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Germaine, I am so sorry to hear this and am sending good thoughts your way. This happened to both my parents at separate times - they had a cold/cough and pneumonia seemed to come upon them like a flash. They were given antibiotics through an IV plus breathing treatments (with a mask).
Try to rest at home at night - hospitals are so overwhelming and tiring for even healthy people. Take care . . .
Wow Germaine, you have been so supportive and helpful in my thread, and I had no idea you were going through all of this. I'm sorry you are going through all of this. You are one tough cookie! The hospital can be so draining. As others said, please make sure you take care of yourself, too.
The doctor saw him on Tuesday at 10 AM and she did not see any respiratory problems or infections, although she did think that he may have some type of virus or something. I spoke to her 3 PM on Wednesday and she said that all the tests were normal. I was driving him to the ER shortly after 5 PM on Wednesday.
Right now I have to sit around the hospital waiting for her to do rounds.
Thanks for your concern.
ARRGGG!!!!
I got to the hospital at 10:30 AM and asked the nurse if the doctor had been there already. She said "No", so all day, I waited and waited. Whenever I would dash to the bathroom I would tell the nurse to "not let the doctor leave until I talked to her" and I would try to be back within seconds. I brought a snack & soda along so I wouldn't have to leave to go to the cafeteria.
Well, I waited and waited and waited. Basically hungry & thirsty most of the day because I did not want to leave the room and miss the doctor.
Finally, at 8:30 PM I asked the evening nurse if she had any idea when the doctor was going to come. She checked the file and said that the doctor had dictated notes at 10:15 this morning (that were just added to the file). Now, that probably meant that the doctor was here & saw my husband but did not tell the nurse. And, my husband did not remember that the doctor was here.
I hate hospitals.
Last edited by germaine2626; 05-05-2016 at 08:17 PM..
Reason: slight correction
I got to the hospital at 10:30 AM and asked the nurse if the doctor had been there already. She said "No", so all day, I waited and waited. Whenever I would dash to the bathroom I would tell the nurse to "not let the doctor leave until I talked to her" and I would try to be back within seconds. I brought a snack & soda along so I wouldn't have to leave to go to the cafeteria.
Well, I waited and waited and waited. Basically hungry & thirsty most of the day because I did not want to leave the room and miss the doctor.
Finally, at 8:30 PM I asked the evening nurse if she had any idea when the doctor was going to come. She checked the file and said that the doctor had dictated notes at 10:15 this morning (that were just added to the file). Now, that probably meant that the nurse was here & saw my husband but did not tell the nurse. And, my husband did not remember that the doctor was here.
Update-May 6
I won't miss the doctor today. They put a note to her in Stephen's file to call me if I am not in his room. I wrote a two foot by two foot message on the white board and I taped a 4 by 6 note card on the computer asking her to call me as I have questions.
Another vent. I arrived at the hospital yesterday at 10:30 AM and my husband had not had breakfast or anything else to eat (patients have to order their food as it is not sent automatically), nor did it appear that he had drank any water or juice, nor had he washed up, nor had he done anything except just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling.
While both the nurse & nurses aide told me that they "understood that he needed to be offered a choice rather than yes & no questions (where he answers "No" 95% of the time)" from their examples to me it was pretty clear that they really did not "understand" even though it was in his chart.
Sheesh! I was so "busy" waiting for the doctor and caring for him yesterday that I forgot to put up some signs explaining his needs and reminding him to eat & drink (if I'm not there).
Because he is there for pneumonia the hospital staff seems to ignore (or they don't know) that he has dementia and a TBI and can not be expected to do everything on his own like other patients.
When I get there today I will talk to the Nurse Supervisor (or whatever she is called) on the floor to see the best way to handle that.
May 6
Finally talked to Stephen's doctor. He will be released tomorrow morning (assuming everything is going well).
Of course, I am completely exhausted even if he is well rested.
I won't worry about any signs or talking to anyone special about his needs since he will only be in there another day.
May 6
Finally talked to Stephen's doctor. He will be released tomorrow morning (assuming everything is going well).
Of course, I am completely exhausted even if he is well rested.
I won't worry about any signs or talking to anyone special about his needs since he will only be in there another day.
I am glad that he gets to come home and sorry that the staff has been less than stellar.
Germaine, I have the feeling that the doc didn't want to talk to you, so he purposely avoided you. When my dad was quite ill, his doc seemed to do that. I think the docs don't like telling family bad news, or maybe don't want to have to defend their actions, which might be true in your case.
Your DH is a high needs patient, and because he has you as his advocate, he is still alive. If you had not been with him through so many problems in the last year, goodness knows how he would have ended up. I don't think hospitals are equipped to handle high needs, older patients, and so they mess up. There are fewer nurses on the floor now, and they are stretched thin. You are a good example of someone who shows up every day and insists on proper treatment for your DH. I doubt you could have done much more that what you did.
I hope you have a better day tomorrow. Being in a hospital all day is the worst.
God bless.
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Update-May 6
