I am updating here as many people are of course asking. Our vacation week in Higgins Beach started out wonderfully; as always it was great to be with Debbie---and she was so happy to see her beloved Leo and Owen. On Wednesday I woke up with an upset stomach and didn't feel great for part of the day so when Debbie woke up on Thursday not feeling great we just shrugged it off. She felt increasingly bad, trying to eat dinner but just going to bed. On Friday she woke up feeling worse. We still just assumed she had picked up some bug. Over the course of the day she seemed to get worse and just seemed a bit off. It wasn't that she was real confused but something wasn't right. That evening I asked her if she needed to go to the ER but she said no. Hindsight of course is a wondrous thing. She went to bed about 8:30 but kept getting up to go to the bathroom. At this point we were really concerned about her but our main concern was still just whether she'd be o.k. to drive back to Boston the next morning to get her beloved Rodolfo.
I woke up about midnight and Ernie wasn't in bed. I figured he had drifted off watching tv and for some reason this always makes me crazy so I went to wake him up. I found him awake, he said he was waiting to use the bathroom but Debbie was in there. He said he was worried, that she'd been in there 15-20 minutes. I went and knocked and when there was no answer I opened the door. The light was out and it took me a minute to realize that she was passed out on the floor.
We called 911 and they got there quickly. They took her to Maine Medical Center in Portland. I went with them. The drive was surreal. The radio was playing some version of 'Spin me round (like a record)' and we drove down the middle of the streets with the lights flashing. Nothing seemed real.
She wasn't in ER too terribly long before they moved her into intensive care. She is intubated and sedated. Initially they though it was diabetic ketoacidnosis. They started her on insulin though and it...oh god....my mind is blurring....something to do with her potassium happened. They took her off the insulin and it didn't affect her blood sugars so now they are not sure. They are running a million labs. Her vitals are a little bit better. Although she is still assisted with her breathing, she is breathing on her own. We just don't know right now.
Everyone at the hospital has been wonderful....and very kind to boot. When they first brought me into the ER it was hard. They were asking me all about her history and of course I know bits and pieces.... I sat there looking at her with a so many tubes and machines and I couldn't help but tell them that in the last five years I've taken care of my father, then our other sister, and then my mother, as they died. She's the only one left. The doctor stood there next to me and just put his hand on my back. It was so kind.
Of course this was the morning that we had to check out of our house. We were supposed to be halfway home right now. Bev, whom we rent from, is beyond wonderful. We have left Debbie's car at her house and she has offered to help bring it back to Boston if necessary. I was so touched I almost cried but I am cried out.
I'm not sure how long we can stay here. Right now we're planning to stay at least until Monday morning but frankly I don't know if we can afford to stay longer. I thought of sending Ernie and the boys back and staying and flying back later but good lord between the cost of a last minute hotel in Portland and airfare....and we're paying for her sick cat to boarded until she's better and that, just for the first week, was incredibly expensive. As some of you know, Debbie is unemployed so money is of course tight and we are still reeling from the new AC/furnace that we had to put in the week before we left. Obviously, money is not the issue here, but the logistics of it all get freaking complicated. A different doctor I spoke to last night assured me, "we know your life is in the midwest and we will take good care of her." I think I probably cried again. It's hard to know what to do.
What I CAN say is how much I appreciate the outpouring of kind thoughts, blessings and prayers. Debbie would so appreciate the prayers so please continue. I will update as soon as there is news. Thank you again for the kind thoughts..... I just got two hours of sleep after being up all night so feel marginally better.