Well, my mother got her wish. She got to England, with my father, younger sister and her family, and older brother and his son in tow. They found their way to their rented apartment (flat) in London and settled in for the first day to get over the jetlag and find food, etc.

They were there a little over a day when things went awry.

She told the rest that she was not feeling well, but that they should go out sightseeing. Shortly after they left, she asked my father to call an ambulance. This being a foreign country for him, my father had to ask the neighbors how to do it. In any case, my sister and crew arrived back at the apartment hours later to find a note.

My mother is now in St. Mary's hospital in London. She was admitted on Monday. She was dehydrated and her electrolytes were all out of whack. She is still constipated after over a week although the blockage has moved down (which is encouraging). Her bowel is full of air/gas and so is very distended and she is quite uncomfortable. She is in a room with five other people and no air conditioning or phone. Great.

The said they would do a CT scan, but it was Sunday, so they couldn't do it until Monday. On Monday, they finally did the scan, but it was too late to have it read as the staff had gone home for the night! So, it was to be read today. Several enemas have failed to produce the desired clearing, so she is now scheduled for a colonoscopy.

So much for her dream trip.