In the last few days, there was another lady. I don't know why they come to the front desk when they are feeling like they're having a medical emergency. It seems like it would make a lot more sense (and be much more safe) if they would stay put and either press their emergency call buttons or call me to come to them.
So anyway, this lady comes to the front desk, and says she is a "new" diabetic... that she went to the ER in JULY (almost 2 months ago) and was diagnosed, and hasn't been able to get in to see her physician yet. The ER doc gave her some pills which she'd been taking up until a week ago, but she stopped because her physician told her over the phone to stop taking them until he could do a blood test on her. In the mean time, she's been trying to manage her blood sugar by how she feels and taking sips of orange juice. Um, yeah.
Talking to her, she just seems overwhelmed and defeated by the whole thing. She's a very reserved lady, and obviously doesn't like asking for help, but she's also feeling very alone and depressed about the whole thing. Another resident where I work gave her a huge book of dietary information for diabetics but she doesn't feel up to reading it.
She was having some trouble breathing when she came to the front desk, and said she felt a bit foggy in the head. When the paramedics came, they measured her blood sugar and it was almost 300, so high, but not ridiculously out of control. That's good at least, that she is aware of the fluctuations in her body before they make her pass out.
I've been trying to give her some encouragement, but today I realized I might be coming across as a little bit of a Polyanna; that maybe my reassurances don't mean a lot to her and she just needs to come to terms with it on her own time. She has her doc appointment tomorrow. Hopefully getting some more information will make her feel empowered rather than further overwhelmed.
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