Daughter got off the bus and greeted me quite cheerfully this afternoon. She has a new purse she'd won at bingo, and informed me everything fit in it (her blood sugar monitor and related supplies). She was excited as she told me about the decaffeinated ice tea Super Supervisor made today. She complained about the fact that the AC didn't work and it was hot in the gift shop. Then she told me she'd had a headache and hadn't felt good all day and spent the entire day crying. The next thing I knew she was holding her head and sobbing hysterically because she was in so much pain.
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I pondered the possibilities. After she left this morning, I discovered she hadn't taken her morning pills. I considered taking them to her, but didn't have time before a meeting I had 60 miles from here. I decided that as long as she didn't remember she'd forgotten them, she'd be fine. Could the missed pills be causing her problem? I was pretty sure she'd had a good day, since she hadn't felt the need to call me. I was confident she hadn't spent the entire day crying since no one else had called me. While I was pretty confident that she hadn't been sick all day, I was alarmed at her level of distress. What if she was having a stroke? Which ER would be best equipped to handle her? The two that are within 15 miles of us might not be equipped to deal with whatever was going on and transfer her. Maybe I should head directly to the best equipped one that was 25 miles away.
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I had her come sit next to me and put my arm around her, offering reassurances and soothing her. She began rocking back and forth as she held her head and sobbed. I suggested she had some big feelings she needed to talk about. She insisted that she was just very sick and had been all day. I got out the monitor to check her blood pressure. Her arm was shaking, and I wondered if I'd get an accurate reading. I told her she needed to calm down and hold still. She stopped crying and sat still. Her blood pressure was a little high for her, but not alarming. I told her she was okay. She got up and went to the bathroom. She came back and was still calm. I suggested she go up to her room and rest for 30 minutes. I pointed out how nice it would be to do so since her bed was properly made and dry. She quietly headed to her bedroom. This time I made the right call. My ongoing fear is that one day I won't, and by the time I get her medical help, it will be too late.
2 comments:
I think she's having withdrawl from the lack of drama in her life. She likes the attention she gets from being sick, doesn't she? She was distracted as long as exciting things were happening like winning a purse at Bingo and being with other people at the gift shop. Then she got home and it was the same old same old. She wanted some drama and she created some.
I'm not trying to be harsh, but from what you posts, your DD spends a lot of time thinking about excitement -- opening some kind of club with her savings, getting engaged, going shopping -- big drama and little drama. She doesn't like feeling bored and she can't think of things to do to lift her out of boredom so she feigns illness.
That's my take on it.
I won't argue with that-- when she starts complaining of physical symptoms, I always begin suggesting things she can do to shift her focus. I've tried to train supervisors to keep her busy. Super Supervisor is one of the few who has listened and followed through.
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