Having put ourselves into self imposed isolation since before Christmas and with just one week to go we were feeling hopeful that we'd dodged the dreaded Omicron and getting the required negative PCR would just be a formality.
We hadn't accounted for the Mother Factor; with one week to go she had a fall at the care home and was taken to hospital with a suspected hip and/or knee fracture. With her advancing dementia, I just had to go to the Medway to help her and the medical staff as she can be quite difficult. Sure enough after waiting 1 1/2 hours for x-ray results it transpired that she had "declined" so have any taken and so had merely been returned to A&E Majors. The Doctor was furious and the plan was then to sedate her and try again and would I go too this time but unfortunately we had quite a long wait to go in and I think the sedation may have already started to wear off as I ended up having to hold her hands quite firmly to stop her fighting off the poor radiographers trying to move her legs. She craftily dug her nails into my hands whenever she could twist my grip and even came for my arm with bared teeth a couple of times. After numerous attempts I thought we might have got some usable x-rays and then I started to come over a bit hot and light headed. They turned on the aircon and got me some water and a chair but the next thing I knew I'd passed out, fallen off the chair and was lying on the floor. The radiographers and I both thought that was it, having fainted I'd soon feel better, but I then fainted again and came to with about 6 people and a Dr peering down at me and a very sore tongue which I'd obviously bitten quite extensively. Plus, I'm embarrassed to say, I'd emptied my bladder! (although when a radiographer commented I must have knocked over the water he'd given me, I was tempted to keep quiet). I was then wheel chaired off to ED Minors 3, confusing all staff as I hadn't been checked in, then had bloods taken (not easy with my veins) ECG and hooked up to a saline drip. I explained why I was there in the first place and no, I hadn't eaten or drunk anything because I'd received an urgent phone call about my Mum and once at the hospital didn't feel I could leave her to get anything, so the Dr decided I was probably dehydrated and lacking food whereupon I was given tea, biscuits and a sandwich. I phoned Ian a while later and for the rest of the afternoon he alternated between Minors and Majors where free movement is almost impossible and getting told off in each area because he'd been to the other one which was against the rules. After a couple of hours I started to feel better and eventually after repeat blood tests/ECG I was discharged with vasovagal as the diagnosis in the absence of any other obvious cause - which in the vax clinic we call "being a flake".
After all that palaver with the x-rays, the arthritis damage to her hip made it impossible to tell if there was a fracture and so she then had to go for a CT scan. About 1800 she was given the all clear and with just a few bits of paperwork to finish would soon be on her way back to the care home. So we left her to it but poor soul didn't get back until 0130!
Blow me down, the following morning we had another call to say she'd fallen again, this time off the end of the bed and although the paramedics, when they eventually arrived, were satisfied she was not seriously injured she had by this time been on the floor over 4 hours which can apparently result in kidney damage so she needed checking out. To cut another long story short; kidneys fine and finally back to the care home but not until about 1830 and yes I was with her the whole time.
So what are our chances of NOT having picked up COVID - especially as I was without a mask for several hours on Saturday afternoon whilst being treated?