My head hurts...

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Lisa! We asked her about 8:40 if her head hurt...of course it does! She said no. At a few minutes before 9:00 she announced that her head hurts. Woo Hoo! Ronda told her thank you for telling her and as she got up to go tell the nurse Lisa said, "I wanted to wait til 9:00 to tell you." Oh my gosh, I thought we were making progress here. 

Ronda asked me why she did that, I replied, "That is how she is, she doesn't want to bother you and she has a set time in her head for things...like wearing long sleeved shirts only after Thanksgiving." She is much like the Dustin Hoffman character in Rain Man.

The nurse came in and asked her if she wanted something, fentinol or tylenol. Well she said tylenol, I assume, because she knows what that is. I asked her if she could give her anything stronger and she can't because that is what Lisa wanted...I told her that Lisa is not one to complain of extreme pain and if she says her head hurts, it is probably more like a migraine...but I don't know. 

I could tell that the nurse was torn and in her head, she has to follow what the patient says. I totally agree and understand. But I also know my sister and if she could give her something stronger, that would be better. 

The nurse read her vitals which showed she was in pain and asked Lisa if she could give her fentinol through her IV, Lisa just looked at her blankly and the nurse was so kind and patient and asked her again and Lisa nodded her head. Amber, (the nurse) told me that she feels better that Lisa told her yes. She explained her reasons and I agreed with her. She was so sweet. I apologized if I made her feel like I was 2nd guessing her and she reassured me that she just met her and that I have known her all my life...we are a team and together we will help her. Within minutes of the medicine, Lisa's vitals went down and the pain was subsiding. YAY! 

FYI: at 11am she was given fentinol which typically lasts 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours and is a fast acting pain reliever. She was not given anything else until I asked the nurse at 6:00 at which she was given tylenol...if it were me? I would be asking for a gun! I'm serious! 

April 2007