The nightmare of St. Mike's continues. Friday she got home around 2:30 pm.. I knew something was not right but I was home, not at the hospital. I was told they would send a prescription with her if she needs it. Remember.. we need to go back a few days to Wed. when I took her back in and she was acting erratically and ended up falling out of bed.
It was then I told them to do a urine sample, I thought something was up due to the way she was acting. When my mom gets a bladder infection I know the symptoms. But of course, what do I know. So Wed. night, they do a test and around 2:30 am I finally ask about it since I've heard nothing and I'm told it didn't come out right. It was a dip test.. how the hell difficult is that. Pee is in a jar and they stick a dipstick in it! That's all there is to it. But they botched it. I ask that they send the rest of the urine into the lab for testing. They said they would.
So.. they keep her overnight Thursday and tell me they'll send her home Friday morning and she'll have a prescription if she needs it. Friday morning comes and goes.. she gets home about 2:30 and I'm thinking there is still something wrong. I go through the paperwork they send with her and I see a page that says "prescription" however I'm not seeing anything on it other than her regular medications.
I take all the paperwork to Ralph, my pharmacist, and he goes over it all with my permission and tells me there is no new prescription. So off I go home.
Weekend is difficult, more than difficult at times. Sometimes she is right out of it. Other times she is sharp as a tack. She also keeps trying to get out of bed at times which means she will fall. She can't bear weight. Down she goes. It was because of this I took her to the hospital last Wed. night.
So now it's a week, another Wed. It's later in the evening and my phone rings. It's about 9 pm but I see it says private name/private number so I answer it. It's my family Dr. And he has news for me. He got the urine test back to him (the one the hospital took a week ago) and it's positive for bacteria. She has an infection, further to that he also has the sensitivity test and he's sending her a prescription. Going to fax it right now so I can start it Thursday.
My pharmacist has it delivered in the morning and we start it. She is downright combative at times. These pills are huge and difficult for her to swallow but somehow I'm getting them into her.
It's now Sat. Sept 20th and the last day and a half have been good. She's been taking all her medications without problems. Occasionally she doesn't take her Tylenol but that's ok. All the ones she really needs, she is getting into her. However.......
For some reason this afternoon around 2 pm all hell broke loose. She's screaming and crying and trying to get out of bed again. She tried to bite me again too when I tried to stop her from climbing over the railing. I think I may have to take her back to the hospital if this keeps up. I can't have her falling again.
My opinion? Since the hospital fucked up yet again and sent her home with another infection and no medication, I do believe that all that time with nothing (at least a week), the infection has got a good hold on her and the antibiotic she's on isn't working as it should. Just like the last time when they sent her home with an active infection and the wrong medication. By the time I got the right one (they didn't wait for the sensitivity test that time) it just didn't do the trick and 4 days later she was back in the hospital.
So that's twice now they have sent her home with an active infection (in 6 weeks) and either the wrong meds because they didn't wait for the sensitivity test (dr d'silva) and this time when they didn't even check the damn test. And they have the nerve to complain about hospital costs? Try not ordering lab tests for ones you aren't even going to bother with! morons.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Friday September 12th/2014
I am not having the best day.. really stiff. My arthritis is flaring up, maybe thanks to the weather change being so drastic, so fast. Or maybe from sitting hours on end.
Anyway, she was suppose to be home this morning however I just got a call and now it's set for 2 pm.. fine, as long as she gets out of there. The sooner the better though.
Been thinking.. maybe it's time I redo a site on nursing homes as well. There have been changes since my Gram went into one, nothing much for the better I'm afraid.
Anyway, she was suppose to be home this morning however I just got a call and now it's set for 2 pm.. fine, as long as she gets out of there. The sooner the better though.
Been thinking.. maybe it's time I redo a site on nursing homes as well. There have been changes since my Gram went into one, nothing much for the better I'm afraid.
Friday, September 12, 2014
more Thursday Sept. 11th/2014
I got to the hospital kind of late this day, around 2 pm which is unlike me but all things considered I had things I really needed to do in the morning including get some sleep. I'm not good to her if I'm the walking dead.
When I got there she was out like a light. I had talked to her nurse, Grace, earlier and she told me she refused her medications and bed bath. Wonderful. She woke up when I spoke to her, gave me a kiss, said I love you and then fell asleep again lol
So the day went much like that. Around 5 pm her dr came by to announce she was going home Friday morning.
ok.. so the night before the dr admitted her to hospital because according to him she isn't safe at home. She fell. yea..so? She falls at the nursing home too.. and the hospital for that matter so the twit wasn't really making sense. If she isn't safe at home due to a fall then she isn't safe in long term care or the hospital because she's had falls in all these places.
Anyway.. they still don't know if she needs an antibiotic or not. Now I'm puzzled because her nurse told me she was on an antibiotic already! So I ask the Dr if she's on an antibiotic or not due to the info I got and I'm told no.. they gave her one then stopped it! Really??? why even give her one then? So they will send her home Friday morning and will fax in a prescription if she needs it.
Not a word or mention of how safe she will be at home in regards to falls. nadda..... guess they want the bed again.
Oh... and the bed... I'm told what room she is in and for some reason it's bugging me. Room 6. Something in the back of my mind is needling me about that. When I get there I realize exactly why.. room 6 on the 14th floor is telemetry. It was this room... and exactly this bed.. that she was in 4 years ago when she shared the room with the drunk in detox that grabbed the syringe and yanked the big bottle of hand cleanser off the wall and stood at the end of her bed with it held in his hand like a club and a stabbing implement!!! What a freakin nightmare that evening was. Go back to the beginning of this blog to read that story. I am not superstitious but this room.. that bed... gives me the creeps.
So... she didn't eat either this day. She didn't eat her breakfast and lunch she got about 2/3rds of her mushroom soup in her, that's all. When I was there I noticed that there was a menu on her side table. A menu? for her? She is on a strict liquid diet. Her esophagus doesn't work and if gravity doesn't take it down, nothing will and she will aspirate it. I'm a bit confused since she did have soup and her sherbert so I don't mention anything.
Dinner comes and what does she get? Full regular diet!! Solid food!! Absolutely nothing she can eat. Now it's after 5 pm and there is no one here to help with this matter. I asked someone to get her a supershake but I think she forgot. Forgetting isn't an option since it's all she can eat.
Now I'm running around looking for her nurse who is m.i.a. I don't know how many patients Grace has or how difficult they are but for the most part, we can't find her most of the day. The lady in the next bed is having difficulties with her i.v. and the damn thing is beeping, beeping, beeping and she's calling the call bell over and over.. no one comes although they keep telling her over the intercom that someone is coming. No nurse, no c.a. Matter of fact, now I think about it, I didn't see a c.a. the entire time I was there today.
I'm seriously trying to find her something to drink. The lady that brings the food says something should be coming. At 6:45 she tells me it should be there around 7 pm. Well 7 pm comes and goes and still nothing. Then I go to the nurses station because I still can't find Grace and they are not interested either. I'm told I have to get someone (the c.a. or nurse) to go to the fridge to see if there is an ensure in there. geez people.. I tell her I can't find the nurse and I go looking again as she calls over the intercom for the c.a. to go to my mom's room.
I finally find her nurse at a couple of minutes after 7 and I tell her that I was told to get her to look into the fridge for something liquid for my mom to eat. I'm then told "She didn't eat breakfast, and she didn't eat lunch so it should be ok and she can have breakfast tomorrow morning!" and "I'm too busy to look".
The room across the hall from my mom's room is like a staff lounge, recliner chairs, tables, etc.. it's full of staff including the c.a.'s. It's 7 pm and the shift changes @ 7:30 but always.. and I mean always.. they scatter at around 7 pm and are nowhere to be seen. Even earlier at times. The poor old woman next to my mom had about an hour earlier been dinging the damn call bell so someone could come and undo her i.v. for her so she could walk to the washroom. She really had to go. Every time she rang that damn thing someone would come on and say "Can I help you?" and she would say, in this tiny voice.. "I need help please to detach me from this". And she'd get the same response "ok". And she'd wait. Holding it. Good thing she could. I kid you not.. at least 45 minutes later the nurse finally showed up, feathers ruffled, undoing her iv for her and muttering about how busy she was when the lady remarked she had been waiting a long time.
Anyway.. long and short of the dinner issue.. c.a. never showed up, nurse was "too busy to look for something for her to eat and she'll be ok with nothing until the next day".. so I took it upon myself to go to the damn fridge and look. I took a small white milk from it and tried that but really didn't think it would fill her up. I then went downstairs to Timmy's and got her a large chocolate milk and brought it back upstairs for her before going home.
On my way home I gave this a lot more thought and it seems that next time she goes I will have to make sure that ensure or a can of zip top soup goes with her so she has something to eat because obviously this hospital doesn't realize that there are people out there that require a liquid diet!!!! assholes...
When I got there she was out like a light. I had talked to her nurse, Grace, earlier and she told me she refused her medications and bed bath. Wonderful. She woke up when I spoke to her, gave me a kiss, said I love you and then fell asleep again lol
So the day went much like that. Around 5 pm her dr came by to announce she was going home Friday morning.
ok.. so the night before the dr admitted her to hospital because according to him she isn't safe at home. She fell. yea..so? She falls at the nursing home too.. and the hospital for that matter so the twit wasn't really making sense. If she isn't safe at home due to a fall then she isn't safe in long term care or the hospital because she's had falls in all these places.
Anyway.. they still don't know if she needs an antibiotic or not. Now I'm puzzled because her nurse told me she was on an antibiotic already! So I ask the Dr if she's on an antibiotic or not due to the info I got and I'm told no.. they gave her one then stopped it! Really??? why even give her one then? So they will send her home Friday morning and will fax in a prescription if she needs it.
Not a word or mention of how safe she will be at home in regards to falls. nadda..... guess they want the bed again.
Oh... and the bed... I'm told what room she is in and for some reason it's bugging me. Room 6. Something in the back of my mind is needling me about that. When I get there I realize exactly why.. room 6 on the 14th floor is telemetry. It was this room... and exactly this bed.. that she was in 4 years ago when she shared the room with the drunk in detox that grabbed the syringe and yanked the big bottle of hand cleanser off the wall and stood at the end of her bed with it held in his hand like a club and a stabbing implement!!! What a freakin nightmare that evening was. Go back to the beginning of this blog to read that story. I am not superstitious but this room.. that bed... gives me the creeps.
So... she didn't eat either this day. She didn't eat her breakfast and lunch she got about 2/3rds of her mushroom soup in her, that's all. When I was there I noticed that there was a menu on her side table. A menu? for her? She is on a strict liquid diet. Her esophagus doesn't work and if gravity doesn't take it down, nothing will and she will aspirate it. I'm a bit confused since she did have soup and her sherbert so I don't mention anything.
Dinner comes and what does she get? Full regular diet!! Solid food!! Absolutely nothing she can eat. Now it's after 5 pm and there is no one here to help with this matter. I asked someone to get her a supershake but I think she forgot. Forgetting isn't an option since it's all she can eat.
Now I'm running around looking for her nurse who is m.i.a. I don't know how many patients Grace has or how difficult they are but for the most part, we can't find her most of the day. The lady in the next bed is having difficulties with her i.v. and the damn thing is beeping, beeping, beeping and she's calling the call bell over and over.. no one comes although they keep telling her over the intercom that someone is coming. No nurse, no c.a. Matter of fact, now I think about it, I didn't see a c.a. the entire time I was there today.
I'm seriously trying to find her something to drink. The lady that brings the food says something should be coming. At 6:45 she tells me it should be there around 7 pm. Well 7 pm comes and goes and still nothing. Then I go to the nurses station because I still can't find Grace and they are not interested either. I'm told I have to get someone (the c.a. or nurse) to go to the fridge to see if there is an ensure in there. geez people.. I tell her I can't find the nurse and I go looking again as she calls over the intercom for the c.a. to go to my mom's room.
I finally find her nurse at a couple of minutes after 7 and I tell her that I was told to get her to look into the fridge for something liquid for my mom to eat. I'm then told "She didn't eat breakfast, and she didn't eat lunch so it should be ok and she can have breakfast tomorrow morning!" and "I'm too busy to look".
The room across the hall from my mom's room is like a staff lounge, recliner chairs, tables, etc.. it's full of staff including the c.a.'s. It's 7 pm and the shift changes @ 7:30 but always.. and I mean always.. they scatter at around 7 pm and are nowhere to be seen. Even earlier at times. The poor old woman next to my mom had about an hour earlier been dinging the damn call bell so someone could come and undo her i.v. for her so she could walk to the washroom. She really had to go. Every time she rang that damn thing someone would come on and say "Can I help you?" and she would say, in this tiny voice.. "I need help please to detach me from this". And she'd get the same response "ok". And she'd wait. Holding it. Good thing she could. I kid you not.. at least 45 minutes later the nurse finally showed up, feathers ruffled, undoing her iv for her and muttering about how busy she was when the lady remarked she had been waiting a long time.
Anyway.. long and short of the dinner issue.. c.a. never showed up, nurse was "too busy to look for something for her to eat and she'll be ok with nothing until the next day".. so I took it upon myself to go to the damn fridge and look. I took a small white milk from it and tried that but really didn't think it would fill her up. I then went downstairs to Timmy's and got her a large chocolate milk and brought it back upstairs for her before going home.
On my way home I gave this a lot more thought and it seems that next time she goes I will have to make sure that ensure or a can of zip top soup goes with her so she has something to eat because obviously this hospital doesn't realize that there are people out there that require a liquid diet!!!! assholes...
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Thursday September 11th, 2014
I think I got to sleep after 4 am.. some time around 5:40 am my damn phone rings. Says "private name/private number" so I figure I need to answer it.
It was some freakin dr from that damn hospital and he wanted to go through the entire story yet again of what happened with my mom! I already went through it with 2 dr's there. Fucking talk to each other ok??? That place has the worst communication skills of anywhere I've ever seen. I started to tell him and then I said... I need sleep... go talk to the other dr's I already told. He says "ok" and I hang up. So much for sleep.
It was some freakin dr from that damn hospital and he wanted to go through the entire story yet again of what happened with my mom! I already went through it with 2 dr's there. Fucking talk to each other ok??? That place has the worst communication skills of anywhere I've ever seen. I started to tell him and then I said... I need sleep... go talk to the other dr's I already told. He says "ok" and I hang up. So much for sleep.
More of Wednesday but actually it's 3:35 am on Thursday
and I'm still so irate about what that asshole Dr said to me that I wrote the care manager on the 14th floor and this is what I wrote to her:
My mom has been re-admitted only after a long discussion with a twit of a Dr. Just get the antibiotics in her and when the result comes back from the sensitivity test, I'll take home the proper antibiotic and her.
It seems I should let her die of a u.t.i. I shouldn't have them treat her. Seems this is St. Mike's policy. Seems my little old mom is a drain on St. Mike's resources. Seems seniors aren't worth the time or the cost.
Did you know you weren't a long term care facility and that my mom shouldn't be admitted and re-admitted? That I shouldn't use it like that? Well let me tell you this.. I know for a fact there are elderly in there waiting for beds in ltc. I can name at least one for you if need be. That mom's there too much? I told him usually my family dr treats her u.t.i.'s But if I'm not mistaken I only take her in there when it happens on a weekend and it can't wait because the confusion it causes has repercussions. Well she fell this time.. so I took her in to find out if she broke or cracked anything. I thought that was the right thing to do. Next time I won't waste St. Mike's precious Dr's time and resources and I'll just get someone to help me get her back into bed. voila! problem solved. Then I will restrain her.
So it seems now since I wouldn't listen to dr twit I should have this same freakin conversation with Dr sergeant. I told this twit the conversation is over. And I won't be having it with anyone. Why doesn't he kill his mother off then if it's such a right thing to do?
He wanted me to put her in ltc and I told him no because she isn't take care of in there right. They don't make sure she drinks her diet, or water even for that matter. Excuse me but she'd be back in that damn place in a week with dehydration or would have rather just have me tell them to let her curl up and die? They don't brush her hair, or her teeth. How disgusting is that? They don't put a mat down until she falls. Then she can have one. and so on and so on. He tells me she isn't safe at home since she had this fall. I told him then she's not safe anywhere. She's fallen in ltc as well.
So that's when he starts his spiel.. and I'm just not getting it.. I'm tired. I'm trying to focus but I'm simply not getting it. I know he's trying to say something but it's not coming through. So finally I tell him I'm too tired for this and to use the k.i.s.s. principal.. keep it simple stupid.... and that's when he comes out and still can't get his tongue around it but now I get his drift and I ask him.. "you think I should let her die of an infection"? He say "yes" I ask him if he's out of his freakin mind. Could he imagine what kind of pain she would be in. Oh.. excuse me "they will give her something for the pain".. yea sure.. like D'Silva did when she pulled my mom's codeine and she laid there for a week crying in pain?
Let me tell you something.. tomorrow I go to the Minister of Health... and then I hit the media. Nice policy.. and in the end, quite cavalier about it too. And I do believe it's time for my blog to make the rounds...
You can tell dr sergeant to just figure out the anti-biotic and then call her a transfer ambulance and I'll take her home. This time wait for the sensitivity test to make sure they give her the correct damn medication. Which by the way is why I had to bring her back again. Not because I wanted to but because their dr wanted the bed so bad she fucked up royally at my mom's expense. If I have to use restraints on her at times so she doesn't fall, then so be it but I will not grace St. Mike's doorstep again, I'll get my family dr to treat her infections like he normally does.
I am so sorry that sweet old lady sucks your resources dry. And I'm not paying the ambulance bill either, it can go to dr sergeant for all I care.
I'll be there every day until I can get her home. I suggest no one come to me with that discussion. oh.. and btw, that asshole had this entire conversation while leaning over my mom. After he left I asked her if she heard it... she said some and started to cry. I asked her what she heard and she said she wasn't sure but he wanted to kill her or make her die or something. So I explained the best I could what he was saying and she said she didn't want that. I told her she would be ok, I would always protect her and not to worry. I hugged her and comforted her.
I want that moron's name. Regardless, I'll be having a long talk with the Minister of Health.
And can you please make sure my mom gets her supershake and some mushroom soup? I don't want them starving her to death as an alternative to death by infection since I wouldn't give permission for that.
Vickie
My mom has been re-admitted only after a long discussion with a twit of a Dr. Just get the antibiotics in her and when the result comes back from the sensitivity test, I'll take home the proper antibiotic and her.
It seems I should let her die of a u.t.i. I shouldn't have them treat her. Seems this is St. Mike's policy. Seems my little old mom is a drain on St. Mike's resources. Seems seniors aren't worth the time or the cost.
Did you know you weren't a long term care facility and that my mom shouldn't be admitted and re-admitted? That I shouldn't use it like that? Well let me tell you this.. I know for a fact there are elderly in there waiting for beds in ltc. I can name at least one for you if need be. That mom's there too much? I told him usually my family dr treats her u.t.i.'s But if I'm not mistaken I only take her in there when it happens on a weekend and it can't wait because the confusion it causes has repercussions. Well she fell this time.. so I took her in to find out if she broke or cracked anything. I thought that was the right thing to do. Next time I won't waste St. Mike's precious Dr's time and resources and I'll just get someone to help me get her back into bed. voila! problem solved. Then I will restrain her.
So it seems now since I wouldn't listen to dr twit I should have this same freakin conversation with Dr sergeant. I told this twit the conversation is over. And I won't be having it with anyone. Why doesn't he kill his mother off then if it's such a right thing to do?
He wanted me to put her in ltc and I told him no because she isn't take care of in there right. They don't make sure she drinks her diet, or water even for that matter. Excuse me but she'd be back in that damn place in a week with dehydration or would have rather just have me tell them to let her curl up and die? They don't brush her hair, or her teeth. How disgusting is that? They don't put a mat down until she falls. Then she can have one. and so on and so on. He tells me she isn't safe at home since she had this fall. I told him then she's not safe anywhere. She's fallen in ltc as well.
So that's when he starts his spiel.. and I'm just not getting it.. I'm tired. I'm trying to focus but I'm simply not getting it. I know he's trying to say something but it's not coming through. So finally I tell him I'm too tired for this and to use the k.i.s.s. principal.. keep it simple stupid.... and that's when he comes out and still can't get his tongue around it but now I get his drift and I ask him.. "you think I should let her die of an infection"? He say "yes" I ask him if he's out of his freakin mind. Could he imagine what kind of pain she would be in. Oh.. excuse me "they will give her something for the pain".. yea sure.. like D'Silva did when she pulled my mom's codeine and she laid there for a week crying in pain?
Let me tell you something.. tomorrow I go to the Minister of Health... and then I hit the media. Nice policy.. and in the end, quite cavalier about it too. And I do believe it's time for my blog to make the rounds...
You can tell dr sergeant to just figure out the anti-biotic and then call her a transfer ambulance and I'll take her home. This time wait for the sensitivity test to make sure they give her the correct damn medication. Which by the way is why I had to bring her back again. Not because I wanted to but because their dr wanted the bed so bad she fucked up royally at my mom's expense. If I have to use restraints on her at times so she doesn't fall, then so be it but I will not grace St. Mike's doorstep again, I'll get my family dr to treat her infections like he normally does.
I am so sorry that sweet old lady sucks your resources dry. And I'm not paying the ambulance bill either, it can go to dr sergeant for all I care.
I'll be there every day until I can get her home. I suggest no one come to me with that discussion. oh.. and btw, that asshole had this entire conversation while leaning over my mom. After he left I asked her if she heard it... she said some and started to cry. I asked her what she heard and she said she wasn't sure but he wanted to kill her or make her die or something. So I explained the best I could what he was saying and she said she didn't want that. I told her she would be ok, I would always protect her and not to worry. I hugged her and comforted her.
I want that moron's name. Regardless, I'll be having a long talk with the Minister of Health.
And can you please make sure my mom gets her supershake and some mushroom soup? I don't want them starving her to death as an alternative to death by infection since I wouldn't give permission for that.
Vickie
Wednesday September 10th/2014
We're back.. that certainly didn't take all too long. I got my mom home on Monday even though I didn't think she was ready to go home. They insisted though. Her bp was 154/100 and that was also considered normal. Not in my books but hey.. what the hell do I know? Nothing I guess except that her pain meds needed to be put back to what she originally had and when they finally did, guess what? Pain relief. Imagine that. And then there was her swallowing medication that they removed as well and when they were finally convinced by the dietician to reinstate that guess what? She started swallowing better too! So of course I know nothing about her bp meds. Why would I? I've only taken care of her 24/7 for the last 4 years and for years prior to that as well when she needed occasional care. She still had some delirium as well when they sent her home.
Problem was they were lying through their teeth. I was told she took all her meds, then a Dr told me she wasn't. No one could make up their mind but it couldn't be both people... now could it? No one also told me how bad her mornings were either. I found out it was a well kept secret.
So I got her home the afternoon of Monday Sept 8th. About 2 pm and I noticed a bit later she was agitated. She fell asleep later in the afternoon. When reading her paperwork I found out they actually stopped a med I was told she was getting. Does anyone get anything right here? So night time Monday comes and I don't give her her sleeping pill since that's the one I found out they pulled but actually told me she was still getting. Monday night she slept not too too bad thankfully. I had a sitter for her in the night so I could get some sleep and she was really great. She sat up close to mom's bed all night and held her hand until she fell asleep. And there she sat the entire night. If I could have had her the entire week I would have. What a great sitter. She knew her job and was obviously great with seniors.
Tuesday morning she was really groggy. I mean really groggy and she slept the entire day! She finally woke up about 5 pm. I was worried because I didn't think she would sleep that night after her sleeping the better part of the day. I was right but part of that wasn't her fault. I tucked her in at about 10:30 pm and she said she didn't think she would sleep. I told her just to lay there and close her eyes and think nice thoughts and I'm sure she'll sleep soon.
I went to bed and then @ 1:00 am I got up. I peeked in on her and the sitter said that she wasn't sleeping much and that she just fell asleep. Right then didn't she wake up and I went over and tried to convince her again to rest, relax, etc. She said ok.
When I got up at 6 am to let the sitter out didn't she wake up again, wide awake and wanting to talk to the sitter. So she goes up to the bed and starts to chat with her! I'm standing there in the doorway and thinking "what the hell"? "I want her to sleep". So she finally starts to leave and doesn't she tell me that the two of them were chatting all night long! Really? Instead of letting her sleep, telling her it was time for bed, telling her you needed some sleep, you stimulated her??? kept her up all night? Just freakin wonderful.
So she leaves and I convince my mom to nap for a couple more hours until Cheryl comes (that morning's psw). She said she would so I could get some more sleep I needed. I tucked her back in and went back to bed. 8 am comes and Cheryl comes in and isn't she wide awake! I quickly give her her morning meds with no problems and head back to bed for a bit. Cheryl gives her her bed bath, and changes and dresses her up for the day and even manages to do something with her hair. I walk in at 8:45 and there she is.. sitting up in bed, glasses on, reading part of her newspaper!! She looked like my old mom. Like she normally did every day before this horrendous incident. She looked perky, she was smiling, she was glowing :-) Cheryl dressed her in lilac and rose colours and she looked like she was ready to go out!
I asked if she wanted coffee.. she said yes! Drank almost the entire thing! It was so nice. Got her a supershake (her liquid diet) and didn't she down that in record time too! By the time I ran out around 11:15 am she was on her 2nd one. When I got home at 12:15 pm she had almost finished it! And she was sitll smiling and talking and everything. I was so hopeful and so happy. Her afternoon psw was overjoyed to see her like this because she then admitted that the day before she was so worried. The afternoon went mostly like this.
My caregiver relief came in at 3:00 pm and I ran out for some errands for an hour. When I got home things were really different. She was passed out cold sleeping. I couldn't get her to wake. She could barely lift her eyes. I figured the night up had finally caught up with her and she crashed. When she did wake while I was out she would tell Faithlyn that she had to get out of the bed! And she would start to put her legs over the rails. She would convince her no, that she didn't need to.
Some time after 6 pm I was tired and wanted to lay down a bit. I went into her room and told her I was going to lay down. I got her comfy and moved her legs again. Just to be sure she didn't try something. I went to my room. Almost right away I had to use the bathroom so I went. Before I went into the bathroom I peeked in her room. She was laying quietly and I thought she was snoozing. I went to the bathroom. On my way out for some reason I decided to peek in her room again and when I did I almost shit. There she was.. on the floor!!!!
How long does it take to go to the loo? geezuz, 3 minutes? At that point my friend Ravinder came in and so did the psw for the evening. I called an ambulance to take her to the hospital and check her out. So here we are.. it's now 10:51 pm and her tummy hurts. They did an ultrasound and I think everything is ok. They just took her down to ct scan to check that she didn't hit her head. I have no idea since she fell while I was in the washroom. I saw nothing of how she hit the ground.
so... it's 12:32 am and a dr came in to tell me the internal medicine people will be by to look at her. I ask him if she's being admitted and he says he doesn't know, it's up to them. geez does anyone know anything in here. And get this.. the medical team that is going to come down here and see her is the same team that treated her upstairs when she was here. oh yippie... think they may get it right this time? This dr says he is pretty sure that since she just left here on Monday they will more than likely admit her again. He also made a hint at placement somewhere. In other words a nursing home. Says a social worker will come talk to me. Sure.. I heard that before. Over 3 weeks ago when she had the ruptured aneurysm. Never did see anyone that said they were a social worker.
This place is notorious for sending people home way too early. If they are full, then send patients elsewhere but stop sending sick people home early!!! They usually just rebound and land their ass right back in here.
I'd like to know if I can go home and get some sleep considering if they don't keep her I have to take care of her on no sleep.
He wanted me to put her in ltc and I told him no because she isn't take care of in there right. They don't make sure she drinks her diet, or water even for that matter. Excuse me but she'd be back in that damn place in a week with dehydration or would have rather just have me tell them to let her curl up and die? They don't brush her hair, or her teeth. How disgusting is that? They don't put a mat down until she falls. Then she can have one. and so on and so on. He tells me she isn't safe at home since she had this fall. I told him then she's not safe anywhere. She's fallen in ltc as well.
So that's when he starts his spiel.. and I'm just not getting it.. I'm tired. I'm trying to focus but I'm simply not getting it. I know he's trying to say something but it's not coming through. So finally I tell him I'm too tired for this and to use the k.i.s.s. principal.. keep it simple stupid.... and that's when he comes out and still can't get his tongue around it but now I get his drift and I ask him.. "you think I should let her die of an infection"? He say "yes" I ask him if he's out of his freakin mind. Could he imagine what kind of pain she would be in. Oh.. excuse me "they will give her something for the pain".. yea sure.. like D'Silva did when she pulled my mom's codeine and she laid there for a week crying in pain?
I told him to just tell me if she's staying or going home. He said since she fell she isn't safe at home (he doesn't get it.. she's fallen while in there even!), so he would admit her and start her on an anti-biotic. I said fine, talked to my mom a bit and then headed home. I got home about 2:40 am.
Once I was home and in bed I blogged this but I also wrote a letter to the care manager there on the 14th floor.. I'll copy and paste it here. btw, I copied and pasted a bit of it here already to make for less typing..... I'm damn tired.
so it's 1:30 am and in walks dr so & so.. I'm so tired now I don't give a shit what his name is. And he tells me she's ok in regards of the fall. No broken bones, no crack in the skull.. this is a good thing. Then he starts talking about dementia and such and putting her in a nursing home. I told him no, they don't take care of her there. They don't make sure she drinks water or her liquid diet. They don't take her out of her room, they don't brush her damn hair or teeth! Then he starts going on about how often she has been in here and her confusion so I made it very clear that she's been here due to u.t.i.'s and she's always confused with them.
Problem was they were lying through their teeth. I was told she took all her meds, then a Dr told me she wasn't. No one could make up their mind but it couldn't be both people... now could it? No one also told me how bad her mornings were either. I found out it was a well kept secret.
So I got her home the afternoon of Monday Sept 8th. About 2 pm and I noticed a bit later she was agitated. She fell asleep later in the afternoon. When reading her paperwork I found out they actually stopped a med I was told she was getting. Does anyone get anything right here? So night time Monday comes and I don't give her her sleeping pill since that's the one I found out they pulled but actually told me she was still getting. Monday night she slept not too too bad thankfully. I had a sitter for her in the night so I could get some sleep and she was really great. She sat up close to mom's bed all night and held her hand until she fell asleep. And there she sat the entire night. If I could have had her the entire week I would have. What a great sitter. She knew her job and was obviously great with seniors.
Tuesday morning she was really groggy. I mean really groggy and she slept the entire day! She finally woke up about 5 pm. I was worried because I didn't think she would sleep that night after her sleeping the better part of the day. I was right but part of that wasn't her fault. I tucked her in at about 10:30 pm and she said she didn't think she would sleep. I told her just to lay there and close her eyes and think nice thoughts and I'm sure she'll sleep soon.
I went to bed and then @ 1:00 am I got up. I peeked in on her and the sitter said that she wasn't sleeping much and that she just fell asleep. Right then didn't she wake up and I went over and tried to convince her again to rest, relax, etc. She said ok.
When I got up at 6 am to let the sitter out didn't she wake up again, wide awake and wanting to talk to the sitter. So she goes up to the bed and starts to chat with her! I'm standing there in the doorway and thinking "what the hell"? "I want her to sleep". So she finally starts to leave and doesn't she tell me that the two of them were chatting all night long! Really? Instead of letting her sleep, telling her it was time for bed, telling her you needed some sleep, you stimulated her??? kept her up all night? Just freakin wonderful.
So she leaves and I convince my mom to nap for a couple more hours until Cheryl comes (that morning's psw). She said she would so I could get some more sleep I needed. I tucked her back in and went back to bed. 8 am comes and Cheryl comes in and isn't she wide awake! I quickly give her her morning meds with no problems and head back to bed for a bit. Cheryl gives her her bed bath, and changes and dresses her up for the day and even manages to do something with her hair. I walk in at 8:45 and there she is.. sitting up in bed, glasses on, reading part of her newspaper!! She looked like my old mom. Like she normally did every day before this horrendous incident. She looked perky, she was smiling, she was glowing :-) Cheryl dressed her in lilac and rose colours and she looked like she was ready to go out!
I asked if she wanted coffee.. she said yes! Drank almost the entire thing! It was so nice. Got her a supershake (her liquid diet) and didn't she down that in record time too! By the time I ran out around 11:15 am she was on her 2nd one. When I got home at 12:15 pm she had almost finished it! And she was sitll smiling and talking and everything. I was so hopeful and so happy. Her afternoon psw was overjoyed to see her like this because she then admitted that the day before she was so worried. The afternoon went mostly like this.
My caregiver relief came in at 3:00 pm and I ran out for some errands for an hour. When I got home things were really different. She was passed out cold sleeping. I couldn't get her to wake. She could barely lift her eyes. I figured the night up had finally caught up with her and she crashed. When she did wake while I was out she would tell Faithlyn that she had to get out of the bed! And she would start to put her legs over the rails. She would convince her no, that she didn't need to.
Some time after 6 pm I was tired and wanted to lay down a bit. I went into her room and told her I was going to lay down. I got her comfy and moved her legs again. Just to be sure she didn't try something. I went to my room. Almost right away I had to use the bathroom so I went. Before I went into the bathroom I peeked in her room. She was laying quietly and I thought she was snoozing. I went to the bathroom. On my way out for some reason I decided to peek in her room again and when I did I almost shit. There she was.. on the floor!!!!
How long does it take to go to the loo? geezuz, 3 minutes? At that point my friend Ravinder came in and so did the psw for the evening. I called an ambulance to take her to the hospital and check her out. So here we are.. it's now 10:51 pm and her tummy hurts. They did an ultrasound and I think everything is ok. They just took her down to ct scan to check that she didn't hit her head. I have no idea since she fell while I was in the washroom. I saw nothing of how she hit the ground.
so... it's 12:32 am and a dr came in to tell me the internal medicine people will be by to look at her. I ask him if she's being admitted and he says he doesn't know, it's up to them. geez does anyone know anything in here. And get this.. the medical team that is going to come down here and see her is the same team that treated her upstairs when she was here. oh yippie... think they may get it right this time? This dr says he is pretty sure that since she just left here on Monday they will more than likely admit her again. He also made a hint at placement somewhere. In other words a nursing home. Says a social worker will come talk to me. Sure.. I heard that before. Over 3 weeks ago when she had the ruptured aneurysm. Never did see anyone that said they were a social worker.
This place is notorious for sending people home way too early. If they are full, then send patients elsewhere but stop sending sick people home early!!! They usually just rebound and land their ass right back in here.
I'd like to know if I can go home and get some sleep considering if they don't keep her I have to take care of her on no sleep.
He wanted me to put her in ltc and I told him no because she isn't take care of in there right. They don't make sure she drinks her diet, or water even for that matter. Excuse me but she'd be back in that damn place in a week with dehydration or would have rather just have me tell them to let her curl up and die? They don't brush her hair, or her teeth. How disgusting is that? They don't put a mat down until she falls. Then she can have one. and so on and so on. He tells me she isn't safe at home since she had this fall. I told him then she's not safe anywhere. She's fallen in ltc as well.
So that's when he starts his spiel.. and I'm just not getting it.. I'm tired. I'm trying to focus but I'm simply not getting it. I know he's trying to say something but it's not coming through. So finally I tell him I'm too tired for this and to use the k.i.s.s. principal.. keep it simple stupid.... and that's when he comes out and still can't get his tongue around it but now I get his drift and I ask him.. "you think I should let her die of an infection"? He say "yes" I ask him if he's out of his freakin mind. Could he imagine what kind of pain she would be in. Oh.. excuse me "they will give her something for the pain".. yea sure.. like D'Silva did when she pulled my mom's codeine and she laid there for a week crying in pain?
I told him to just tell me if she's staying or going home. He said since she fell she isn't safe at home (he doesn't get it.. she's fallen while in there even!), so he would admit her and start her on an anti-biotic. I said fine, talked to my mom a bit and then headed home. I got home about 2:40 am.
Once I was home and in bed I blogged this but I also wrote a letter to the care manager there on the 14th floor.. I'll copy and paste it here. btw, I copied and pasted a bit of it here already to make for less typing..... I'm damn tired.
so it's 1:30 am and in walks dr so & so.. I'm so tired now I don't give a shit what his name is. And he tells me she's ok in regards of the fall. No broken bones, no crack in the skull.. this is a good thing. Then he starts talking about dementia and such and putting her in a nursing home. I told him no, they don't take care of her there. They don't make sure she drinks water or her liquid diet. They don't take her out of her room, they don't brush her damn hair or teeth! Then he starts going on about how often she has been in here and her confusion so I made it very clear that she's been here due to u.t.i.'s and she's always confused with them.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Tuesday Sept. 2nd/2014
What a good day! My phone rang this morning @ 9:30 am and it was her nurse calling for her. She got on the phone asking me when I was going to get there!! That's the most I heard her say in a couple of weeks almost. She talked a bit more, said she loved me and we hung up. Around noon it went again and it was the nurse again, seems my mom has an appetite and wants canned peaches! lol I have a small can in my bag. I grab her a coffee and up I go.
She's wide awake and happy to see me. She had a supershake for breakfast, some milk and 1/2 a coffee. For lunch she had a 1/2 supershake and some of the canned peaches and a full coffee. She later had some more diced peaches and later a small bowl of cream of mushroom soup!!
I have no idea where this appetite came from but boy it's nice to see. She wants more diced peaches but I'm holding her off a bit. I don't want her to get a sick tummy. She's been awake most of the day too! Finally, I'm seeing my old mom coming back. And she's even smiling.
Talked to the dietician and she's rather happy with what my mom's got down today and talked to her care manager and she's going to talk to the Dr's and see if we can possibly get her back on her old meds to see if that adjusts her blood pressure for good :-)
She's wide awake and happy to see me. She had a supershake for breakfast, some milk and 1/2 a coffee. For lunch she had a 1/2 supershake and some of the canned peaches and a full coffee. She later had some more diced peaches and later a small bowl of cream of mushroom soup!!
I have no idea where this appetite came from but boy it's nice to see. She wants more diced peaches but I'm holding her off a bit. I don't want her to get a sick tummy. She's been awake most of the day too! Finally, I'm seeing my old mom coming back. And she's even smiling.
Talked to the dietician and she's rather happy with what my mom's got down today and talked to her care manager and she's going to talk to the Dr's and see if we can possibly get her back on her old meds to see if that adjusts her blood pressure for good :-)
Monday, September 1, 2014
Monday September 1st, 2014
damn... September already. This summer truly sucked but at least I got my mom out to several events including the new Ripley's Aquarium and that she wants to go back to. As soon as I get her home and she's up to it, I promised her another visit. :-)
So.. I was running a wee bit late today and didn't get to the hospital until 1:05 pm. When I got off the elevator I could hear this hacking. The closer I got to her room, the louder it got. Hacking, choking, grunting... it was her! No one is with her! The nurse for the other patient is in with her but she can't stop what she's doing and she tells me to get Lauricel, my mom's nurse. Instead I straighten her up and start to pat on her back hoping to unlodge whatever the hell that is in there that is choking her.
She can't even talk she's choking so bad. Finally someone comes on the speaker and the other nurse yells for Lauricel and in she comes.
I'm telling her I think she's aspirated something she says "no". Meanwhile the choking, gagging, dry heaves continue strongly and she keeps falling over sideways. So what is Lauricel's solution? Oh that would be to yank the poor old thing over on the side that gives her the most pain too. Due to the curve in her back she always leans to the left. Always. It's the curvature of her spine. So I tell her not to pull her that way, it's too painful for her. She says "I know but she's always over on that side".. again I repeat myself and she says "that's what she has pain killers for"! I'm just going to rip my hair out at this rate. Abbey the C.A. came in and between her and the nurse they finally hiked mom up the bed, got her a bit more straight so it didn't hurt her back and cleaned her up.
I can't stand this damn place.. I so can't stand it. I really want to know what this hospital's morbidity rate is because as far as I'm concerned they kill them off here.
Here Lauricel has been shovelling food into my mom. Now the woman hasn't eaten for well over a week and a half. So far today she's shovelled her morning supershake with a packet of protein powder in it and half of her milk!! Then comes afternoon and again she shovels the afternoon supershake with a packet of protein powder in it, something else and for Christ sake... fucking potato soup which is way too thick for her!! No bloodly wonder she's choking! I'm surprised she isn't throwing up with all that food suddenly in her little shrunk up tummy.
And she's crushing her damn pills too. Really? Is there absolutely no freaking communication in this damn place either? STOP CRUSHING HER PILLS, THEY'RE DISGUSTING THAT WAY. Then she wants her to take this damn huge multi-vitamin. I'm telling her to toss it, she won't take it. She says "it's chewable". I say "Lauricel.. she has no teeth in, how do you expect her to chew it"? she says "oh.. then I will crush it!!!"
Look... just shoot me and get it over with ok?
Again I told her to toss it.. she says "ok.. we'll crush it!". I swear it takes everything in me not to choke some of these people. I finally said "Lauricel, I said to TOSS it.. she's not going to take that huge thing". finally she gets it, she says she won't toss it though, she'll just put down that it's not administered. That's perfectly fine. geez
Then she wants to know if the Dr's talked to me yesterday. I said no... was here for over 8 hrs and didn't see one of them. She wanted to know if they spoke to me about a pep tube or something like that. I knew what she was talking about, a feeding tube placed right in her tummy but I told her that I wouldn't allow it. You can't be knocking her out like that at this stage. So she asked if they will insert the tube in her nose again but I'm really having issues with it. They use people that don't know what they are doing. It's brutal on her. This will be the 4th one and a few alterations too. Pulling it out to push it in further, etc. I think she's had enough of it. It's torture for her. Obviously the mittens to prevent her from pulling it out don't work either because every time you turn around she's pulled them off again.
2:35 pm.. my mom is exhausted from all that hacking and choking but it's finally completely stopped. She's trying to sleep. Sleep is good for her. Sleep is healing. Not in here though. First the guy comes in to change all the garbage's and bangs and rattles everything and scares the crap out of her. She manages to drift off again when the nurses station starts up. If I didn't know better I'd swear they were having a party out there. Loud laughing, talking, yelling across the space.. so loud it freakin wakes her again. I guess they forget this is a hospital and a quiet zone.
So.. I was running a wee bit late today and didn't get to the hospital until 1:05 pm. When I got off the elevator I could hear this hacking. The closer I got to her room, the louder it got. Hacking, choking, grunting... it was her! No one is with her! The nurse for the other patient is in with her but she can't stop what she's doing and she tells me to get Lauricel, my mom's nurse. Instead I straighten her up and start to pat on her back hoping to unlodge whatever the hell that is in there that is choking her.
She can't even talk she's choking so bad. Finally someone comes on the speaker and the other nurse yells for Lauricel and in she comes.
I'm telling her I think she's aspirated something she says "no". Meanwhile the choking, gagging, dry heaves continue strongly and she keeps falling over sideways. So what is Lauricel's solution? Oh that would be to yank the poor old thing over on the side that gives her the most pain too. Due to the curve in her back she always leans to the left. Always. It's the curvature of her spine. So I tell her not to pull her that way, it's too painful for her. She says "I know but she's always over on that side".. again I repeat myself and she says "that's what she has pain killers for"! I'm just going to rip my hair out at this rate. Abbey the C.A. came in and between her and the nurse they finally hiked mom up the bed, got her a bit more straight so it didn't hurt her back and cleaned her up.
I can't stand this damn place.. I so can't stand it. I really want to know what this hospital's morbidity rate is because as far as I'm concerned they kill them off here.
Here Lauricel has been shovelling food into my mom. Now the woman hasn't eaten for well over a week and a half. So far today she's shovelled her morning supershake with a packet of protein powder in it and half of her milk!! Then comes afternoon and again she shovels the afternoon supershake with a packet of protein powder in it, something else and for Christ sake... fucking potato soup which is way too thick for her!! No bloodly wonder she's choking! I'm surprised she isn't throwing up with all that food suddenly in her little shrunk up tummy.
And she's crushing her damn pills too. Really? Is there absolutely no freaking communication in this damn place either? STOP CRUSHING HER PILLS, THEY'RE DISGUSTING THAT WAY. Then she wants her to take this damn huge multi-vitamin. I'm telling her to toss it, she won't take it. She says "it's chewable". I say "Lauricel.. she has no teeth in, how do you expect her to chew it"? she says "oh.. then I will crush it!!!"
Look... just shoot me and get it over with ok?
Again I told her to toss it.. she says "ok.. we'll crush it!". I swear it takes everything in me not to choke some of these people. I finally said "Lauricel, I said to TOSS it.. she's not going to take that huge thing". finally she gets it, she says she won't toss it though, she'll just put down that it's not administered. That's perfectly fine. geez
Then she wants to know if the Dr's talked to me yesterday. I said no... was here for over 8 hrs and didn't see one of them. She wanted to know if they spoke to me about a pep tube or something like that. I knew what she was talking about, a feeding tube placed right in her tummy but I told her that I wouldn't allow it. You can't be knocking her out like that at this stage. So she asked if they will insert the tube in her nose again but I'm really having issues with it. They use people that don't know what they are doing. It's brutal on her. This will be the 4th one and a few alterations too. Pulling it out to push it in further, etc. I think she's had enough of it. It's torture for her. Obviously the mittens to prevent her from pulling it out don't work either because every time you turn around she's pulled them off again.
2:35 pm.. my mom is exhausted from all that hacking and choking but it's finally completely stopped. She's trying to sleep. Sleep is good for her. Sleep is healing. Not in here though. First the guy comes in to change all the garbage's and bangs and rattles everything and scares the crap out of her. She manages to drift off again when the nurses station starts up. If I didn't know better I'd swear they were having a party out there. Loud laughing, talking, yelling across the space.. so loud it freakin wakes her again. I guess they forget this is a hospital and a quiet zone.
Let's talk clean... vs ... dirty.. and garbage
I know there is cleaning staff in here but I swear they are under a cloak of darkness and can't be visibly seen most of the day.
There is a throw up bin (one of those grey compressed paper things you toss your cookies into) on the floor in here, a piece of wadded up clear medical tape, a wadded up tissue, a Styrofoam cup, and a surgical glove (not sure if it's used or not) on the floor here. All have been there since before Friday. oh.. just discovered there is a stir stick on the floor too under her bed. Wondering what else I'd find if I actually moved and looked around.
So.. why is it all still here? I'm not sitting in the way of a cleaner here and even if I was I would have seen them and moved. But alas.. none have shown up.
The public washroom is directly across the hall from her. It was disgusting. Someone had an accident in it of the worse kind. A nurse finally came by and stuck a big post it note on the door telling people it was not in use until some dept came and cleaned it. That notice was stuck on there over 24 hours!!!
There is also a spill of some sort on her floor, it has a white crusty edge to it.
As well there is the issue of the patient washroom in this room. You have 2 patients and neither one uses the loo. I went to pour a coffee down the sink in there and this is what I discovered:
There is a throw up bin (one of those grey compressed paper things you toss your cookies into) on the floor in here, a piece of wadded up clear medical tape, a wadded up tissue, a Styrofoam cup, and a surgical glove (not sure if it's used or not) on the floor here. All have been there since before Friday. oh.. just discovered there is a stir stick on the floor too under her bed. Wondering what else I'd find if I actually moved and looked around.
So.. why is it all still here? I'm not sitting in the way of a cleaner here and even if I was I would have seen them and moved. But alas.. none have shown up.
The public washroom is directly across the hall from her. It was disgusting. Someone had an accident in it of the worse kind. A nurse finally came by and stuck a big post it note on the door telling people it was not in use until some dept came and cleaned it. That notice was stuck on there over 24 hours!!!
There is also a spill of some sort on her floor, it has a white crusty edge to it.
As well there is the issue of the patient washroom in this room. You have 2 patients and neither one uses the loo. I went to pour a coffee down the sink in there and this is what I discovered:
hmmmm I have a friend that comes from India and she says this looks like something you expect in a 3rd world country.
Saturday August 30th/2014 & Sunday the 31st
so at 7:10 pm they decide to put in the new ng tube.. right before shift change when everyone wants out of there and is rushing around like hell to get out. Nice time to do this.
I leave the room so the Dr and nurse can insert it. I can hear my mom complaining and in a few minutes the Dr comes out and says it's done so I go back in the room. The nurse is still there clearing up stuff when I see something. I look again and yup... there it is! The damn thing isn't even in right and it's all coiled up in her mouth! Instead of down her throat! brilliant! So I show the nurse and she darts out for the Dr. I go the other way and actually find her and tell her that it's coiled in her mouth instead. She goes in and thinks she can just pull out an inch or so and it will uncoil. ummm I don't think so. So she slowly starts pulling it out and my mom starts gagging and wanting to throw up and gagging more and now she's crying. Finally they realize how piss poor a job they did and they decide to pull the entire thing out and start again!!! REALLY???? How about if we do this to you ok?
We had a huge debate about this. She is obviously distressed after putting it in and pulling it out. They want to put it in again. I told them to wait and I'll ask my mom. The Dr complains she doesn't take her meds for them, she'll only take them for me. I turn around and look at her and say "so why is it the night nurse and the morning nurse tell me that she has been taking her meds when they give them to her? Now you're telling me she isn't taking them?? It can't be both ways and you guys need to figure out which way it is.
I talk to my mom and she says she will give it yet another try. Remarkable because I wouldn't have. This time didn't go so smoothly though and by the end of it she's crying out for her mother. I'm "mother" when she is over the edge in pain or stress. When I get in there she's still crying and telling me it hurts her. I guess there have been too many in's and out's with them inserting it and her pulling it out when she doesn't realize what she's doing. Then reinserting it now 3 times. Her throat hurts.
At 8 pm she was still crying out saying it was hurting her throat and she was gasping at times for a breath so I asked if her Dr could be called. The person (a young man) at the nursing desk called Miriama, her nurse that evening, and requested she call the Dr (resident) that was overseeing my mom.
Instead, Miriama asked me what was going on and I told her that I can't leave her like that and go home. She's in a lot of distress and pain due to the tubing and I wanted to talk to the Dr about it. She pretty much passed it off so I insisted she call the Dr.
So she does.. however she didn't bother to look behind her to see where I was before she opened her mouth. Her c.o.w./w.o.w. whatever it's called now was just outside my mom's room, as was I. I can hear her conversation with the Dr and it was extremely condescending towards me. Telling the Dr.. "you know.. blah, blah, blah" (she actually used the words blah, blah, blah in a very condescending tone) in other words what I wanted to talk to the Dr about was nothing. And then she made a remark that pretty much said that it would shut me up. She said to the Dr "please just come by for all of 5 seconds .. you know.. just ...."
We almost lost my mom last week. She was in a lot of pain and distress from this tubing. Then it still wasn't put in correctly and had to be moved yet again. Now it's 9:17 pm Saturday night and I'm sitting here waiting for x-ray yet again. How many x-rays does it take? And why is someone doing this that doesn't know how? Every Dr (resident) in this place needs to have this procedure done to them at least a couple of times. Maybe, just maybe, they will be more careful when they are doing it to a patient.
But it's Miriama's attitude that I'm writing about here. It's nothing less than rude. I sit here day and night and give her meds to her since she takes them easier with me, I've even changed her when needed at times. In the 2 weeks she has been here I think we've buzzed for the nurse all of 3 times if that. She is old, she is very frail right now and all this is pushing her over the edge. She was calling for her mother when they did the tubing the 3rd time! There is no reason for Miriama to be so damn rude and condescending towards me. I told her I heard what she said. I told her she should look around before she talks about someone. I also told her I was writing a letter of complaint and I told the Dr that as well. There was absolutely no reason for her to be like that and she needs some sensitivity training at the least. Then what does she do? She then asks me to give my mom her meds while I'm here. I did. Not for her but only because I know it's easier to get them into my mom if I do it and she really needed to get those pills into her.
The next night (Sunday) I'm still at the hospital when shift change comes. Tonight my mom has Miriama again but tonight she comes to her room first. Unusual but ok. So I wake up my mom so she can move closer to Miriama to do her bp and while she's getting the cup on her arm she turns around to me and says "Michelle & Leila tell me you have a problem with me"! Really? Like she doesn't know this? I told her last night right after her conversation about me that I didn't appreciate her comments and that I'll be putting in a complaint. She wasn't 10 feet from me when I told her. She's not deaf. She turned around and was looking at me when I had that conversation with her.
There is a time and a place for everything and trying to aggravate a situation at the bedside of an elderly, already confused patient simply isn't the place. I just said to her that she knew I didn't appreciate her conversation yesterday, her blah, blah, blah remark and left it at that. When she remarked again, I ignored it.
Before she left she asked me to give my mom her pills. I waited to leave until she gave them to me because it's important for my mom to get those pills into her. Again I gave them to her not as a favour to Miriama but because my mom needed them and I wanted to be sure she got them.
This is going to be a very, very long long weekend. Wonder who's on Monday?
I leave the room so the Dr and nurse can insert it. I can hear my mom complaining and in a few minutes the Dr comes out and says it's done so I go back in the room. The nurse is still there clearing up stuff when I see something. I look again and yup... there it is! The damn thing isn't even in right and it's all coiled up in her mouth! Instead of down her throat! brilliant! So I show the nurse and she darts out for the Dr. I go the other way and actually find her and tell her that it's coiled in her mouth instead. She goes in and thinks she can just pull out an inch or so and it will uncoil. ummm I don't think so. So she slowly starts pulling it out and my mom starts gagging and wanting to throw up and gagging more and now she's crying. Finally they realize how piss poor a job they did and they decide to pull the entire thing out and start again!!! REALLY???? How about if we do this to you ok?
We had a huge debate about this. She is obviously distressed after putting it in and pulling it out. They want to put it in again. I told them to wait and I'll ask my mom. The Dr complains she doesn't take her meds for them, she'll only take them for me. I turn around and look at her and say "so why is it the night nurse and the morning nurse tell me that she has been taking her meds when they give them to her? Now you're telling me she isn't taking them?? It can't be both ways and you guys need to figure out which way it is.
I talk to my mom and she says she will give it yet another try. Remarkable because I wouldn't have. This time didn't go so smoothly though and by the end of it she's crying out for her mother. I'm "mother" when she is over the edge in pain or stress. When I get in there she's still crying and telling me it hurts her. I guess there have been too many in's and out's with them inserting it and her pulling it out when she doesn't realize what she's doing. Then reinserting it now 3 times. Her throat hurts.
At 8 pm she was still crying out saying it was hurting her throat and she was gasping at times for a breath so I asked if her Dr could be called. The person (a young man) at the nursing desk called Miriama, her nurse that evening, and requested she call the Dr (resident) that was overseeing my mom.
Instead, Miriama asked me what was going on and I told her that I can't leave her like that and go home. She's in a lot of distress and pain due to the tubing and I wanted to talk to the Dr about it. She pretty much passed it off so I insisted she call the Dr.
So she does.. however she didn't bother to look behind her to see where I was before she opened her mouth. Her c.o.w./w.o.w. whatever it's called now was just outside my mom's room, as was I. I can hear her conversation with the Dr and it was extremely condescending towards me. Telling the Dr.. "you know.. blah, blah, blah" (she actually used the words blah, blah, blah in a very condescending tone) in other words what I wanted to talk to the Dr about was nothing. And then she made a remark that pretty much said that it would shut me up. She said to the Dr "please just come by for all of 5 seconds .. you know.. just ...."
We almost lost my mom last week. She was in a lot of pain and distress from this tubing. Then it still wasn't put in correctly and had to be moved yet again. Now it's 9:17 pm Saturday night and I'm sitting here waiting for x-ray yet again. How many x-rays does it take? And why is someone doing this that doesn't know how? Every Dr (resident) in this place needs to have this procedure done to them at least a couple of times. Maybe, just maybe, they will be more careful when they are doing it to a patient.
But it's Miriama's attitude that I'm writing about here. It's nothing less than rude. I sit here day and night and give her meds to her since she takes them easier with me, I've even changed her when needed at times. In the 2 weeks she has been here I think we've buzzed for the nurse all of 3 times if that. She is old, she is very frail right now and all this is pushing her over the edge. She was calling for her mother when they did the tubing the 3rd time! There is no reason for Miriama to be so damn rude and condescending towards me. I told her I heard what she said. I told her she should look around before she talks about someone. I also told her I was writing a letter of complaint and I told the Dr that as well. There was absolutely no reason for her to be like that and she needs some sensitivity training at the least. Then what does she do? She then asks me to give my mom her meds while I'm here. I did. Not for her but only because I know it's easier to get them into my mom if I do it and she really needed to get those pills into her.
The next night (Sunday) I'm still at the hospital when shift change comes. Tonight my mom has Miriama again but tonight she comes to her room first. Unusual but ok. So I wake up my mom so she can move closer to Miriama to do her bp and while she's getting the cup on her arm she turns around to me and says "Michelle & Leila tell me you have a problem with me"! Really? Like she doesn't know this? I told her last night right after her conversation about me that I didn't appreciate her comments and that I'll be putting in a complaint. She wasn't 10 feet from me when I told her. She's not deaf. She turned around and was looking at me when I had that conversation with her.
There is a time and a place for everything and trying to aggravate a situation at the bedside of an elderly, already confused patient simply isn't the place. I just said to her that she knew I didn't appreciate her conversation yesterday, her blah, blah, blah remark and left it at that. When she remarked again, I ignored it.
Before she left she asked me to give my mom her pills. I waited to leave until she gave them to me because it's important for my mom to get those pills into her. Again I gave them to her not as a favour to Miriama but because my mom needed them and I wanted to be sure she got them.
This is going to be a very, very long long weekend. Wonder who's on Monday?
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