liquor + pain

Last night was a little sad. Grandma's tooth is horribly painful - to the point where she was crying/praying in agony. I told her she could either have a drink or a Vicodin for the pain. She said she wanted to be wise, so she'll take the wine. (Personally, I'd take the drugs, but that's just me.) I had the Vicodin in my purse next to my bed, so I felt safe going to my room and turning in for the night.

She started yelling for me about 30 mins later. I'll admit, I ignored it for about 5 mins. She's done this before, and she just wants me to know where the towels are, or that I can turn on the fan, or do I want more pillows? I was hoping she'd think I was asleep. But she kept yelling so I went to find her.

I found her in the bathroom on the toilet (drawers up, just sitting for a place to sit) and bawling. Tears streaming down her face. She said that normally alcohol takes away all her pain and puts her to sleep (!), but tonight she'd been drinking and it wasn't working. The pain was shooting down her neck to her collarbone (damn tooth!). I went for a cold pack in the freezer, praying for wisdom. She'd been drinking, so I was really hesitant to give her a Vicodin. But with all her yelling, I had to do something.

I put the cold pack on her jaw, put her to bed, and googled Vicodin + alcohol, to see what the level of risk was. It said that if you have 3+ drinks per day, you might not be allowed to take Vicodin (acetaminophen) because of liver damage risks. Oy. But she was yelling in the next room.

I went into the kitchen to inventory the alcohol left. She had more of that mint liquor (sick), but everything else appeared to be in tact. I decided she could have half a Vicodin, given that much alcohol, and knowing she would continue drinking after I went to bed later. For HER sake, I wish she could have had two of them, but I couldn't live with myself if she somehow damaged her internal organs for the sake of a night of sleep for me. This is so hard.

I gave her the half Vicodin. She went to sleep very soon thereafter. I'm up this morning and the same amount of alcohol is here. Praise God. I was hoping the Vicodin would help her pass out.

That was at about midnight and now it's about 11am and she's still asleep. I keep checking on her and she's snoring. The pain must be intense. Poor girl.