Not a good week so far

ThatOtherMike · Aug 26, 2026, 01:21 PM

I took my sister for a heart procedure yesterday. She had to be there at 9am and the procedure wouldn't take place until around noon. I went home to wait. She called me to pick her up around 3:30pm. Halfway there the 'low coolant' light came on. Oh noez not again. I pulled over and added some coolant. No overheating tho

After I got my sister home I started taking things apart looking for the leak. I couldn't find it. It's near where the other leak was but that's all I can tell.
I gave up about 10pm and came in exhausted and soaking wet from sweat. It was still 90F.

Early this morning someone starts calling my cell phone. When I finally woke up enough to answer, it was my sister. She had fallen in the bathroom. I was trying to get her comfortable while I tried to figure out how to get her to her bed. She is a large woman. Before I could figure anything out she had what seemed to be a seizure or convulsion. I called an ambulance.
The 911 operator had told me to have a list of her meds available. I used to take care of her meds so I had schedules listing each med, dosage, and the time it was to be taken. Some time back she decided to take over that chore. She takes a lot of meds, some that were prescribed after she decided she could handle her own meds. I assumed she would have schedules printed out from my old templates. Of course she didn't. My sister has no organizational skills and can't be bothered with details like that. She doesn't do any of the things a person in her situation should be doing. She's always too busy watching tv or talking on the phone or something/anything other than the things a responsible person in her situation would do.
EMS got here quick. After a quick assessment they put a cone around her neck and got her onto a stretcher and put her in the ambulance. After the ambulance left and I took a few moments to feed the cats and wake up, I went to her desk to try to put together a list of meds and what time they needed to be taken. Her desk was chaos. Her room is chaos but I did the best I could. I wrote the med info down and added the names of her PCP and her most competent doctor (her neurologist... Myasthenia Gravis is her worst illness) who is most familiar with her health conditions. Her friend picked that up to take to the hospital.
I'm puzzled about why she wasn't kept in the hospital at least one day after the heart procedure. It seemed like a serious procedure and her health is poor already. It seems like they would want to keep her overnight at least.
I called her grandson and told him what happened. He said he'd call his sister. His sister and I do our best to avoid each other. Her granddaughter is a bodybuilder and internet content creator. Her grandson is a good kid. They've lost both arents in the last five years. The two of them don't get along very well but as I said, he's a good kid and does what needs to be done. He's a good man I should say. He just turned 21 and got engaged to his high school sweetheart. He still does what is necessary even though his sister cheated him out of most of his inheritance.
Apparently he did call her because she sent a text to my sister's phone. The text basically read "I'm busy but if it's an emergency I'll try to get there."
If it's an emergency?

Anyway, just a rant. I'm kind of stuck here unless I can repair the car and that's very iffy.
I don't want to do this anymore.

3rd rock · Aug 27, 2026, 07:53 AM

I've been there, had those weeks where nothing goes right and everything goes wrong. It's really frustrating and it feels like you're fighting tooth and nail just to get to the weekend and get through it all. I think a lot of us can empathize with your difficulties. My mom is getting older and her medical problems are starting to pile up so I may have to take care of her like how you have taken care of your sister. I worry about whether I'll be up to it as her issues likely get worse over the next several years. Lord knows my sister will be no help...

ThatOtherMike · Aug 31, 2026, 03:26 AM

It turns out she didn't fall according to doctors. Her heart rate dropped too low and she feinted. Lucky she didn't break anything.
While at the hospital her heart rate kept falling below 50bpm so they decided to install a pacemaker in addition to clearing the blockage. She got out of the hospital Friday and then her grandaughter piicked her up and she stayed there a couple of days. She has a new machine that monitors her heartrate and sends a signal to... someone via the internet. I had to make all the connections but first I had to clean up some malware she'd picked up somewhere.
I've had a vacation I guess

But actually I've been working on the car. It's such a complex cooling system that repairing anything on it is a PITA. Since this is the second leak this month I've decided to replace as much of it as I can get to. I just now got to the part that was leaking. There's a lot more to go. I hope I can remember where everything goes.

Ruftin · Yesterday, 12:05 PM

Hello @ThatOtherMike Good grief.........I'm just seeing this post!!!!!

My goodness you and your sister have really been going through it lately! I'm sorry to hear she fainted and had to get a pacemaker but happy to assume she didn't break any bones. They surly do send people home the day of a pacemaker insertion. They also offer outpatient knee replacement surgery which my sister's best friend had and she came home the same day. I only put that here because people are going home with serious conditions and after serious procedures the same day. I honestly don't know how it's even legal. Segway warning................because I do it when you least expect it.

When my mom used to fall I'd just call emergency services to come pick her up off the floor. I got to the point where I couldn't do it by myself. As long as she wasn't transported anywhere they didn't charge a fee. Perhaps that could be an option for you in the future with your sister considering you have a shoulder injury. They can also do a portable ECG to check her heart right there in your home. Just suggestions (you probably already know about) for the future now that you know she has a heart issue. I don't know if you have a stethoscope at home but we usually check an apical pulse at least daily for anyone with a pacemaker to make sure it's keeping the heart rate at what the surgeon set it at which is typically at least 60 beats per minute or did they send her home with a unit. I think you said they did but I can't see your post on the screen I'm in. Segway..............

Isn't it just like a car to breakdown in an emergency. So disgusting!! Knowing you....................and I know just a teensy weensy bit.......you'll have it fixed in no time. Hopefully.

Please know that if I don't respond to a post of yours it's isn't intentional. I press new posts and see nothing new sometimes.

ThatOtherMike · Yesterday, 08:46 PM

Yes, she was lucky. A small bathrom is one of the worst places to fall. So many hard, sharp surfaces.
Earlier this week she took Metrolift to see her PCP. Getting out of the vehicle she fell again. The driver called EMS. They took her to the ER. She somehow burst a blood vessel which resulted in a hematoma. Must have been a bad one bc she had to stay in the hospital for a couple or 3 days for observation. She just came home today. I'm exhausted. I'm one crisis removed from giving up. Working on the car has been a nightmare. I have to do it at night due to the heat. I think I'm very close to having it repaired. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to finish it tonight or take a night off. We have nowhere to go and don't need anything from the store so I may just rest.
Don't stress about responding to my posts. I think that sometimes I just post what's going on to get it out of my head. Venting I suppose.

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