In addition to general busyness we got hit with a medical double whammy Friday. Both Zoe and her mom, Gerry, ended up in Emergency Rooms. Friday morning we got a call that Gerry (she has Alzheimer's and is at Western State Hospital) had a seizure. The sent her to a nearby (to Western State) ER. It was a frustrating day trying to find out just what happened. Zoe was getting increasingly frustrated and then, around 3 in the afternoon, we found out she had been admitted for more testing. That is what we were afraid of. Not that she needed tests but that she would be admitted. We had been to that ER before with Gerry and they are not set up to deal with Alzheimer's patients on their terms. Our worst fears were realized when Zoe found out that they were restraining Gerry and giving her Haldol to calm her down. Gerry was freaking out. She was terrified and angry. The instructions on how to deal with Gerry either never got to the ER or they weren't using them. The nurse complained that she wouldn't take her pain pill. Gerry doesn't take pills. She has difficulty swallowing them. Always has and it is worse now. The pills have to be crushed and taken with pudding or ice cream. Then she complained that Gerry wouldn't tell them what was wrong with her. Duh! She has Alzheimer's. She can't communicate. Zoe was getting so upset she finally had to pass off the phone to me. We gave them instructions on how to deal with Gerry and they told us they were starting to undo the restraints. Zoe Took a nap and woke up at 10:30 with her stomach in pain. Here Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which had been quite for the past year, was back. Here stomach had been bothering her but the stress of the day put it over and we spent the night in the Emergency Room at Whidbey General. Gerry was sent back to Western State Hospital the next day with no explanation of the seizure, which may have only been a fainting. Zoe is doing better but her world has been shaken. Zoe has more here and here.