Today there's a change.
Mom woke up in terrible pain. She was in pain all day. It was so bad she spent the entire day lying down and resting or sleeping. Finally, after 7 PM, my father asked her if she had any pain pills. She remembered that she did, and took two.
Mom obviously was still in a lot of pain when I called at 8. She told me about all the things she couldn't do today, she said that she wasn't taking care of the dogs because she couldn't get up, she sobbed that it took her 20 minutes to get out of bed.
I asked her what the doctor said. "I didn't call," she told me.
"Why not? How can they help you if they don't know something's wrong?" I asked.
"Because I was afraid of what they'd say and I was afraid they'd send me to the hospital and I can't go to the hospital because THERE'S NOBODY TO TAKE CARE OF THE DOGS!" she wailed.
And here I am, over a thousand miles away, and there's nothing I can do.
She promises she'll call tomorrow if the pain continues. Of course, tomorrow is Sunday. She'll be talking to an answering service.
So now I know that she lied every time she promised she'd keep her doctor informed of her condition. And I know that the behavior will continue. I suppose I should have known that, but I really wanted to believe her when she promised she'd talk to him. I'm an idiot.
Original source: http://nvaine.wordpress.com/?p=288
