But I will tell that it happened again yesterday.
At hospital admitting, there was some sort of a hitch with my paperwork, specifically with regards to with having a room for me after the surgery. Nevertheless, I proceeded to the surgery floor and was in there by 7:30 being bombarded with paperwork, questions, and in setting up my IV.
The waiting game began. At around 8:45, they apologized for the delay because the surgery ahead of mine was taking up more time than anticipated. But then, another patient went in before me, which I am pretty sure wasn’t supposed to have happened. Shortly thereafter, I was told that the delay was because they didn’t know where to put me post-surgery. But they were working on it.
I texted Sue and Sha at almost 9:30
They parked me in a corner, or very close to it, and went about their chores with new arrivals and post-surgery care of other patients.
To say that I was uncomfortable in a narrow gurney is an understatement, for apart from the catheter contraption, I have back and other issues, and was also coping with a caffeine-withdrawal headache.
I was beginning to have a pity party and texted:
Ten minutes later:
10:10
10:30 in response to Sue's texts wondering what was going on.
Just after that ↑ post, and after I had been squirming on the gurney for three hours, the surgeon came to see me. There was simply no room available for me in these post-COVID times, and the situation could not been resolved. The invisible man syndrome had struck once again in my lil ole life.
I faced a choice, Return tomorrow (which is now today) or have the surgery right then (yesterday) and go home afterward.
Well, I am (we are) used to a catheter by now, or as used to it as one can be, and we have been muddling along for two weeks already. Shauna had taken the day off work, and I didn’t want any of us to face the preparation of getting ready all over again for an early morning drive.
I texted Sue at 10:35
So, here I am in my humble den and not invisible to Sue. (Or Lacey for that matter, who I can tell you is most anxious for breakfast.) Last night, for only the second time in two weeks, I did not have a sweat-through, and I had a good-for-me sleep in my chair, and not the bed this time. Maybe I will try to sleep in the chair again tonight.
I have a larger diameter catheter this time, but I can’t tell the difference. My urine was pretty red overnight but seems to be a bit less tinged this morning. It will stay in until next Thursday when we will drive back to the hospital where the urologist will remove it.
That is assuming that he is able to see me through my invisibility cloak.
28 comments:
Yeah. Jim got caught in one of those hospital horrors last summer and I sat in the parking lot of the hospital for seven hours. But I did have coffee.
Your delay day sucks, big time, but I cheer that you toughed it out and actually got the procedure. I worried through the first part of the post lest they send you home undone due to smoke issues.
Heal fast, and well.
Your fan club awaits.
M
Geese Louise! I am one who makes noises...which of course means they want me out of there asap. So sorry you had a long wait, and never got any cushy hospital bed, nor ooky hospital food. I think nurses Sue and Shawna will be taking much better care of you anyway. I'm sitting here because my eye appointment that was originally on the 19th (not sure which month) was changed to this morning at 10:15, but when I showed up they said they had me down for 2:30. Maybe if I waited in room 2 they could squeeze me in. After about 20 min, they said no, come back at 2:30. See, even those of us who make waves end up being shuffled around too!
Great! At least, the surgery is done and over. Take care and God bless.
It's nice to read that you are home and a bit more comfortable than the previous evenings, but being ignored in a hospital setting for such an interminable length of time was awful to read about. Hope the post surgery recovery goes better.
What a pain that all is. I'm glad you are home where you will probably get more attention than if you were in the hospital. The whole thing sounds like a horror story. Wishing you well for the rest of the day.
What terrible medical service. Why on earth not offer you the home option before you'd been miserable for hours? Once again I'm mad on your behalf. And I hope you do well this time. You and sue probably do as well as most nurses at this point on post operative care, getting experienced.
I just hope for more sleep, less pain and more visibility.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
What a pain to have to wait! I would have made the same decision as you--just get this d*mn procedure over with already!! Hope your recovery is swift and easy.
This sounds absolutely awful. You'd think they could have figured that out before. But I would have done as you did (hesitantly but who wants to prep again? Or wait?) Oh, I hope the next round goes better.
Ugh! Being in an uncomfortable gurney/position for that long would make the best of us a bit grumpy! I'm glad the surgery is over and you can be home with Lacey to comfort you. Here's to feeling better ASAP.
Crikey mate, How awful. Glad you made it home with loving family to care for you.
I am glad the surgery went well. Your treatment of care at the hospital before the surgery is not acceptable (although at that point you had no choice of to accept or not). Our hospitals are SO broken & there is so much finger pointing going on. Sending lots of positive healing energy your way.
There are no hospital beds here either. Lots of seniors waiting for beds in nursing homes taking up the spaces in hospital wards here. Good bless us everyone!
The chair sounds like a good choice for now, AC.
What an awful experience! Though I must admit that your I AM THE THING IN THE CORNER text made me laugh. At least you're home and visible!
That's awful. Tim spent two days in ER on a gurney. It was not a comfortable experience at all. It was interesting. He, too, was invisible to some nurses. But you know what we discovered? That there are some amazing nurses who can see invisible patients. Oh, what a relief that was. We took a fruitbasket in to thank them. In the thank you card, I wrote, "Don't be offended, but we are hopeful that we never see you again."
Next time you're in the corner, ask for a tree to pee on while you wait.
Having working on hospital floors and trying to "guess" if a person will need a bed overnight or night is tortuous. Most floors have rooms open, but not nurses to staff it. In the hall they could watch if you changed outward symptoms. They hate to have a surgery "take longer than needed," cuz it messes the whole day. Sounds like the surgery scheduler and/or the doc's schedule didn't mesh and they overbooked the surgery suite. Being a morning surgery patient is always better than being the last surgery of the day. I always worried about the cardiology patients who were finally wheeled into a suite a 7p. It made me worry if the doc had lunch or a break. Glad they finally gave you a choice of a fast entrance or rescheduling. Follow your instructions. Hope all of your fun is over soon. Be nice to your Home Nurse Sue! Don't let the cat poke a hole in the tubing....Linda in Kansas
This is a terrible experience for you but not uncommon happening all over the world. I was in similar shoes few years back. It was a very frustrating experience. Hang in there. There are no other alternatives unless you make baby steps and channel your frustrations
I once lay on a narrow, uncomfortable, cold gurney all morning, past lunch time (I watched my doctor walk away for lunch with another doctor). I was mad and checked myself out the next day, post procedure.
I second all the comments above. Glad you had the option of heading home instead of having to go through another wait another day.
I read all this with anger and trepidation for those who have no choice in these matters. I'm just glad to know you are home for now.
Not fun to wait like that when you're all prepped and ready to go.
Our hospital is also a pain getting though the maze. But we do get a bill.
Coffee is on, and stay safe.
During an upcoming snow storm and one I was stuck in while working, I've slept on one of those damn carts. Or I pretended to sleep. The KCVA hospital is on a hill, and with the strong winds, I was impressed the next day that snow had blown into my car door jamb's rubber! Glad I didn't drive in that. Linda in Kansas
Yikes. As I read this, I winced. A lot. So sorry for your day. Hope tomorrow is better and better and better.
What a bother to deal with.
What a horror!
Good move to go home after. You aren't far away, in an emergency.
I've never liked staying in hospital. OK, don't even like visiting them! I stayed under 24 hours after childbirth the first time, which was rare in those days. Only a few hours the last (3rd) time.
Glad you are safe in the arms of your Sue!
Hope all this malarkey soon passes; never fun, is it. -Kate
I think you must be a gentle sort, the kind of person who is considerate of others even when they are not being sufficiently considerate of you. My husband is like that too. When he had his health challenge five years ago now, necessitating emergency open heart surgery, I made sure I was there all day advocating for him because I knew he wouldn’t do it for himself. Going home after surgery probably wasn’t a bad thing. Sounds like Sue is a good one, and you are not invisible to her. Wishing you a good recovery.
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