Yesterday I went with my sister to the hospital as she was having surgery done. They said it would only take about 20 minutes for the surgery but it could take up to 5 hours for her to recover from the drugs.
That was fine, according to the nurse they would come out and let me know when she was out of surgery. 2 hours later I was told she was awake not that she was out of surgery, but that she was awake. Now for a normal person thats not a big deal, for a diabetic who needed to eat an hour before the came out it was a big deal. I was not happy at this point. So I followed the nurse in thinking that my sister would be okay to leave. She wasn’t she will still very out of it. So I sat for another 20 minutes until I started shaking at that point I went down to the cafeteria and ate. Yes I know I’m an adult and should have before, but if something had gone wrong I was the only person there.
Of course this is not the worst part. Her nurse had gone down to have lunch just a few minutes before I left. When I walked by she gave me a funny look, later I overheard her say how horrible it was that I thought food was more important then my sister. Now I understand she didn’t know my situation, but it was still uncalled for since she didn’t know. You would think that a nurse in a hospital would know better wouldn’t you?
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Sunday, 27. January 2008
What a shame! There’s no communication at hospitals any more it seems. I hope that your sister is doing well and you too.
Connie’s last blog post..Heart To Heart
Monday, 28. January 2008
She’s doing much better, she goes back to work tomorrow so hopefully it will go well.
Me, I am worn out. This is why I don’t have kids yet. I can’t keep up with them!
Wednesday, 6. February 2008
I have diabetes which I control through diet. As a consultant for a project focused on patient-centric care, I had to attend an early-morning meeting (7 am) at a hospital. That’s early for me, so I figured they’d serve breakfast. They served donuts, croissants, bagels, and every other high-carbohydrate, sugar-laced breakfast food you could imagine. For fruit, they had bananas. There was nothing with significant protein, and the meeting went on for hours.
I have no idea what they were thinking, but I think this is typical in hospitals.
Thursday, 7. February 2008
I’m pretty sure the hospital is concerned about their patient. You’re an adult, let somebody know you’ll be gone for 10 minutes and go eat.
Thursday, 7. February 2008
I do understand they had patients to see, but when I’m told I have to stay there until they tell me she’s out they need to come out and tell me she’s out and okay. Not wait until she is awake.
What I am more upset about is that it’s a 20 minute surgery that she could have died in but they can’t come out and say she’s out and okay?
Thursday, 7. February 2008
Bad people exist in every profession. People just tend to notice them more in the hospital setting since they are already in a state of heightened emotional arousal. Besides that you have to remember the volume of information this person is processing at a time. In a perfect world, yes she should have come out and said how your sister was doing but if she had 20 other patients being prepped for day surgery, she has more pending things on her plate than placating your legitimate worry.
Her ‘funny look’ is unacceptable by anyone’s standards, but like I said before, you were already stressed immensely, so even the slightest sneer would hit you a hundred times harder than if the same had been done by a teenage cashier at Walmart.
You have to remember that your hospitals are run by REAL people, just like everyone else. We’re not saviours wrapped in scrubs. We’re mothers, sisters, brothers, and fathers just like you. Would you hold yourself up to the standard of perfection?
If not, then don’t expect the same from your health care providers. All you can count on is safe, competent care. If you don’t receive that during your stay, then you have reason to seek legal action. Otherwise, give amnesty where amnesty is due.