien, tu papá ya va a llegar del trabajo".
Hasta que al fin llegó la hora de buscar el resultado de laboratorio y para mí sorpresa marcaba 747 cuando lo normal es hasta 110, el doctor al ver el resultado comenzó a reclamar a mi mamá y a decir que tenía que cuidarse más, yo estuve de acuerdo en todo lo que le dijo el doctor, él agregó
"Le voy a colocar insulina y una hidratación para que se pueda ir a casa estable".
Yo inocentemente le dije
"Doctor a ella normalmente no se le estabiliza la glicemia con insulina, normalmente requiere días para que la insulina haga el efecto deseado".
El doctor con una sonrisa me dijo
"Entonces vamos a disfrutar de la compañía de tu madre por varios días porque mientras no esté estable no se va a ir de aquí, voy a buscar hojas para hacer el ingreso".
Yo no quería ni ver a mi madre a la cara, sabía que iba a estar molesta conmigo, me dijo
"Gracias por toda tu ayuda, le agregaste combustible al fuego".
Yo le di una sonrisa y la trate de animar, sé que a nadie le gusta estar en un hospital pero era por su bien. Los días siguientes iba y venía constantemente al hospital a visitar a mamá, la glicemia estaba tan alta que le costó mucho estabilizarse, los médicos estaban sorprendidos porque por menos de eso a una persona le podía dar un coma diabetico.
Ya habían pasado 7 agotadores días y luego de la revista médica el doctor me dice que mi mamá está de alta, que emoción, ya estaba estable y nos íbamos a casa.
Cuando le fuí a dar la noticia se emocionó y me dijo
"Vamos a casa rápido antes de que le digas otra cosa al doctor y me dejen más dias". Yo no podía dejar de reír ante sus palabras.
Han pasado unos años desde ese día y mi madre todavía me dice que fue mi culpa su hospitalización, no fue por su glicemia super alta, tampoco su debilidad y su deshidratación, ella dice que fuí yo por agregarle combustible al fuego.
Cuando esta haciendo desarreglo con la comida le digo
"Tienes que cuidarte, mira que la última vez te quedaste 7 días hospitalizada por hacer desarreglos".
Ella me dice
"Tengo que cuidarme es de ir contigo porque haces que me dejen allí por las cosas que dices".
Publicación escrita originalmente en español y traducida en traductor Deepl
I loved the fact that you and your mom had a very close and loving relationship, even if she likes to tease you a bit. 😉 I'm glad to hear that she's doing well now and that her diabetes is under control, for the most part.
I have to say, I laughed out loud when I read about the doctor's reaction to your mom's blood sugar levels. 747?! Wow, that's insane! No wonder they wanted to keep her there for a while. 🤯
It's clear that you care about her deeply. Keep up the good work, ma'am. Just be careful what you say to the doctors, though. You don't want to accidentally extend her hospital stays, even if it's for her own good...lol
I appreciate your comment, indeed our relationship is pleasant, no doubt I learned my lesson, I have to watch what I say, however as you appreciate it was for his sake in that opportunity, perhaps it would be another story to be told if we did not intervene in that way. And definitely laughter is never lacking and from those overwhelming and even stressful moments good humor helps.
You just saved a beautiful soul.
You are a born hero that deserves more than just a thumbs up. I love the way you first tried you best to know what the problem was before finally deciding to take her to the hospital.
I'm happy she survived and you two have continued staying together, having sweet and memorable conversations.
Thank you for your nice comment, I like to help others and how not to do it with my mother, she took care of me and my siblings when we were little, a way to repay her is to be aware of their health and welfare.
Elderly people use to be complicated, especially, when it comes to convince them. There isn't one thing they are not right about😅
It is very true what you say, if you tell them what to do they may interpret that you are attacking them or belittling their experience, even if you don't agree with them they may think that their opinion is no longer valid, it is complicated sometimes, but you also learn to understand them and cope with things, the important thing is the love that drives us to act in favor of them. Thank you for your comment
I love the relationship that you have with your mom. It is so lovely to be able to have that humour and banter to see you through the tough times. You are doing right by your mom - and she likely knows this! She's just playing tough girl! :-)
Be careful of the gender in your pronouns in the English translation. There are various references to your mother as he or him which are masculine. You should instead refer to she and her. Before you publish in future, try running a check for all occurrences of these pronouns and ensure that they are being used correctly. ;-) I would also try to add more show than tell into your writing. So for example, instead of telling us that your mother was nauseous, cold, weak and dizzy, show us the pained and drained expression in her face, the raised hair follicles on her arm, her faltering steps. Feelings and sensations draw the reader deeper than straight facts. I shared resources in the comments on your last article that can help with this.
Thank you for writing in The Ink Well. I enjoy reading you.
I appreciate the insight you have into the mother-daughter relationship, and I hope it stays that way forever positive and joyful. I also appreciate the suggestions, try to implement some from the previous post, but I must continue to strive to present the emotions and experiences with the five senses within the words, once again thank you. And I will keep in mind the details in the translation. Greetings and blessings.