Reply #7: I feel for you

[leftchick]

And I hope your Father gets well. I had a horrible experience when my Mother was hospitalized last year. The nurses were pathetic. Her doctor, luckily I loved and trusted. She went in for an appendectomy and almost died from that. Then she developed a pulmonary embolism that took more than three hours before the nurses addressed it and called her Doctor. This was in the middle of the night and no one bothered to call the children We found out when she told us the next day! Two days later I walk in at 10:00 in the morning and she is struggling for breath. I called in several nurses repeatedly and they treated her with breathing treatments, x-rays and assorted procedures never calling her doctor to come in.

Finally after running from her room to the nurses station about five times someone finally paged her Doctor. In retrospect I wish I had called 911 when they first brushed me off.

I was holding her hand and she just kept telling me to take care of my father over and over. I knew she was dying. I saw it clearly and felt so fucking helpless. Her doctor called for her to be admitted to the ICU stat! The team came in, I went out in the hall and my siblings had arrived after my frantic calls. I knew she was almost dead and was so freaked out.

Then like an angel I saw her Doctor running down the Hall and he was pissed. He went in the room made sure she was hooked up to everything and had the team rush her to ICU. He took a few seconds to walk over to us and explain he believe she was having congestive heart failure and may not survive.

The next three hours were torture but the good news is she made it. In spite of the ignorance and lack of compassion from the nursing staff. Luckily in the ICU there were wonderful people there. It was like a whole new hospital and very strange to witness the contrast.

I totally agree, even with my mother completely insured she was treated like crap and I have already seen her die in front of my eyes. :cry:


...sorry this turned out so long. I guess I needed to vent.