Horrible Story...lady used her dog as excuse to leave her mom in the emergency room

[Debbie and Thomas]

Yesterday my sister had to take her son to Emergency at the local hospital as he hurt his hand and it was badly swollen.  While waiting..a woman came in with her mother who was elderley and was in a wheel chair.  Lori(my sister) had to move a bit to make room for the wheelchair but the woman pushing it kept staring at Lori...so Lori asked her"is everything alright"?  The woman looked panicked and told Lori that she was parked illegally and that her dog was in the car.  She asked Lori if she would watch her mother for 20 min. while she drove the dog home and came back.  She said her mother could understand everything...she just could not speak.  Reluctantly..my sister agreed and the woman kissed her mother and said "Good bye mom...I love you"  She left.  Ater two hours...she was not back and my sister then realized she had no intention of coming back.  The nurses in the ER took over and called in social services to handle things.  They told Lori that it happens all the time...Lori drove home with her son(his arm in a cast) in tears. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There's lots of great information on the AARP website about how to recognize elder abuse and things we can all do to stop it. I worked on an AARP project a couple years ago, and this is when I first became aware of it. It really is a frightening situation, and it is becoming more common. There's still a lot that needs to be done from a legal perspective, and more of these cases need to be prosecuted.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

What a horrible experience for your sister (and her son). That woman must have been in a desperate situation to do that, since we don't know the complete story perhaps this was the best she could do for her. Although I cannot fathom ever doing anything so heartless.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

This is incredibly sad; however, it could have been worse. At least she chose to "dump" her mother at a hospital, where she knew she'd be safe and cared for. She could have dumped her in a back alley somewhere.

Now that my father has passed away, I have full responsibility for my ailing mother. Fortunately, she and my father were fiscally responsible and there is plenty of money for Mom to be in a quality memory-care facility. Even then, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at times. I'm not sure how I'd handle having to care for her in my home. I KNOW I'd never dump her at a hospital, but caring for an ailing parent can truly stretch one's mental and physical resources.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

This happens all the time. When I worked in a hospital, on holidays it was common to see the sick folks dumped. Family arrives at grandma's house, she is sick--take her to the hospital and go back and enjoy your dinner. Come back when all the fun is over and the hospital staff has babysat for a few hours or a few days.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is just terrible, Joanne. How could you have a fun dinner at home while dumping grandma so you could enjoy it?

[Debbie and Thomas]

After my sister agreed to watch the elderley lady...some other people in the ER waiting room said to her" you realize don't you that this woman is not coming back" My sister Lori looked astonished and told them that they must be wrong. One of the men said"then why did she say"goodbye mom, I love you" instead of saying " I'll be right back mom...don't worry" Also...why did she even bring her dog to the hospital? As you all know, her entire story was lies. Shelley mentioned above in her comment that she is an ER nurse and this happens all the time. That is what the nurses told my sister too but she was all worried that the lady had no ID, no purse or anything. The nurse told her that the lady who brought her in registered her mother at "Triage" with all the pertinent information. At least she had the decency to do that but this miserable excuse for a human being then fled!! Plus she entrusted her own mother to a perfect stranger!! I am thinking that there may be some way to track her down from the info she left...perhaps the social worker may do this. My mom passed away on Christmas Day..almost three years ago now. We had many visits to emergency with her during her illness...whenever that happened all four of us( her children) rushed to the hospital to be with her. I do think this poor lady is in better hands now.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

OMG! How could anyone do this to their parent? Just breaks my heart.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

Very sad story, most likely there was no dog in the car. It was a "human" excuse for not tending to her mother. Here lies the reason that I spent 7 years in college for social work/psychology and I am a corporate travel agent. God bless your sister for even agreeing to the 20 minutes - that is more than most would do.

[Debbie and Thomas]

For sure there was no dog in the car...she just used it as an excuse. My sister is a dog lover so she fell for her story hook, line and sinker. This experience has really affected her...she can't get it out of her mind but one good thing is that her 16 year old son was there with her and witnessed this debacle. I think he may have learned a valuable lesson that day which most teenaged boys would never even think about.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am just now seeing it and it makes me really sad. We are dealing with my 87 year old grandmother now and I cannot imagine just leaving her somewhere. I have heard this happens frequently though. Just don't know how I could live with myself after years of my mother taking care of ME. It's our job to take care of our parents when they get older - other cultures do it all the time. It's different here.