Are Hospitals Safe ?

Don't bet your life on it! I can't believe what we saw from Friday morning until late Monday afternoon. I now have no doubt the Doctor sent messages at regular intervals during surgery, I just don't think the nurses bothered to call them out.

The care Bob received was terrible, and that is an understatement! Bob had air boots on his legs during and after surgery. They help your circulation and keep clots from forming. After surgery the nurses just forgot about them. I when I finally asked Saturday afternoon, one of the nurses just hesitated and said, "Oh. We'll just take them off." Saturday night during the night, the nurse came in and took Bob's vitals. Routine stuff. When she left she told Bob she would be right back with his antibiotics. She never came back. He had to call her. She forgot. Bob always has a problem with high blood sugar levels after surgery. The doctor left orders for him to have small doses of insulin if his count went over 250. He received a shot at 170 and another shot at 201. The doctor told Bob he wasn't happy about that. We were shocked. Bob also has a problem with low blood oxygen levels after surgery. He just doesn't take deep breaths.. He was on on oxygen the whole time he was in the hospital (supposed to be). If they moved him from the bed to the chair or walked him, most of the time they forgot to put it back on him. After walks they would bring him back to his room, park the IV and leave forgetting to plug it in and take it off battery power.

Fresh ice water almost all the time had to be asked for. When he was finally allowed some solid food, they brought him jello and creamed soup. He had to call the nurse back and try to explain that the doctor did order solid food. She was really kinda nasty when she finally left to get it. If he needed a nurse anytime (and they seldom checked on him if they knew I was there to take care of him) he had to push his call button. No problem. Except the light was always answered at the desk and you had to play 20 questions with them before they took the message. Then it was wait and see how long before the nurse thought your needs were important enough to get her fanny there.

Once. Once he had a nurse there in record time. I had helped him up and he was on his way to the bathroom carrying his catheter bag. The hook he was holding the bag with broke off. Bag hit floor. Urine spreads all over. I tell Bob to stand still and don't move. I pushed call button. Person at desk answers and wants to play 20 questions. I say, "bag broke, urine all over floor and I am afraid Bob will fall". We had a nurse there almost before I had put the controls down. What was really irritating to me was when I would leave for a while. It seemed like every time I passed the desk, there would be from 4 to 8 different people there. They would either be on computers or visiting. Lots of visiting and it didn't sound like it was work related.

Dismissal. That was a nightmare. He got to go home Monday. I was there bright and early so Bob wouldn't have to wait on me. Rotten breakfast. Doctor didn't show. Nasty lunch. Doctor didn't show. I got Bob dressed as there was no nurse to help. Finally around 2:00 the nurse came in and saw Bob was getting upset. She said she would call the doctor and see where he was. The doctor didn't get there until 4:00 and said he could go home.... With a catheter. A nurse put a patch on him and switched the big bag for a tiny traveling catheter. Then she screwed up. She placed the patch too low on his leg so the tube wasn't long enough. Every step he took was uncomfortable, if you guys know what I mean. Then this nurse said Bob's main nurse would be right in with the paperwork and he would be ready to go. I left and brought the truck around to the main door. I waited. Bob didn't come. I waited. I walked around the truck, and looked at those double doors. I got in truck. I looked at floorboard. Then I thought. Would they let him go if I put it in 4 wheel drive and drove through those damn doors to get him? That's when I saw what looked like a nurse walking Bob to the door. She has no idea how lucky she was. It was after 5:00!!! Bob was shaking his head and really mad. There was no have a nice day or nicey goodbyes here. After Bob got in the truck he told me that when nobody came with the papers he finally tried the call button. That is when they told him is nurse went to a meeting (45Min) and would be back. Latter. It was 5:30 before we left the parking lot.

We went to Wendy's and had a sandwich. The large Frosty Bob had didn't even begin to calm Bob down. He was still mad when we got home.

I guess if you go to this hospital, you are your best nurse. Pay attention to what they do (or don't do) and don't be afraid to use that call button and tell them in no uncertain terms what it is you need !!!!

Thursday afternoon finally came and Bob's doctor appointment. The catheter is now gone !!! He is smiling again. Now, in six weeks he will go back to the doctors office and have the stent removed. Then. Maybe then, this will only be a vague bad dream. Maybe.