Today they did nothing.
Angela sat around all day while we waited to hear what "The plan" is for further testing. At rounds this morning they said they would be spending the day going over every stitch of her previous records and tests to determine the next step. Tonight when I came back to the hospital I paged the resident. "What's up? What's the plan?" Because I know that any further testing is invasive and requires anesthesia, and there are no orders for Angela to be NPO (without food) meaning there is no anesthesia in her near future.
The resident explains "It was a hectic day. They didn't get to it."
I get it. There a lot of very sick people in this hospital. Many worse than Angela, and others here with just "routine" things. And yet we know the maxed out meds are what's keeping Angela stable enough to bop around the hospital but not stable enough to be home. But, there are how many doctors in this place? Like a million or something? So really, they "couldn't get to it"?
Angela could have sat around at the other hospital and done the same "nothing" that she did here, only in a place where she knows everyone and I feel comfortable leaving her. I had to leave today, because we hae 5 other kids who also need their mom and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her. Oh she had a good time, don't get me wrong. There was no shortage of volunteers to hang out with her, and she truly enjoys that. But she is wasting. Her body is eating her own protein - muscle - because we can't raise her protein because everyone is worried what will happen to her ammonia levels when they do. So they're keeping her protein at half what she should be getting while they "come up with a plan". And while they "come up with a plan" there are nurses who don't think about the fact the kid who is hooked up to a continuous drip of fluid may need to pee more than once every 6 hours and perhaps they should get her into the bathroom. And that perhaps the aroma emenating from the playroom while she's hanging out with the volunteers means she cannot manage her stomach with the ton of drugs she's on and maybe they should take care of that. That maybe when the mom is gone they should peek in on her more than once per hour.
And while we're sitting at the hospital doing nothing, Dean is at home with the 5 other kids trying to figure out how to be Mr. Mom while also going to work. And cutting his short hours even shorter so he can be home to get the kids of buses. And when he's tired, and his crappy knees are killing him and he just wants to sit down for a bit after work, he can't because there are 5 pairs of eyes starting at him wondering "Is it time for dinner yet?" And he is learning about keeping the house full of kids running, getting all the laundry done so kids have clothes for school, keeping up on any school forms, permission slips, etc. without Mom's help. Because Mom is sitting at the hospital with Angela who is doing nothing.
I promise, when the resident came to the room tonight, I tried very hard to contain my snark and sarcasm as I explained that when tomorrow morning rolls around and the staff makes rounds, that I'm expecting to hear about this big plan everyone keeps talking about.
Angela sat around all day while we waited to hear what "The plan" is for further testing. At rounds this morning they said they would be spending the day going over every stitch of her previous records and tests to determine the next step. Tonight when I came back to the hospital I paged the resident. "What's up? What's the plan?" Because I know that any further testing is invasive and requires anesthesia, and there are no orders for Angela to be NPO (without food) meaning there is no anesthesia in her near future.
The resident explains "It was a hectic day. They didn't get to it."
I get it. There a lot of very sick people in this hospital. Many worse than Angela, and others here with just "routine" things. And yet we know the maxed out meds are what's keeping Angela stable enough to bop around the hospital but not stable enough to be home. But, there are how many doctors in this place? Like a million or something? So really, they "couldn't get to it"?
Angela could have sat around at the other hospital and done the same "nothing" that she did here, only in a place where she knows everyone and I feel comfortable leaving her. I had to leave today, because we hae 5 other kids who also need their mom and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her. Oh she had a good time, don't get me wrong. There was no shortage of volunteers to hang out with her, and she truly enjoys that. But she is wasting. Her body is eating her own protein - muscle - because we can't raise her protein because everyone is worried what will happen to her ammonia levels when they do. So they're keeping her protein at half what she should be getting while they "come up with a plan". And while they "come up with a plan" there are nurses who don't think about the fact the kid who is hooked up to a continuous drip of fluid may need to pee more than once every 6 hours and perhaps they should get her into the bathroom. And that perhaps the aroma emenating from the playroom while she's hanging out with the volunteers means she cannot manage her stomach with the ton of drugs she's on and maybe they should take care of that. That maybe when the mom is gone they should peek in on her more than once per hour.
And while we're sitting at the hospital doing nothing, Dean is at home with the 5 other kids trying to figure out how to be Mr. Mom while also going to work. And cutting his short hours even shorter so he can be home to get the kids of buses. And when he's tired, and his crappy knees are killing him and he just wants to sit down for a bit after work, he can't because there are 5 pairs of eyes starting at him wondering "Is it time for dinner yet?" And he is learning about keeping the house full of kids running, getting all the laundry done so kids have clothes for school, keeping up on any school forms, permission slips, etc. without Mom's help. Because Mom is sitting at the hospital with Angela who is doing nothing.
I promise, when the resident came to the room tonight, I tried very hard to contain my snark and sarcasm as I explained that when tomorrow morning rolls around and the staff makes rounds, that I'm expecting to hear about this big plan everyone keeps talking about.
1 comment:
That is so frustrating! I hope that they get their heads out of their you know wheres today! Kelly Stoker
Post a Comment