Today was pretty rough. As I reported several days ago, Pearl had been exhibiting severe dementia related behaviors, but by Tuesday she became lethargic and it got worse yesterday, so her daughter came down and we took her to see her doctor this morning. He said she needed to go to the hospital and called an ambulance. The paramedics came and took her to Northridge Hospital. Her daughter and I spent six hours in the ER, watching the staff in action, not just with Pearl but over the entire ward. We remarked that it really does resemble a medical TV show; non-stop action, bells and buzzers going off, nurses, technicians and doctors coming in to take tests and brief us on the results. It was pretty nerve wracking as you can imagine, but I've been through the ER experience before with my Mom, and the people in there, at any hospital, are incredible. They got Pearl's numbers back up. When we arrived, her BP, pulse and oxygen had all been low. She was in a lot of discomfort, and it turned out that she had a urinary tract infection (UTI for short), which is not uncommon in the very elderly. The previous night, her daughter and I suspected it might be a UTI, and we were actually hoping it was, because a UTI is something they can knock down in the hospital, and also it would explain everything else, all the behavioral symptoms that had come so suddenly and were so extreme. It's really hard with a dementia patient because they cannot communicate what is wrong.
Well anyway, we left the hospital at 6pm, after they moved Pearl to a regular room. They are giving her antibiotics and fluids to rehydrate her system. We are keeping faith tonight that she will be okay, but she is 95 and not out of the woods yet. I will give you an update tomorrow, as soon as I know more. Feel free to say a prayer for Pearl. She was a nurse herself and is a very nice lady. I have been her caregiver for ten years.
Elizabeth, it was good to come home and see your beautiful video of Japan. It looks like such a peaceful place, and as I said before, it's like the land from a fairy tale. Even the trees and plants there have a uniquely Japanese look that matches the architecture of the pagodas. Speaking of which, the pagoda shots reminded me of your very first video "Autre Temps", and the Thai Pavilion you used as a location. :)
I also liked the scenes of the deer. He appeared to be in proximity to a city street, so I wondered if he was penned in by a fence, or if he was just a "local" who was kicking back as part of the community. Maybe he is like the gators in Florida, who walk down the street like everybody else, haha.
Your scenes with him (or her) were nice. Animals are some of the coolest people you will ever meet. :)
Way back, when I first started working for Pearl, we used to watch a PBS series about an English woman who lived in rural Kyoto. I didn't remember the title, so I just Googled it. It was called "At Home With Venitia In Kyoto". This lady had moved to Japan, for whatever reason, and had fallen in love with the rural landscape. But she was also a very talented person, not exactly an artist per se, but living an artistic lifestyle, so each episode of the show would feature her doing things like preparing a meal from plants in her garden, or creating a home remedy medicine from Japanese herbs, or making a decorative tapestry for her house, which was located way out in the woods. She was from London, a gigantic world city, but when she visited Japan for the first time she was hooked, and went back to stay. It was a really cool show and your photos and today's video from Japan reminded me of it. :):)
Thanks for posting it, Elizabeth. It was wonderful to see and I'm glad you had such a fantastic time there. :):)
I am hoping for some good news tomorrow morning and will now go to sleep.
Faith, Hope and Love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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