Please don't make a fuss, dear

摘要

My mother reached 86 with her hearing, vision, and all her wits intact, living alone, and enjoying life. Then a neighbour found her semiconscious, bleeding from a head wound. She had struck her head on the sideboard and crawled to the telephone. The left hemiparesis was quickly evident and became dense. She was admitted to the local general hospital where she had previously had a cardiac pacemaker inserted and been treated for mild hypertension and presumed angina. Unfortunately, no trace of the previous hospital records could be found. The paralysed limbs became oedematous, deep vein thrombosis was considered and rejected, a diuretic was prescribed.