Ready To Get Off The Merry-Go-Round Now
What a day!
During MDA Internest appt. this morning, G-tube wound started pouring blood. Son noticed blood coming through hubby's shirt. Doc said "I'll get the nurse". No nurse. Then no doc. Hallway was empty. Finally snagged another doc who found the nurse. She cleaned him up and rebandaged.
Continued on to Rad #9. Radiologist couldn't use the belt, so he had to hold real still. Everything went OK.
Got home. Hubby sat down. Five minutes later, blood on shirt & running down stomach. Called MDA & finally got the nurse. She tells me to take him to the hospital next door to MDA. So back again another 20 miles. Three hours in the ER. It stops bleeding and is rebandaged. Doc says if it starts again to put pressure on it.
Got home again. As hubby gets out of truck, blood on shirt(a clean shirt). We come in and he sits down and tries pressure. Doesn't do much good. So we decide to wait a bit and try an ice cube in a paper towel. Doesn't work either, but he wants to wait a little longer.
I hadn't had a chance to eat all day, so was huffing down some chicken and potato salad. He says "I think we're in trouble, here." Double thick bandage now soaked, so I grab wet paper towels and more bandage, so I can clean him up and drive back the 20 miles, but it's bleeding so much I can't keep up with it. I call 911 and they show up and won't take him to a hospital that far away. Too much blood. So they rush him to our nearby hospital(which he doesn't like). I follow and spend another four hours in the ER. Bleeding stops as long as he's laying down. When he sits up, no good. A surgeon is called in who puts in a couple of stitches. He's watched for another hour, laying & sitting. That seemed to do the trick.
So we're home again with our fingers crossed. Appt. in the morning for the last Lung rad and will be calling the MDA navigator for an update and instructions. These are not dissolvable stitches and will need to be removed.
I love Merry-Go-Rounds, just not this one.
Luv,
Wolfen
Comments
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Unbelievable !
Wolfen,
What the world ? I can not believe the incompetence of some medical proffessionals. I am so sorry for this un-needed blurp in your husbands world. How scary to boot. O.K. so they need to take those stiches out, and then everything will be alright with the g-tube ? Keep us posted, and hugs sent out to you all ! Katie
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Did they ever say
exactly what is bleeding? That's so much blood!! Mine bled when they pulled it out for a couple days, but nothing to the extent that your hubby's bled....what a horrible day! Makes ya wonder what they were thinking at MDA.....they must do tubed every day of the week, so massive blood loss should have gotten someone's attention that something is torn or something.
Hugs Wolfen....they sure aren't making anything easy for you. Congrats on the last rad, tho....that'll be nice.
p
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Katie, BTSOOM!phrannie51 said:Did they ever say
exactly what is bleeding? That's so much blood!! Mine bled when they pulled it out for a couple days, but nothing to the extent that your hubby's bled....what a horrible day! Makes ya wonder what they were thinking at MDA.....they must do tubed every day of the week, so massive blood loss should have gotten someone's attention that something is torn or something.
Hugs Wolfen....they sure aren't making anything easy for you. Congrats on the last rad, tho....that'll be nice.
p
There never was a definitive answer for the cause, just a few guesses. Yep, this was probably just this week's "bump in the road. " You guys know me. I wouldn't want to miss one! LOL
Off to rads now.
Luv Ya,
Wolfen
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bumps in the road ?wolfen said:Katie, BTSOOM!
There never was a definitive answer for the cause, just a few guesses. Yep, this was probably just this week's "bump in the road. " You guys know me. I wouldn't want to miss one! LOL
Off to rads now.
Luv Ya,
Wolfen
Wolfen
you have not only had little bumps in the road---you've had some boulders !
So sorry that you two have to go thru so much on this journey. I've never even heard of some of the things you are running into every day. You could write a book about your complications.
Hope that now that things have calmed down a bit you can both enjoy a rest this weekend with 2 days off of rad treatments.
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Same road, different bumps...wolfen said:Katie, BTSOOM!
There never was a definitive answer for the cause, just a few guesses. Yep, this was probably just this week's "bump in the road. " You guys know me. I wouldn't want to miss one! LOL
Off to rads now.
Luv Ya,
Wolfen
The road through treatments and recovery has a different set of bumps on it for each one of us--patient and caregiver alike. No one knows exactly what bumps they will hit, but my guess is that no one can avoid every possible bump. So, we just have to be ready to take action once they happen--just like you did with your repeated trips to the hospital. Try to avoid as many as you can by doing what the docs and folks here tell you, but don't think you can avoid them all. You have a great attitude for this ride, and your husband is fortunate to have you as his caregiver.
Mike
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OMG just what you both needed
OMG just what you both needed and how frightening! So sorry for the whole event, but very grateful somebody with a head on their shoulders helped your hubby, JEEZ!
Ill pray that the Merry Go Round slows down for a while!
All my love,
Rachel0 -
definition of strength..
Wolfen,
You are the definition of strength in my dictionary! So glad you got things sutured and under control! Only to top the excitement with another rad. So sorry to hear that either of you have had another ride on the Merry-Go-Round. I wish you a very boring weekend! Topped with a few good naps!
You are one amazing lady.
Hugs, Kari
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Now See, IngridCivilMatt said:my goodness
Wolfen,
Sounds like they put in a B-tube. What a mess (for real). You both must be exhausted. Hopefully, your ride will smooth out soon (or already has) and you can huff down your chicken in peace.
Take a deep breath,
Matt
That's why we have a 4WD truck, to make it over the boulders!
Seriously though, my hubby does have unusual things happen to him. We've just learned to live by "Murphy's Law". It doesn't mean we're worse off than the next person. We just face different challenges.
Hubby finished the last lung rad today(or I guess that's yesterday, by now). Radiologist said we could come back and do it on Mon., but hubby said "Nope, we're here. Let's get it done". Got in touch with navigator and surgeon wanted to see him NOW. Saw the surgeon, who was quite upset that MDA nurse from previous day did not notify him of the problem, and was also upset that paramedics wouldn't transport him to "his" hospital. Neither he, nor his assistant had ever seen this bleeding problem before. He gave me his cell phone to call for future emgs.
The mantra of my friend Buzzard(from the Colon Board), who has recently gone to be with the angels, was "It is what it is". A very special man who came to my rescue in the early part of my daughter's battle, I will miss him.
Here's to a great weekend for all of us.
Luv,
Wolfen
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Squeaky wheels....
Wow Wolfen!
What an adventure to say the least! Glad to see they got it under control but dang! I don't know how you kept your cool through it all. I would have gone ballistic (and I have) if something like that was happening to me!
When I was in the ER with my heart attack, they wanted to transport me by ambulance 20 minutes away to the main hospital in Winchester. The hospital refused to take me because they were full. So 3+ hours later I'm still in the ER waiting to hear from 3 other hospitals about taking me! I asked the ER doctor "So you're saying that they won't take me by ambulance from here but if I call from my home or walk in on my own they would take me?" He said "Yes"!! So, I had my boss pick Marci and I up and he drove us the 20 minutes to Winchester where they took me. Fortunately I didn't die on the way! Believe me, they heard an earful about that and I was oiled too!
Next time something like that happens, take a tip from "T" ... Ballistic can't hurt
Grabbing someone by the collar and demanding attention makes an impression ~ Most of the time, a squeaky wheel gets some oil.
"T"0 -
"T"fishmanpa said:Squeaky wheels....
Wow Wolfen!
What an adventure to say the least! Glad to see they got it under control but dang! I don't know how you kept your cool through it all. I would have gone ballistic (and I have) if something like that was happening to me!
When I was in the ER with my heart attack, they wanted to transport me by ambulance 20 minutes away to the main hospital in Winchester. The hospital refused to take me because they were full. So 3+ hours later I'm still in the ER waiting to hear from 3 other hospitals about taking me! I asked the ER doctor "So you're saying that they won't take me by ambulance from here but if I call from my home or walk in on my own they would take me?" He said "Yes"!! So, I had my boss pick Marci and I up and he drove us the 20 minutes to Winchester where they took me. Fortunately I didn't die on the way! Believe me, they heard an earful about that and I was oiled too!
Next time something like that happens, take a tip from "T" ... Ballistic can't hurt Grabbing someone by the collar and demanding attention makes an impression ~ Most of the time, a squeaky wheel gets some oil.
"T"I do ballistic really well. They must have caught me on a good day. I believe everyone did what they were trained to do, but it finally took an ER surgeon to turn on the light bulb. And I knew when I called 911, he'd be taken nearby, but I asked anyway. I do know if he had been admitted, our surgeon could have arranged a transfer.
I think the MDA Internest's nurse is going to get the brunt of this from our surgeon. I see a lot of "politics" going on at that place.
Our local hospital has actually improved. Having lived here for 40 yrs., I've been there a lot, receiving good care and sub-standard. Last year, my son became quite ill with food poisoning. He'd been sick for several hrs., so naturally didn't look his best and he has long hippie hair, so "red flag". We took him about midnight. It wasn't busy and they stuck him in a back area in a recliner(which didn't recline) for 2 hrs. with staff walking by and ignoring us. He finally could sit up no longer so I took a blanket and put on the floor and he curled up in the fetal position. I went to the visitor waiting area and loudly asked the nurse if he might be seen before he died on the floor. A few minutes later, two staff members came back, helped him up, and miraculously found him a bed. For the next 8 hrs., I went in and out of the ER passing at least a dozen dirty ER rooms. No janitor in sight. My grandson had taken a picture of his dad laying on the floor, with his cell. The next morning, I emailed the Director of Nursing a scathing email and attached the picture. They were quick to apologize and appear to have remedied the dity room problem, a least from my observations on Thurs.
As much as I dislike the medical profession in general, I realize it's full of people, just like you and me. Some want to do a good job, while others could care less. In an emg. situation "ya' pays your money, ya' takes your chances".
It's stupid that some protocols have to be followed as in your case. We only have an allotted number of beds for transfers, but walk-ins are welcome? Gimme a break!
Will be sending good vibes across the "waves" for your treatments.
Luv,
Wolfen
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The Squeaky Wheel Pt 2wolfen said:"T"
I do ballistic really well. They must have caught me on a good day. I believe everyone did what they were trained to do, but it finally took an ER surgeon to turn on the light bulb. And I knew when I called 911, he'd be taken nearby, but I asked anyway. I do know if he had been admitted, our surgeon could have arranged a transfer.
I think the MDA Internest's nurse is going to get the brunt of this from our surgeon. I see a lot of "politics" going on at that place.
Our local hospital has actually improved. Having lived here for 40 yrs., I've been there a lot, receiving good care and sub-standard. Last year, my son became quite ill with food poisoning. He'd been sick for several hrs., so naturally didn't look his best and he has long hippie hair, so "red flag". We took him about midnight. It wasn't busy and they stuck him in a back area in a recliner(which didn't recline) for 2 hrs. with staff walking by and ignoring us. He finally could sit up no longer so I took a blanket and put on the floor and he curled up in the fetal position. I went to the visitor waiting area and loudly asked the nurse if he might be seen before he died on the floor. A few minutes later, two staff members came back, helped him up, and miraculously found him a bed. For the next 8 hrs., I went in and out of the ER passing at least a dozen dirty ER rooms. No janitor in sight. My grandson had taken a picture of his dad laying on the floor, with his cell. The next morning, I emailed the Director of Nursing a scathing email and attached the picture. They were quick to apologize and appear to have remedied the dity room problem, a least from my observations on Thurs.
As much as I dislike the medical profession in general, I realize it's full of people, just like you and me. Some want to do a good job, while others could care less. In an emg. situation "ya' pays your money, ya' takes your chances".
It's stupid that some protocols have to be followed as in your case. We only have an allotted number of beds for transfers, but walk-ins are welcome? Gimme a break!
Will be sending good vibes across the "waves" for your treatments.
Luv,
Wolfen
Hi Wolfen,
My goodness! You would think that when a life is involved, they would want to do a good job! Fortunately, I've received good care in the majority of instances. however, the same corporation that owns the local hospital owns several hospitals in the area. It's a general "corporate" attitude that permeates the system. It's the same hospital/company I started my journey with, subsequently going to Johns Hopkins because of the way they ran things. On the positive side, the hospital in Winchester is one of the better hospitals for heart. They were great (when I finally got there) with my stents and care.
I did write a letter ot the president of the company concerning the incident with my heart attack. I received a call a few weeks later from the head of patient relations and we had a rather legnthy discussion. I told her about Johns Hopkins and why I chose them as well as why I didn't choose them. She agreed that what took place was not in my best interest and agreed that is should have never happened in the first place. She also was appalled by what took place concerning my decision to not seek my cancer treatment there. She gave me her personal number and asked that I call her after I get done and feel good enough to visit and discuss things in person. She wants to discuss some of the suggestions I shared from a customer service viewpoint.
Being that you like wolves and have one as your thumbnail, I have the feeling that you can do ballistic really well if need be. Next time you head out to seek medical care (and hopefully it won't be an urgent reason), bring the wolf along. This way, if your having a good day, he'll remind you to growl a littlePositive thoughts and prayers.
"T"
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