Trip to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara - Part 2

Sunday, September 6, 2021, 8:30 pm, 64⁰F (18⁰C), Clear night
 

I did not share the events of this post as part of my earlier post from today as I did not want to mix two separate messages in one post.

 

While I was in Santa Barbara, CA, on Saturday, August 28, at 4:30 am (EST) Selina, Sumi’s night caregiver changed Sumi and put her back to bed. Selina left the bedroom and went for a glass of water and she heard Sumi making some unusual noises in the bedroom. When Selina checked, Sumi had difficulty breathing with some white foaming on her lips. Selina called 911 and per their instructions started chest compressions (CPR) on Sumi till the emergency medics arrived. 

 

Sumi was taken to the ER at the Crittenton hospital. I called Devanshu and he went to the ER to be with Sumi and oversee her treatment (a huge thank you to Devanshu). Upon Sumi’s examination, all her vital signs, blood work, urine analysis and CT Scan checked out normal and she was released after about 4 hours.

 

As Sumi cannot express what had happened to her, it is difficult to figure out the cause. A couple of days prior to the ER visit. Sumi while pacing in the foyer had tipped over while bending forward and hit the floor and had bruises on her left forehead. I am not sure if that could have contributed to her breathing issues two nights later.

 

There could be two likely possibilities: 1) It could be seizure based on the difficulty in breathing and some foaming the mouth.  Or, 2) Sumi salivates profusely and maybe in sleep she had too much saliva in her mouth and could not swallow it and hence resultant breathing difficulties with foaming. In any case, she needs to monitored closely for the next few days.

 

In the ER, Sumi was given sedative, Ativan, to calm her down to do the CT Scan which made her drowsy for a couple of days afterward. She was sore from the chest compression but slowly coming back to her normal routine.

 

I am very lucky to have great, competent caregivers and Devanshu, a friend I can call in the middle of the night.