No end to excitement, and we could do without some of it. Alison stopped before work, then after, at 12:30. I felt quite a bit better and even took a shower while A. changed my bed. Leslie stopped in and we had a nice chat. Alison was planning to leave about 6:00 to meet Mike an hour later at the park for their Friday night hike. She watered my veggies, pulled some weeds, swept the hall, and cleaned up the kitchen. She then went to the store, got a rotisserie chicken and other supplies, made dinner, and we called Pat in.
He kept stalling and we finally went in to get him. Found him sweating profusely, confused, and unable to get up. We immediately gave him orange juice and other sweets, but Alison also wanted to test his sugar. She's done it before, but because she couldn't get the infernal machine to register--it seems all these damn things are different--decided to ask Barb H., an R.N. to come over and try. Barb couldn't get it to work either. She took his blood pressure (Alison has a cuff in her car), which was okay, but none of us liked his continuing confusion, pallor, and sweating. We saw that his sugar had been 44 when he took it last--dangerously low. Later, he said he couldn't remember if he actually took the insulin then or not.
We finally reluctantly decided he should go to the hospital. Alison thought we should call the rescue squad, rather than try to transport him ourselves, so we did. When they came, Pat seemed a lot better--answered their questions, was coherent and had stopped sweating, although he was already drenched. They asked if we thought he should go and we just weren't sure. Finally decided he should, especially as he had an irregular pulse, as both Barb and the EMT noted.
They took him, then Alison and I ran around getting things--completely forgetting about his portable oxygen units until we were halfway there. We decided they'd probably keep him overnight, so didn't turn back.
Well, they didn't him, as he had recovered from the immediate crises. We asked if we could borrow the oxygen apparatus, they said no, but that they could have an ambulance drive him home. However, as this wasn't medically necessary, we discovered Medicare wouldn't pay. That meant that AARP almost surely wouldn't, either, and I was damned if I take on another fight with an insurance company, especially one doomed to fail--or pay the thousands they would surely charge. Had to leave Pat there while Alison took me home, as I was exhausted. Got there about quarter of 11:00 and, after loading up her car with the tanks and Pat's sweater, she drove back to get him. I had a bite to eat--I've been eating very little--then went to bed, but woke up when they got home 12:30. A. decided it was too late for her to get home, so slept over and I'll wake her in ten minutes, at 7:00. Hope she gets more sleep when she gets home.