Deb's Sparks: Intuition, aka Daughter's Emergency Response System!

I was spending a typical day in my new home; checking email, running errands, working on client files, etc.  All was good but I couldn't settle down.  I had a weird stomach ache.  I was jumpy.  This doesn't happen to me often.  So I noticed, but couldn't put my finger on it.

Then Dad called in the early afternoon saying Mom was ill and he didn't like the way she looked.   Dad is a pretty carefree guy, so when he calls I usually run.  This time my run was much shorter from my new home.  Mom was testing the new Daughter Emergency Response System!  

As I drove to their home, I realized the last time I felt unsettled like this was about a year ago.  I blamed it on too much news or too much coffee.  It turned out, Mom was sick that day.  It all starts making sense.

Dad and I are becoming seasoned in triage with Mom's health.  She wasn't in any distress.  She was sluggish and not really talking, somewhat confused.  The temperature changed by 40 degrees in the past couple of days, so it was much warmer and Mom had a little upset stomach from her lunch.  Now what?  Dad was convinced it was her lunch.  I thought it was dehydration.

If you know me, you know I can kick into my "Olivia Pope" mode and start problem solving and fixing.  It is one of my superpowers!  I start running scenarios out loud with Dad. If we call 911, if we take her to the ER or to Urgent Care...what happens next....  

We have experience here and know what happens...she will be admitted to the hospital (most likely for dehydration) and she will give up, become weak in a hospital bed then be sent to rehab.  It's not a good scenario.

So, my very intuitive father and I start monitoring her in 15 minute increments.  I make her walk around, we take her blood pressure, we give her small sips of water and we wait.  I call my sister so she can participate in the worry and treatment.  Mom looks a little better in 15 minutes, so we do it again.  Water, walk, sit up and wait. She starts perking up and talking.  Then she gets pissy with me that I am hovering over her.  We are on the road to recovery!

Within 2 hours, Mom and I are in the car, running an errand and singing "Over the Rainbow" very loudly and off key but smiling and laughing all the way.  Emergency diverted.

I don't recommend not calling 911 or seeking medical attention in an emergency.  Mom's health is a challenge.  She doesn't speak much anymore and when you need to her communicate how she is feeling to a medical professional she shuts down and they take over.

In this case, Dad and I both knew it wasn't an emergency, though we questioned our own intuition for a few minutes and made some calls and just kept waiting. If Mom had taken a turn for the worst, we would have called 911 or gone to the ER in a skinny minute.  But she didn't, she got better.

My lessons from this experience are:

1. My mother and I are intuitively connected.  I need to check on her when I feel unsettled and jumpy. 
2. My father has amazing intuition.  He kept saying to me "my gut says her lunch didn't agree with her". This isn't the first time he was right with my mother's health.  Dad rocks!
3. Trust your intuition in an emergency.  It's everyone's superpower!

Wishing you peace, love and sparks of health this holiday weekend!  Deb