Running With Quills: Angels on Earth

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Angels on Earth - Nurses

Hey everyone!

Yeah, it's me again. Still uber busy. Still totally nuts.

But ya know, I'm feeling soooo thankful right now that I don't want this post to sound like a complaint - even though it probably will.

There will be a few complaints peppered in. But overall, life is pretty darned sweet.

So first off... most of you already know that my sis was in a very bad car accident.

Head on collision.

Not her fault.

She was close to St. Elizabeth's when it happened, and an EMT just happened to be a few cars back, thank God, because Monica racked up 9 broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken nose (that'll leave a permanent kink) and a badly fractured eye socket.

Oddly enough, the worst of the injuries - or the injury giving her the most pain - is a horrific hematoma caused by the seatbelt. It swelled so badly that it broke the skin, and an infection set in. She now has cellulitis on the left side of her chest, and it's bad. That half of her body, from hip to shoulder, is the color of a ripe plum, swollen and rock hard.
I'm saying lots of prayers that the antibotics do their job.

The seatbelt and airbags are what saved her life.

Every window in her car shattered, and none of the doors would open. A good Samaritan in the car behind her called 911 and then ran up to help her. My sister couldn't breathe, couldn't speak.

The EMT, also close behind, reached through the broken window to give her oxygen, which Monica says now is the only thing that gave her any relief.

The good Samaritan located her cell phone in the wreckage and looked through it until he found a programed number. It happened to be her middle son. He stayed on the phone with him until she was moved to an ambulance (after the jaws of life got her out of the car) and then told her son where she'd be.

I got the call about 11:30 pm and got to the hospital just behind her 3 sons.

Initial x-rays showed damage to the vertebre of her neck, too, so she was transported to UC's level 1 trauma unit.

This is where the complaints come in.

She was hit at around 10:30 pm Friday night.

The trauma unit, from the moment she was brought in, was a nightmare of the worst proportions.

Well, let me restate that. The nurses were absolute angels on earth. If it hadn't been for them, I don't know what I would have done. You can imagine how we all felt, seeing Monica with blood everywhere, a broken nose, her poor left eye... It was difficult to look at her and imagine her pain.

The doctors... Some things I just don't understand.

They had Monica on morphine, which made her throw up until she had only dry heaves. I sat beside her, little pan in hand, and tried to make her as comfortable as I could under the circumstances. But throwing up with all those breaks was just excruciating.

Her oxygen level was low, her blood count off - and the lead doctor of the trauma unit wanted to send her home.

She couldn't move without getting dizzy and sick.

She had so many breaks that at the time, I lost count. Her left eye was grotesquely swollen shut, about 20 shades of purple, and her nose was a mess.

But as soon as they decided her neck was okay, they wanted her gone. It was as if the rest of her injuries didn't matter.

I had NO idea how I'd take care of her in that situation. You'd have to see photos to understand, truly, but she's 51, and with all those broken ribs and the broken sternum, she could barely breathe. The morphine made her violently ill, so they gave her fengegrin (sp?) and that put her almost to sleep.

She couldn't stand.

She could barely keep her eye (right eye) open even while heaving.

And that doctor kept telling me she had to go.

(I'm shaking again just typing this.)

Her sons were panicked.

I was panicked.

I asked if I could pay for an ambulance to take her to another hospital, and the very kind nurses, who kept insisting that they would NOT allow her to be sent home, told me that it wouldn't work because she needed to be at level 1 trauma, so any other hospital would just send her back to them - where this jovial, obnoxious fellow kept slapping her on the thigh and asking if she was ready to go.

Not crying was difficult. It's still difficult when I think of how battered and bloody and sick she looked.

Understand that my sister is a real trooper. She never complains about ailments, so I KNEW if she said she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe.

What ensued was an open battle between the deliberately rude doctors and the loving, caring nurses. We heard it all - and I kept praying the nurses would win.
Finally, from what I understand, the ER doctor managed to admit her through an alternate route (sort of bypassing the trauma doctors) and at 6pm on Saturday she was taken to a room.

It took several people to lift her from the one bed to the bed in the room. They didn't want her to stand up and move to the bed - but that one doctor wanted to send her home.

Every day thereafter the trauma doctors stopped in to try to get her out.

It sounds bizarre, and it was. I've yet to come up with an explanation, but I did write a letter to the health alliance. So far, I haven't heard back.

The nurses told me that Monica would need to see an opthamologist before she could leave, because of the fracture in her eye socket - which turns out to be a hole in the floor of her orbital socket, not a mere fracture.

They told us she did NOT have a broken nose. (But you could visually see it was broken, even without the x-rays.)

One trauma unit doctor told us they'd been "lenient" letting her stay there for a few days.

My husband asked if we could just pay for her to have a room there (outright pay, no insurance, cash in hand) until she could at least eat and walk, and the doctor said, "You can rent her a room at the Knightsbridge Inn."

I just stared at him wondering what had happened to the bedside manner.

We are NOT a troublesome lot.

We all have excellent health insurance. (Not that an uninsured patient should be treated so badly either, but Monica has VERY good health insurance.)

We go out of our way to not bother doctors and nurses, and to be kind to everyone.

We had NEVER had such a negative experience in a hospital before.

But those doctors treated my sister like she was faking every time she got dizzy or sick.

So on Tuesday, we checked her out at 5pm.

The hospital said she had an appointment with the opthamologist (all the way back at the very hospital ejecting her) early the next morning.

They also said she had an appointment with her family doctor on Friday.

They said her "very bad" hematoma was fine, but she might want to put some antibiotic ointment on it.

They said her nose wasn't broken.

I made the hour long drive with her (broken ribs and sternum protesting the ride, with her dizzy from the fractured eye socket) the next morning, where we waited to be seen for almost 2 1/2 hours. Trust me, for her to sit in a hard office chair that long was painful to witness. And then we realized the doctors had sent her to a clinic.

The doc seeing her overheard us discussing her insurance, and she said, "You have insurance?"

My sister said, "I have excellent insurance."

The doctor said, "Then why in God's name did they send you here? This is a clinic. You need a specilialist."

:::Sigh:::

I went home, cancelled all the appointments the hospital had made, and called her family doctor - who had NOT been informed of her injuries, even though the hospital said they had called, and said on the discharge papers that they had set an appointment for her.

I got her in right away, and that wonderful doctor took over her care.

Monica does, of course, have a broken nose. It's easy enough to see without x-rays, which UC hadn't done, but now it's too late to repair the damage without plastic surgery, which she's not even considering, not with everything else going on.

Her "very bad" hematoma has turned to a very bad case of cellulits, requiring some heavy antibiotics that the hospital never even considered before "booting" her out.

And her eye socket is a lot more than a simple fracture. She'll have surgery on Wednesday so that they can put an implant into the floor of her orbital socket. You see, there's a hole there that's acting as a trap door, and her eye is literally sinking into it.
Scary, huh?
I looked up the surgery proceedure for this. Egads. I hope my sister doesn't do the same! It's not something you'd want to see prior to having it done.

And through all this, my sister keeps saying how thrilled she is to be alive.

Last Monday we celebrated her 51st birthday. She was all smiles. And black eyes. And a unicorn-horn-type-knot on her head that is almost comical in its dimensions.

She's moving pretty slowly with all those breaks, and she has to sleep sitting up in a chair in my living room because lying down is too painful. But also because with her eye fracture/break the doctor doesn't want her reclining until the surgery. He doesn't even want her bending over.
But of course, that's not UC's problem.

She and I both give thanks to the wonderful nurses of the world. They were true blessings as I dealt with this fiasco. I have no idea what I would have done without them.

The trauma doctors? Well, I've already sent a letter to the health alliance, but I haven't heard back. Yet. Maybe never?
I hope something is done - to them, against them.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they lost their medical license, though I know that won't happen. But it was THAT bad.

So now that I've gotten that off my chest...

What about you?

Had any really good or really bad experiences with hospitals?

With doctors?

With nurses?

Ever had a really bad car wreck?

I haven't, thank God.

But I tell you, it gives you new worries any time someone gets into a car.

If you have had a wreck, did it take you a long time to be comfortable behind the wheel of a car again?
I think Monica will have some problems. She's so upbeat and cheerful - until she has to recite the details of the wreck. She cries every time. Not sobbing because that's not her style. But she tears up and laughs at herself and feels self conscious.
Breaks my heart.

Share some of your near misses, and let's all vent on the craziness of SOME drivers, and how an automobile can become a dangerous weapon when things go wrong.

Hugs to all of you!

Drive carefully!

LORI

45 Comments:

Anonymous said...: HI Lori,
I am so glad to finally hear that your sister is alive. I know what you mean about nurses-they are the best people on the earth, while doctors can only hope to strive for the level of grace nurses have. Fortunately, the doctors in this case have just been dissed to a lot of big mouthed, caring people who will tell everybody who will listen about the level of care given to a certain VERY popular author's sister. I wouldn't be surprised to find that some of the muckity mucks at the hospital or some of their loved ones read this blog. Sometimes the best revenge is networking. Actually, if your words keep these doctors from mistreating someone else, our work here will be done. Again, I am glad she is alive. I am soooo sorry she will need surgery and further treatment. I will keep her and you in my prayers.

Lynne Thomas; 7:46 AM
Jayne Ann Krentz said...: Lori: A harrowing tale, indeed, but proof (if more was needed) why it is so absolutely critical to have someone from the family to advocate for the patient when one goes into the hospital.

Thank God your sister had you for her advocate. You go,friend!; 8:22 AM
Cynthia said...: I am so sorry your sister and your family went through this. I wish I could say I'm surprised but I know better. At least you had the option to go to another hospital. My local hospital is a joke and it's the only one within 60 mile radius. We have no other options.

I have stories to fill a book. The doctors around here are horrible, sometimes to criminal levels. The local hospital is a nightmare on a good day.

Writing a letter of complaint to the hospital alone may make you feel better but it will accomplish little else. Have a lawyer write that letter and you might get a reply back.

One thing you really must do is complain to the state's health department. They need to know how bad this all went down, especially if this is a trama 1 hospital - they are suppose to be the best of the best. Include names, times, everything.; 8:41 AM
Riley & Tiki said...: Get a lawyer!

Seriously, that is beyond incompetent.

We hope your sister recovers quickly despite those negligent doctors.; 8:42 AM
elizabeth said...: I'm with Jayne. You have to have someone who is your advocate.

The doctor sounds like a sadist with the perfect job--for him.; 10:33 AM
Kate Douglas said...: Lori, read Cynthia's comment and do what she says! I'm so glad your sister is improving and will hold the good thought that the cellulitis is quickly controlled. My husband was badly injured in a bicycle race a few years ago (broken hip, crushed pelvis, serious hematomas and road rash) but his care was excellent. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact the head of orthopedic surgery was in the same race and also went down. Needless to say, since most of the professionals who dealt with him, from the ER docs to the nurses on the pain ward, were teammates, he had a constant stream of concerned doctors and nurses checking on his health and comfort. One nurse actually asked me, "Who IS he?" thinking he must be a celebrity to have such good care--which tells me not everyone gets that kind of attention. The quality of medical care is so dependent upon the personalities of the people in charge. I would suggest a letter to the editor of the local paper--often a public complaint gets more attention than going through proper channels.; 10:41 AM
Elizabeth Guest said...: Ohmigosh, Lori, what an incredible and awful experience you and your family have been through!

Sending along lots of extra hugs,
~EG; 11:10 AM
Lori Foster said...: Thank you everyone. It always makes me feel better to vent.
:-)

Cynthia, we really didn't have the option of another hospital. I know because I tried. I offered to pay for an ambulance - cash! - to have her moved, and the nurse said that wouldn't work because every other hospital would just have her moved back to the level 1 trauma unit - and UC is the only one with it.
So... we were stuck.

In hindsight, I should have called her family doctor and begged him to come see her. But the hospital claimed that they had been called, and I believed them, and I just didn't want to make the situation worse. I didn't eat because I didn't want to leave her side. I was afraid something would happen if I did, ya know?

I found out later that my husband told her sons not to worry, that I would not let them send her home.
Thing was, I didn't know how I was going to stop them. Refuse to take her? Make them stick her in a cab?
I just didn't know.
I sat there beside her and prayed and stewed and pondered and trusted that it'd somehow work out if I was vigilant enough.

I hesitate to advertise to the local paper until the hospital has a chance to respond to my letter. If they at least say they're sorry for the confusion - something! - I'd be a little appeased.
Someone needs to be aware of those doctors, that's for sure.

Hugs to all.

Lori; 11:28 AM
Lori Foster said...: Kate, I'm so sorry your husband went through that! (And that you went through it with him!)
Oh, a crushed pelvis - makes me wince to even consider it!
I'm so glad he got the care he needed.

Hugs,

Lori; 11:29 AM
Tina said...: I'm very happy to hear that your sister will be okay. It's always such a crap shoot when you go to the hospital. My ex fell and compressed the 6th and 7th vertebrae in his back. We learned this from the Kentucky Spine Institute in Lexington. The hospital that saw him immediately after the accident (Jewish Hospital in Elizabethtown) treated us rudely, told him to stop being such a baby when he moaned in pain because "he wasn't really hurt", and sent us home after doing nothing--not even an MRI or a token Tylenol. (Granted, he'd been drinking and the accident was stupid, but that doesn't mean he didn't deserve to receive proper treatment.) As for me, I was pregnant and I started spotting. I went to Tallahassee Memorial. I was left waiting in a treatment room in the ER most of the night. Nurses and the occasional intern would pop in and NOBODY would tell me what was going on, even when I asked them directly. I finally refused to let the nurse take my vitals for the umpteenth time or do another thing to me until SOMEONE came and talked to me about what was happening. I then had to wait for another 40 minutes or so for the doctor to have the time to come and explain that I had indeed lost the baby and that they were planning to take me in for a D&C at 8am. No, they hadn't even told me that I was scheduled for a surgery until that point.

Of course, these incidents were just rude and/or insensitive. What happened to your sister was egregious! That went beyond rude and straight into malpractice in my opinion. I strongly agree with the other posters who said that you should get a lawyer and have him/her send letters to the hospital board and the State Medical Board. I would also send a letter to the newspaper, but considering you have a rather well-known name, you might want to contact the local tv stations, especially while your sister is still bandaged and bruised. A picture speaks volumes, after all, and tv even more so. Finally, while I'm not a big fan of lawsuits, given the fact that these doctors put your sister's life in jeopardy AND did not treat her nose so that it will now require plastic surgery to fix, I think you should definitely consider litigation.

Again, I'm glad she will be okay and I'm very sorry that you all had to experience this. You're both in my thoughts.; 11:45 AM
Dee said...: What a horror story you have to tell. The people who should hear it are the members of your states' Medical Board. Inspections must be lax for that Trauma 1 center and the way they operate should be investigated. I have worked with some great docs and some as bad as you have described. Remember that there is also the bottom third of the graduating class at every medical school.
May your sister recover well and not have too much post-traumatic stress.; 12:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Unfortunately I have a similar tale of medical incompetence to share - several years ago my father suffered from internal bleeding as a result of kidney stones. The doctor at the local hospital diagnosed him as having gas. My mother, a retired nurse, disputed this diagnosis and promptly took him to another hospital. The original doctor phoned the second hospital to warn them of this time waster coming in. Fortunately my mother is a very smart and tenacious woman, she had to pull every string and contact she could to get the case treated seriously and eventually a competent surgeon who could read an x-ray agreed with my mother's original diagnosis and took my dad off for surgery. Regrettably my mother never pursued the issue of the incompetence and unprofessional behaviour of the original doctor. I am sure that without her as an advocate my father would have died as a result of this condition. It absolutely horrifies me that there are people who do not have the benefit of a knowledgeable advocate. Good on you Lori for standing strong and refusing to be bullied by that hack - I also encourage you to file a complaint with your state's medical licensing board.; 1:12 PM
sandy said...: Lori, I was saddened, but not surprised to read about the treatment your sister and family recieved at the hands of the trauma doc. I was an ER nurse for 20 years, and, unfortunately, witnessed similar situations over the course of those years. Sometimes, your only advocate really is the nurse. Take the advice about contacting a lawyer. In this litigious society, a letter from an attorney might be the only way to get any kind of satisfactory response. By the way, the med you mentioned is called Phenergan and one of it's side effects is lethargy. Also, for future reference, demand to be seen by and "attending physician". They have the authority to over-ride decisions made by the ER doc in most cases. Best of luck to your family.; 2:20 PM
Judy F said...: Ah Lori I hope your sister is getting better. Hugs to you and your family for being there for her.

We have had pretty good care with nurses. most recently with my dad. The techs at the MRI were so patient with him.

I used to work in the billing dept of a hospital and for the life of me I can't remember the dept you need to contact. I will let you know when I do some digging.

Hugs.; 2:53 PM
susan andersen said...: Lori, I, too, love nurses. They do 90 percent of the work in hospitals. The docs in your trauma center, on the other hand, sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I had cellulitus once and had to be hospitalized for 24 hours with IV drip antibiotics. And these doctors said, what? Slap a little neosporin on it?

My son was given morphine when he broke his knee snowboarding and it made him sick as well. The difference was that the docs in our hospital refused to let him leave the ER until he no longer was nauseated.

So poor babies to you and most especially to your sister, who sounds as if she has a long recovery ahead of her. Bless her spirit!

And as Jayne said, how great that you could be her advocate. It's harrowing enough being in a hospital under such circumstances when the doctors are competent. I can't even imagine what would have happened to her had you and your husband not been there to stand in her stead.

Happy Memorial weekend, all. I'm off until Monday eve.; 3:29 PM
HelenK said...: What a horrifying situation! I'm sorry an accident was made worse by incompetence.

I was in a car accident 3 years ago and I'm still bothered by it. A man made a blind left in front of me and I hit him. Totally his fault, but now I'm hyper sensitive anyplace a car can turn in front of me. I can't watch out the windows when my DH is driving on the highway or I arrive at our destination a wreck.

The thing I remember most from the day was the other driver telling me that it was good for me because insurance would consider it his fault. I just stared at him in disbelief - I thought it was all his fault as well. But, he acted like it wasn't.

The other thing that was no fun was dealing with insurance. I'm not an assertive person and insurance companies don't want to pay for anything. I didn't get but a token amount of money - not enough to buy a car to replace my car (used even - not looking for new) and it was a financial hard ship for us. Since then, I've talked with people who said that shouldn't have been the case, but, how was I to know? I was still in pain and shock.

Your sister's lucky to have you. I hope she heals quickly.; 3:40 PM
Genevieve said...: Dear Lori... I'm sending some good thoughts to your sister and her family. Here in Canada, we like to think that we have a better health care system, but I have heard many horror stories here too. This is all very worrisome for us baby boomers as we get older.
{{hugs}}
Geneviève; 3:54 PM
Stella said...: Lori:

As has already been written, no person should be thrown to the medical beaurocracy without an advocate.

The experiences you, your sister and family have gone through are disgusting.

Stella; 4:32 PM
Anonymous said...: What a nightmare for your sister, you and your family. It is difficult enough dealing with the emotional trauma of having a loved one injured, but to have to deal with those doctors on top of everything else was horrific.

Her treatment (or lack thereof) sounds like medical malpractice to me. Do consult with a lawyer. Change in the procedures and conduct in that hospital will only occur under the duress a lawsuit will bring. You will be doing it not only for your sister, but the rest of the patients that are brought to UC in the future.; 4:46 PM
EliG said...: Over the years I've had a few nasty experiences with docs. The Doc who tossed my file back at a nurse and told him that he didn't have time for another teenager with a stomach ache. I had emergency surgery to repair a perforated bowel about 3 hours later. The ER doc who explained to me that I couldn't possibly have Crohn's Disease because I was fat. They did admit me when my potassium levels came back dangerously low and finally contacted my GI doc.
But the worst was the doc who was assigned to my sister when I took her in to the ER hemorrhaging following a miscarriage. Her midwife had already alerted the doc that was on call for their practice, the ER doc was supposed to contact her as soon as we got in. It should have been nice and easy. Then the ER doc decided the midwife didn't know what she was doing and that he needed to evaluate the situation. 3 hours later, multiple unnecessary tests to determine if she had actually had a miscarriage (despite us telling him they had already confirmed the miscarriage the day before and that this was complications) and endless blood soaked towels later, the OB shows up at the door and asks why we didn't have her paged. We explained that the ER doc had said he was having her paged but that he didn't think the midwife had correctly assessed the situation. It was a thing of beauty. Right there in the ER she totally called him out. I remember the word "idiot" was used. She had my sis up to the OR within 15 minutes.; 5:26 PM
talpianna said...: Lori, what a horror story! And Goddess bless nurses everywhere.

There should be something like a State Board of Medical Quality in your state to whom you can address complaints. (Ours isn't very good at disciplining doctors--neither is the AMA or its state branches; they are all about defending the doctors. But YMMV.) Your state health department may have an ombudsman.

I think people who file lawsuits for every little thing are usually just greedy; but in this case that may be the only way to get his attention (like hitting the mule over the head with the two-by-four). And if he loses his malpractice insurance, that's one way of protecting possible future victims from him.

Do think about going to a local TV station or newspaper, too. Most of them have consumer-advocacy reporters who take up these cases. In fact, this one is so egregious that it is worthy of being a straight news story, especially since a Famous Name is involved. It's always good when someone with clout uses it for the public good.

I had my share of bad doctors as an Army brat and in college and grad school; but since I've lived here I've been very fortunate in my medical personnel.; 7:39 PM
Ranurgis said...: What absolutely bizarre and negligent behavior on the part of those doctors!

But first of all, my prayers are with your sister and all the family as we pray for her full recovery and everybody else's peace of mind. I hadn't heard of her accident.

The most shocking "accident" incident that I've gone through involved my mother.

She was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's the day she mistook her new wheelchair for her walker. Someone took her out of it to have her breakfast. Afterwards, she started off from the dining room pushing it and her doctor laughed with the nurses, until they saw her trip and fall. But the doctor had a meeting to go to and couldn't wait to see if my mother had hurt herself.

After about an hour, the staff realized that my mother had been hurt and called an ambulance to take her to the ER next door. Then they called me at 10 a.m to tell me that she might have broken her hip and asked me to come and sit with her in the ER. I got there about 10:30 and discovered that nobody had bothered to look at her yet.

She was very uncomfortable, obviously in pain and had to relieve herself. Someone came with a bedpan but when I asked for some painkiller after that painful manoever, I was refused on the grounds that they didn't really know what they were dealing with yet. Now my mother was never one to bemoan her pain, so I knew she was really hurting when she didn't stop moaning until she finally fell into a fitful sleep. I sat there with her until my oldest niece came to the hospital at 4 p.m. after school. I took the opportunity to move my car for the third time because of the 2-hour time limit on parking.

When I returned not 5 minutes later, I was indignant because there were doctors attending a patient who had arrived after my mother. I turned to my niece and told her. "It's all right," she said. "They looked at her first" and I wasn't there. It must have been a very quick look. My niece left after a while and it took another few minutes before I was told that we had to go upstairs for X-rays. Luckily I didn't have to wheel her bed up there myself. I hadn't had much to eat all day and was getting quite tired since I wasn't well myself. We had to wait another half hour there. By 6 p.m. she was back in the ER sedated and after consulting with the nurses, I went home.

The ER staff told me that there was a triage system in place where people with suspected heart attacks and the like were treated first. I respected that, but not to even check how much a patient is suffering and give them some sort of painkiller, instead make her move so that she could take a bedpan, was outrageous. Finally they gave my mother a diaper.

My mother never recovered from this. She'd still enjoyed walking up and down the halls with her walker but never recovered the use of her legs. In fact, she had to be secured in her bed because she didn't understand that she had broken her hip and kept falling when she tried to go to the bathroom herself. We finally asked to have her secured in bed.

Because it was flu season, there were often quarantines that affected the nursing home and neither I nor a physiotherapist could get in to help her get mobile. It was so saddening to see her go downhill so fast after this accident that need not have happened and after which the ER treated her so shabbily.; 10:01 PM
Stella said...: Ranurgis--words fail me. I'm so sorry. Stella; 12:02 AM
Anonymous said...: Lori, this is exactly why people file malpractice lawsuits! To make the Dr's pay attention. Seems like the only way is thru their pockets. I have had a bad experience with a Dr. at a young age. He scarred me for life. That scar on my nose?? yea he cost me a nostril and I only went in to have my tonsils and adnoids out.

Anyway, Im very glad your sister is recovering. Sounds like she has been thru a very scary event but is coming out of it like a trooper.

Shana; 4:55 AM
Lori Foster said...: Tina, I am so, so sorry. I can't imagine what you went through. Sometimes I read these posts and my heart just breaks.
Big, big hugs to you and yours!

Dee, except for this individual experience, I've never had a bad word to say about hospitals. My dad has had several open heart surgeries, along with many other surgeries, and his doctors were always fabulous. My sis has had 3 kids, I've had 3 kids, we've both had hysterectomies. I had my gall bladder out, my kids have had broken noses repaired, Allen had shoulder surgery...
Always, each time, the doctors, nurses and hospital were wonderful.
This is the ONLY time I've felt abused by a hospital.
I truly have to believe that such treatment is out of the norm. If it wasn't, well good God, who would ever go to the hospital, even for a life threatening reason?

Anon, how scary! But I can understand your mother's reluctance to pursue it. Right now, with my sister, our plates are already so full that fitting in anything else would be very taxing. I WILL write some letters, but beyond that, I don't think any of us wants more hassle.

Hugs,

Lori; 5:11 AM
Lori Foster said...: Hi Sandy! thanks for the spelling of the nausea drug. I knew I likely had it wrong.
It DID almost knock her out, but I think her injuries, the fact she'd been up all night having tests done - without so much as a sip of water - and it was going on 5/6 o'clock, added to it.
Also, to clarify, it wasn't the ER doc who I felt mistreated her. In fact, he was very kind. It's my understanding that he's the one who finally got her admitted. He had to find (from what the nurses said) an alternate route to get her admitted, because the Trauma docs had seniority and wanted her gone.
So the ER doc admitted her through the ER. I think. It all got very muddled there in the end.
But I remember the ER doc coming over and sitting down beside me with all of her charts. He looked them over very quietly, patted my shoulder, and said, "I'm going to review all this. Try not to worry."

I swear, I almost burst into tears. LOL
I DID tell the nurse that I needed my husband, and she went out into the waiting area to get him for me. By the time Allen got in there, I was better composed. Shew.

Lori; 5:15 AM
Lori Foster said...: Judy, I know you've been through it with your dad. Thank God you've had good doctors!

Susan, I would have thought - for someone in her shape -they'd feel the same, that they'd want it all under control before releasing her. But apparently they weren't in the least concerned.
Now, the eye specialist is telling her not to bend forward or turn her head until after the surgery - so how the trauma docs expected her to vomit _without_ bending is beyond me. Not their problem, apparently.
It still makes me furious to think about it. Ugh.

Lori; 5:24 AM
Lori Foster said...: Helenk, I'm so sorry. I think Monica, too, will have issues with driving for a good long while. She's usually very independent, but she says she's in no hurry to get behind the wheel.

As to insurance, I already contacted a lawyer for her to ensure all her medical bills are paid, as well as lost wages. She's going to be off work for a good long while and I can't imagine how that'd all pan out without some legal help.

Gen and Stella, thank you. I did what I could, but I wouldn't wish that duty on anyone! Never have I felt so helpless - a feeling I detest!

Lori; 5:27 AM
Lori Foster said...: Elig and Ranurgis, how scary! If I hadn't had my own horrendous experience, it'd be hard to believe it could happen in these modern times. I'm so sorry that either of you went through that.

Tal, you know, I can't see my sister filing a suit. I want the right people to know what happened, to hopefully prevent it from happening again. But Monica and I both believe in good karma, and we are SO fortunate that she survived, that she didn't have damage to her neck or back, and so we'd like to just count our blessings.
At this point, I look at her and realize that she could as easily have died.
So yeah, I want someone to know about those doctors, and I'd enjoy knowing they were reprimanded in some way, and ever better, sanctioned to improve their practice, but that's about it.

Thank you all for sharing.

I should add that while my mother was passing away with cancer, everyone at Hospice was so kind and generous and caring, it still brings tears to my eyes. Really, REALLY good doctors and nurses are out there, doing everything they can.
It makes a world of difference.

Hugs,

Lori; 5:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Lori,

((HUG)) to you and your sister! I hatge toe say it but like many others I have stories that could curl your hair. Now when my mom has to go to the hosp I call her doc at home if necessary and tell him BEFORE calling 911. I discovered if I did this he calls the hosp if they don't call him within a certain time frame. Do I feel bad about calling him at home at night or weekend or holiday - not any more.

I know you said that you don't think you want to do more but you're gonna have to - honest.

Its a good thing you've already contacted a lawyer for your sister's insurance, etc., tell him/her what happened you might be surprised - depending on the lawyer that might be all it takes.

My mom wouldn't do that so........

Tammy

bloggers acting up again so have to do this anon; 7:23 AM
DFender said...: Lori,

I'm sorry for the misery your family, especially your sister, has gone through.

I, like most, have several stories both good and bad, more good thank God.

My cousin is an emergency room physician and he's told some stories himself, about fellow doctors. Really frightening and unreal. My cousin? A gem.

Wishing for a full and speedy recovery for your sister. I hope something, anything, good comes out of her tragedy.

Deb; 1:45 PM
Errin Ricketts said...: seriously i would be suing those doctors for everything they had i am really glad to hear your sister is ok considering the circumstances and that she has a good attitude about it. i was in a truck accident a few years ago with my brother he was driving. we were in my dads one ton dually and we were gonna cross the highway from one farm road to another the highway was clear and as we were driving across the truck stalled isaac quickly got it going again but i looked up and out his window and saw a three ton dually rig truck with a cow catcher on the front i yelled isaacs name and he hit the gas to get across the road cause the guy wasn't slowing down in fact he was speeding up as we started to go forward the guy decided he was going to pass us and he hit us on the drivers side the cops said that he was going 140 in a 90 zone (thats kilometers) but the impact snapped the frame on my dads truck i broke the back window with my head and isaac was stuck between the caved in door the stick shift the steering wheel and the seat. it was kinda bleary after that i woke up lying on the ground and it was only a few seconds later so i got up and isaac was sitting to the side completely clueless as to what happened but knowing something had happened. the other fellow was fine so we were taken to the hospital and i had to have 8 atitches in the back of my head we were fine otherwise but suffering from shock. i remembered everything that had happened really clearly so i started rambling to the doctor as he picked glass out of my head and stitched me up only to have him tell me to shut up we shouldn't have been driving in the first place (my brother didn't have his licence as we were on farm roads). i'm proud to say i didn't cry once and i wasn't to badly in shock to not notice that i had a hot male nurse who was really friendly. but it turned out that the doctor hadn't gotten all the glass out and i ended going back 6 more times to get glass removed so thats my story about a rude doctor and a car accident.

otherwise i've not had any troubles with doctors i actually like going to the hospital and i was there once with a serious cough that racked my whole body and had been going on for about five months when i was in i had to wait a while as it was rather late at night and it was a tiny small town hospital so they had to phone the doctors at their homes and they would come out but as i was waiting i got a recipe from the nurse for coughs then the doctor came and instead of doing what all the other doctors had done before him he prescribe me i think it was called pseudofed or something like that but it worked and i'm better, so thats a doctor who cared, he was pulled out of his home to deal with me and he actually took care and listened to what i had to say. but yeah i actually enjoy going to the hospital and have had no problems with doctors except for the one i had at the accident. i later found out that he had been given a choice to either come and practice medicine in dawson creek or have his licence taken away from him from malpractice suits in vancouver. he of course decided to come to dawson creek and no one i know of has anything good to say about him.; 2:19 PM
Judy F said...: Lori, I think just letting them know how you feel and what all happened will ease your mind. I just can't believe her treatment there.

Sending lots of prayers for her recovery.

After my mom totaled their car before the holidays it took her months before she wanted to drive. She is only really confortable driving to and from getting her hair done. We are taking over the rest of the driving.

Hugs; 2:26 PM
Lori Foster said...: Errin, wow, some horror stories! I often wonder what goes on behind the scenes that we never hear about. Law suits settled out of court, doctors relocated and such, that type of thing. Very scary!

Judy, Deb and Tammy, thank you.
What sucks right now is that she's off the ibuprophen because of the upcoming eye surgery, and she's hurting a lot more than she had been. I hate to see her so uncomfortable. Just breaks my heart.
I'll be glad when we're beyond the surgery and she can get back to recovering.

Hugs to all!

Lori; 7:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Lori,
My heart goes out to you and your sister. It must have been horrific for your sister and terribly traumatic for you!!

NOW - please get a lawyer and hold those doctors accountable!! What if... your sister had been all alone in this world - no siblings, no family, no one... She would have been brought into the hospital, treated unbelievably callously, then sent home. She probably would have died. AND THERE WOULD BE NO PROOF OF MISCONDUCT - because the doctors apparently couldn't be bothered to take appropriate x-rays. You know that your sister's experience is not an isolated incident - if they acted like that with her, they've done it before and will do it again. Someone needs to hold those doctors accountable. I know you have a caring and loving heart - think about the next person to be treated by those "doctors", and please, please do something.; 10:43 AM
Anonymous said...: We have two hospitals in our town and our family has entirely given up on one of them, because the ER staff doctors there don't LISTEN. My sister, a nurse, says that listening to patients is the most critical skill for caregivers. The other hospital has outstanding ER docs, one of whom saved my husband's life with his quick effort to confirm a suspected diagnosis of a very obscure, uncommon, and life threatening type of blood clot. MAKE the doctors listen to you. You know your body (or your spouse's/child's/sibling's boy) better than they do and you know when something wrong is going on with them.; 2:49 PM
Amanda said...: Hi Lori,

I have some legal experience, and I'm telling you your sister should sue. This is a strong case in HER favor and to protect other people (especially those who are uninsured) I'm begging you to sue.

Best wishes for your sister and all your family.

I was in a terrible accident two years ago, wet road conditions, hit the ground at 70 mph...very unpleasant. Miraculously just had some scratches, slight brusing, bad hematoma (sp?) where the seatbelt hit me on my lower abs...other than that nothing wrong. Truly a miracle. Had trouble driving in rain after this (still do really) massive panic attacks, nightmares, paranoia. Was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, got some therapy and have been much better since. The psycological affects of accidents are something no one ever really talks about, but they are truly devestating.

Best of wishes!; 8:08 PM
Lori Foster said...: Thank you everyone for your suggestions and feedback. It's very much appreciated.
I'll leave it up to Monica if she's up to that sort of thing.
Most of all, I just want someone at the hospital to be AWARE of it, and to - in some way - reprimand those jerks.

We'll see!
Hugs to all, and Happy Memorial Day!

Lori; 8:58 AM
Ranurgis said...: We were urged to sue the driver who neglected a "stop" sign and plowed into the passenger side of my father's car shortly after my brother got out of it. The car was totaled and my father received a head injury.

During the following year, he kept having blackouts and dizzy spells and finally my mother accompanied him on every trip that he had to take for his job as campus architect at the university in town to Toronto to speak with the Ministry of Education--a round trip of over 240 miles.

When the attacks became worse, he was taken into the university hospital for a week's observations. They could find nothing. On the last day he suffered a massive stroke, likely related to the head injury almost a year previously.

His swallowing muscles were paralyzed and he was having trouble swallowing his sputum. My sister was a student nurse at the time and she told my mother this was dangerous if it got into the lungs and that he should have something siphoning off the liquids. The staff disagreed saying my father did not want anything like that in his mouth. She finally got permission for her and my mother to take turns watching him through the night.

Late that night a doctor came in to tell them that my father would be on special watch that night. The next morning when they returned, my father was in the intensive care unit being given oxygen and suctioning. (Sorry, I don't know the technical lingo.) For several days his life hung in the balance and my mother was going to cut off artificial means of keeping him alive when suddenly, while there was a prayer meeting at our church, he opened his eyes and showed signs of improvement.

They were urged to sue the driver of the car that caused the accident. My parents refused because the young man had no car insurance. They did not want to be responsible for ruining his life. Once my father improved he lived another 9 and a half years though he was never back to normal and was unable to work. His insurance covered that.

Yes, it really is up to your sister to decide whether to sue. I think there is too much suing going on, sometimes for the most trivial things. But these doctors really need to be held accountable for their negligent attitude. They earn a lot of money, too much I sometimes think, for what they do. Clear negligence deserves punishment or, at the very least, a strong reprimand with, perhaps, volunteer service.; 9:29 PM
Lori Foster said...: Ranurgis! How awful and scary. Were they ever able to completely pinpoint the source of the problem to the wreck?

Thank God your father had good insurance himself!

I know what you mean about suing an individual. If the guy who hit them was an older man with a history of drinking and driving, I'd say go for it. But a younger man who just made a foolish mistake... most of us would hesitate to ruin someone's life like that.

Too many frivolous law suits are a BIG problem, imo. However, when they're not frivolous, like in Shana's case with her nostril, then I think the victim has every right to compensation.

Right now I'm helping Monica to compose letters to various people. She and I both want to see these doctor's reprimanded in some substantial way that - hopefully - will teach them to be better doctors.
We'll see what happens!

Doing the letters helps her to keep her mind off the eye surgery. That's a good thing. Anger is preferrable to worry any day!

Lori; 4:30 AM
PJ said...: Lori, I'm continuing to keep your sister in my prayers. There is absolutely no excuse for how she, or you, were treated by the trauma doctors. It's negligence, pure and simple. I'm so glad you had the nurses and the ER doc working for you instead of against you.

As others have said, this illustrates the necessity of having an advocate when you're taken to the hospital.; 10:26 AM
Ranurgis said...: Talk about frivolous lawsuits! We just had one in which a man sued because the 5-gallon bottle of water he had received contained a dead fly. He sued the water company saying that drinking water had lost its appeal, or some such silly reason. A court awarded him over $300,000. But the company took the case all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada where it was struck down about a week ago.

Certainly, the company failed to make sure that the water was untainted by extraneous material. The result should just have been a refund. But the man claimed false advertising as well as loss of "appeal."

I'm surprised the case ever got that far. In Canada, the courts are inclined to throw out any such frivolous suits and limit them to where actual damage was caused.

Among those are cases of doctor error that result in bodily harm or death.

My brother and sister-in-law kept their option to sue a small-town hospital open for several years after my then 25-year-old nephew had a massive stroke there.

It all began with what they thought was a cold. When it got worse, they took him from their country home to the closest hospital. First, they were denounced for not recognizing the severity of the illness as pneumonia and not just a cold (maybe his smoking hadn't exactly helped.) Then, while he was in the hospital, they got a call at 3 a.m. telling them that he had had a stroke. They rushed there to be with him. There was no doctor available and the nurses did their best to make him comfortable.

No doctor came until about 1 p.m. By that time, he was in a bad way. Afterwards, several people said that he should have received a certain medication immediately. He did not and the "why not" remains a mystery to this day, though they said that it might have interfered with something else that he'd been given previously.

Anyway, he had an over 3-inch blood-clot in his carotid artery. They discovered that he had an abnormal heart (not dangerous) and that his right lung had been compromised. The right side of his brain was total mush. He had to have the top of his skull removed so that the swelling of the brain (because he was so young; the brain shrinks as you grow older) would not cause further damage. He was in three different hospitals, two of them in Toronto. His life, too, hung in the balance for more than a week. God pulled him through it all. Because he was still young, the left side of the brain was able to take over some of the motor functions of the right side. He has recovered so far that he can walk with a halting gait but he is unable to use his left arm beyond lifting it a bit. His left hand is like a claw and he often massages it. He lost sight in his right eye and the "mush" was removed from the right side of his head. (Don't ask what replaced it.)

The lawyers my brother and sister-in-law spoke with said that there was not enough hard evidence to show actual neglect or wrong-doing and they decided, with M's consent not to pursue the lawsuit. He now gets a disability pension from the province with supplements from his parents. He's trained as an IT and though he is diligent, he is slow at it. Therefore, he has not been able to get a job. He still has problems remembering things but he is content with his life, two cats and friends.

One of our doctor friends, a surgeon, was sued for wrongful death that occurred during one of his operations. The anaesthetist left for a while during the operation, something that is apparently pretty well standard practise, and the patient developed problems and died. I never did inquire what became of the case. I was too busy with my mother's Alzheimer's; 12:00 PM
Ranurgis said...: My prayers continue to be with all of you but especially with your sister. I hope the eye injury will heal completely.; 12:02 PM
Beth said...: My heart goes out to all the family. My story was a great one, heart attack, 3 stents, the most honest forthright doctors, great care from everyone my family came in contact with, including orderliesn nurses and lots of doctors. Have you even considered going up the chain of command at the hospital, Chief of Staff, Board of Directors, then lawyers.; 7:54 AM
Kim said...: as a Nurse that also knows the administrative side of things, what you can do in the short run is 1)Ask for an Attending inthe ER 2) If that dosn't work, ask for the Hospital Supervisor and on up to the CEO if needed. 3)report concerns in a letter to the Hospital, insurance company, and Medical Board with as much specific data as possible. Include names, dates, times. this will help any investigative process. You would be helping not only your family, but the next that comes along in similar circumstances.
Unfortunately 1 voice is not often heard in policing the Medical industry, but a chorus of them can't be ignored.; 8:14 AM

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Angels on Earth - Nurses

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