Mom falls and is hospitalized
My mom's in the hospital due to a fall on Saturday.
My dad, who is notorious for being succinct, wrote to the effect: "Mom has fractured her pelvis and is in hospital as of Saturday afternoon. She fell off a shuttle bus and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She is recuperating and I will visit her later. Dad."
I was working on Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM EST (12 hours behind Malaysia-time) so I was clueless. My sister in a frenzied panic finally called me on my phone with a "WHERE ARE YOU!?" which always indicates to the receiver of such a call that something is not right. It's the daytime equivalent of the 3 AM phone call. She filled me in on the details, and then I called my mom.
My mom's more lengthy story involved a shuttle bus that is really a large minivan. It was raining and she was holding an umbrella in one hand as she boarded the bus. She reached to grab the seat to pull herself up, but the seat moved, and she lost her balance and tumbled backwards, landing on the road. Passengers quickly rushed off the bus to assist her, and she initially requested a taxi to take her to the bank (her destination), but passengers indicated there were no taxis in the area (or did not frequent the road they were on). The passengers suggested she go to a doctor to get checked out, just in case, given her age (63 years old). She acquiesced and the shuttle van drove two blocks over and dropped her off at the doctor's office. She was having difficulties moving, so the passengers carried her off the van and into the doctor's office. The doctor's examination indicated she was OK, but for insurance/liability purposes, the doctor suggested she go to the hospital to get X-rays, as his office did not have the capabilities to do so. The doctor suggested calling a taxi, but my mom has great insurance coverage and she said "let's go by ambulance!" and so an ambulance was called. She has broken a non-weight bearing bone in her groin and will need the assistance of a 4-leg walker for the next month while she undergoes physical therapy and recovery.
Now my mother had plans to come stay with us in the USA from March through September, to help with the early care of Baby #2, and to spend some time with her daughters/granddaughters. My dad is now vehement that she is not healthy enough to make this arduous journey. Mind you, my dad hates flying, though ironically as a diplomat, he flew for work all the time. In the past 15 years I've lived in the USA, my dad has flown once to the USA, for a span of 12 days to attend my wedding. Oh yes, that's the kind of man he is. So my dad is now also pointing out my mom has diabetes and high blood pressure which needs to be monitored, she is old and frail, she is not capable of this kind of stressful travel, etc.
My mom, on the other hand, is waving this off with a "pooh pooh" and a "I'm FINE". This was followed by a lot of "it was a genuine accident and nothing related to my age or my health condition! Anybody could've slipped off a bus!" And a: "if I'm not healthy enough to see my daughters/granddaughters, then what is the point of living" type statements.
Classic case of three sides of a story: my mom's, my dad's, and the truth, which I suspect is somewhere in the middle.
My dad, who is notorious for being succinct, wrote to the effect: "Mom has fractured her pelvis and is in hospital as of Saturday afternoon. She fell off a shuttle bus and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She is recuperating and I will visit her later. Dad."
I was working on Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM EST (12 hours behind Malaysia-time) so I was clueless. My sister in a frenzied panic finally called me on my phone with a "WHERE ARE YOU!?" which always indicates to the receiver of such a call that something is not right. It's the daytime equivalent of the 3 AM phone call. She filled me in on the details, and then I called my mom.
My mom's more lengthy story involved a shuttle bus that is really a large minivan. It was raining and she was holding an umbrella in one hand as she boarded the bus. She reached to grab the seat to pull herself up, but the seat moved, and she lost her balance and tumbled backwards, landing on the road. Passengers quickly rushed off the bus to assist her, and she initially requested a taxi to take her to the bank (her destination), but passengers indicated there were no taxis in the area (or did not frequent the road they were on). The passengers suggested she go to a doctor to get checked out, just in case, given her age (63 years old). She acquiesced and the shuttle van drove two blocks over and dropped her off at the doctor's office. She was having difficulties moving, so the passengers carried her off the van and into the doctor's office. The doctor's examination indicated she was OK, but for insurance/liability purposes, the doctor suggested she go to the hospital to get X-rays, as his office did not have the capabilities to do so. The doctor suggested calling a taxi, but my mom has great insurance coverage and she said "let's go by ambulance!" and so an ambulance was called. She has broken a non-weight bearing bone in her groin and will need the assistance of a 4-leg walker for the next month while she undergoes physical therapy and recovery.
Now my mother had plans to come stay with us in the USA from March through September, to help with the early care of Baby #2, and to spend some time with her daughters/granddaughters. My dad is now vehement that she is not healthy enough to make this arduous journey. Mind you, my dad hates flying, though ironically as a diplomat, he flew for work all the time. In the past 15 years I've lived in the USA, my dad has flown once to the USA, for a span of 12 days to attend my wedding. Oh yes, that's the kind of man he is. So my dad is now also pointing out my mom has diabetes and high blood pressure which needs to be monitored, she is old and frail, she is not capable of this kind of stressful travel, etc.
My mom, on the other hand, is waving this off with a "pooh pooh" and a "I'm FINE". This was followed by a lot of "it was a genuine accident and nothing related to my age or my health condition! Anybody could've slipped off a bus!" And a: "if I'm not healthy enough to see my daughters/granddaughters, then what is the point of living" type statements.
Classic case of three sides of a story: my mom's, my dad's, and the truth, which I suspect is somewhere in the middle.