(I just realized it’s April first; this is NOT a joke, this is just horrible timing for my family)

I found out last night, very late, from my sister that my grandmother was in the ER. Apparently, she had told my grandfather she felt like she was going to pass out and then she did and then she fell over and hit her head.

She’s been in the emergency room since then. They’re actually moving her to the ICU soon. She’s still unconscious, and they don’t know why. The CT scan was inconclusive, and she isn’t stable enough to do an MRI (she has too much equipment on and MRIs are too restrictive for everything). It sounds like they’re suspecting she had a stroke of some sort. The problem is the CT didn’t show one, and so they can’t treat it without knowing which kind (one kind is from excessive bleeding so you need to give blood clotting medication and one is from blood clotting and so you need to give blood thinners). Apparently, she also has a blood clot in her lung that is putting pressure on her heart; but she is already on blood thinner medication (normal prescription) so they can’t actually do anything without potentially making anything in her brain worse.

My sister just sent me a text a moment ago saying some weird test results came back and now they’re testing her for tuberculosis. Getting TB in California is extremely rare, so it’s unlikely, but you never know for sure so better safe than sorry.

I’m having a very hard time trying to get a hold of my family because they’re in the hospital right now and hospitals seem to all be black holes of no cell service. I’m trying to determine if I need to go out there right this moment or not, which means rescheduling a few doctor appointments. Luckily, one of my very good friends said he can babysit the kitty cats if necessary.

Christine (my sister) is worried that Grama might now wake up. Dad is understandably distraught, it is his mother after all. I haven’t been able to talk to my mom yet. I’m not necessarily surprised, but I’m definitely not okay and I’m worried and freaked out and we definitely need your good energy.

By the way, my grandfather is doing very well after his debacle with the bypass surgery. He’s recovering perfectly well. My grandparents also seem to deal with this kind of thing very well, so I don’t think he’d be doing poorly on an emotional level right now (worried, I’m sure, but not a wreck).