Russell Kirkpatrick's Journal
Of Doctors and Hospitals
25-May-2008
So the moment I step off the plane in Christchurch I get a call to say mother-in-law has renal failure and is not expected to last the weekend. Her rest home GP took her off her meds and told Dorinda there was nothing more to be done.
I was ready to return immediately, and asked the two Australian friends I was to guide around the South Island if they'd mind making their own way. Dorinda told me to wait - her two brothers were en route (one from the Gold Coast). So I waited.
To find that one of the rest home nurses overruled the GP and sent MIL to hospital, where they put her on a drip and began treating the severe thrush that had been preventing her eating or drinking. Renal failure? Turns out she had become severely dehydrated and the GP simply didn't realise that this is a major cause of supposed 'renal failure' amongst elderly patients.
She has steadily if slowly improved in hospital and will remain there for some time, but no one now is talking about imminent death. I remained on my holiday, did meet briefly with my Aussie friends (and drove them to Queenstown) and spent a great few days with my cousin Amanda, Aunt Karen and Uncle Keith, as well as my brother James and his family. I arrived home yesterday.
Played in the pennant final today - we won!
Well done on winning the pennant final.
Off to see M.I.L. tonight. Apparently she's back to her spectacularly cantankerous best.