Son is hospitalized...

[TheEndIsNigh]

J.D. I think it's worse than that sometimes.

My opinion of hospital doctors and by association the general medical staff is very low.

It's a age old attitude that they are the experts and they know what's best and how dare you ask awkward questions like.

"Whats 'actually' wrong with me, him, her, them?"

"Is there a cure?"

"What does this entail?"

"What are the risks?"

"How long?"


They didn't spend 10 years becoming a doctor just to be questioned and doubted about what they think. Oh no. These things are complicated and you wouldn't understand. They have no concept of the fact that most things in life are complicated and yet people manage to get at least a reasonable grip of what's what. In my line of work - electronics - things can get pretty hairy on the understanding side of things. I'm quite used to 'complications' on a daily basis.

Even worse if you suggest they may be wrong, not only do they get belligerent they get quiet (after all an awkward patient is one that could sue, so best give them no more information). There's also the fact that most people don't ask, so when somebody does question their ability/diagnosis they are taken aback. They must do a double think to themselves and ask - why are they asking this?.

Lacking experience in explaining to an "ignorant" person they probably find it hard to talk in easily understood language. How many times have you heard a doctor come out with the most convoluted latin-esque phrase which, when asked, eventually turns out to be a dislocated thumb or a cut on the head.

In fairness, doctors are not the only fruits. (to quote the book)

Most "professionals" and "tradesmen" too have a similar attitude (I think I can include myself as well though I try, honest I do)

In fairness again, doctors don't have it easy. Usually overworked, undoubtedly underpaid and making life and death decisions, day after day must take it out of you. I make mistakes. When I do I might have to right of a PCB, it might cost a few hundred, or a even few thousand pounds. I can live with it. (after all, there's medication)

I wouldn't be a doctor.

[j. d. worthington]

I was married to a doctor's (surgeon, to be a bit more specific) daughter for nearly twenty years, and got to see the medical fraternity from the inside. Yes, there is a fair amount of that sort of arrogance at times -- enough to make it insufferable when you see it openly -- but what I am positing is, frankly, a very common human failing no matter what field you are in, or your level of training/education.

Which is not to say, of course, that the two don't go together more often than not..... I am simply positing not only how it can happen -- even with the entire medical staff being very conscientious in the matter -- but also (perhaps more importantly) how to possibly avoid such a situation in the future....

[Werewoman]

I got a few hours sleep, and it's 6:40 am. They made us leave the ICU because they have a patient there who was brought in yesterday, but then this morning there was suddenly all these people rushing to that room, and we're worried the child,may not make it. The priest at the hospital offered to 'get us back in', but we declined. Even though our son's room is on the other end of the unit, well, it's better we not be there. It was obvious the priest was looking for the father of the child. Can you imagine losing your child on Father's Day?

Jared is doing well, but they want to keep him here until they get the inflamation under control, which is very fine by us. Right now his blood pressure is a little on the low side, and his pain level is a little on the high side, so until those two things balance themselves out, he will remain here. He actually likes being here, if you can believe that. It might have something to do with the chicken sandwiches though...I think he ate 3 yesterday!

We really don't mind it either, under the circumstances. We are yet again a guest of Ronald McDonald, and we returned to our room a short while ago to find a Polo duffle bag FULL of all sorts of 'manly' things for Father's Day for all the dads. Is that cool or what?





TEIN,

First off, please do not turn this thread into an opinion poll on the medical profession in this country, okay? I put it here to share with you all and help keep my stress levels down.

While my husband and I are very upset over all this, we still feel the level of professionalism here is outstanding. I think I made it clear in my previous post that they are taking their mistake very seriously and are doing something about it.

I need people to give me advice, and help keep things in perspective. You all have far exceeded my expectations and I am eternally grateful for it.

And for what it's worth, I've been in the electronics field for 25 years in one capacity or another, so I do understand what you're talking about regarding people's attitudes towards their line of work. I consider myself an expert on electronic theory, and maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but I can promise you this, no matter how good I am, I always come across someone else who's better. I took my skills out of the field and into the classroom by choice a long time ago, but I still remember what it was like, and one thing I always said about the difference between technicians and doctors is that when you're a technician, if you get pissed off at the 'patient', you can smack the thing if you want to (and I have), whereas doctors do not have that luxury.

j.d.

I think you're probably right, and I think you are basically describing the word 'assumption' and we all know what happens when you ass-u-me something.

And we already warned them we will be thoroughly questioning the discharge papers in the future (including this time).

[Grimward]

Glad they seem to have found it this time, Ms. Were, and right you are in questioning the discharge orders (and any other order that doesn't make sense to you). May Jared get better quickly!

Grim

[Werewoman]

Thanks Grim.

We just brought him home, this time with Motrin and Zantac and while he's feeling way better than he did, he gets winded rather easily, but comparatively speaking, he's doing better than he has since he had the surgery 12 days ago.

So hopefully, I can close this chapter of our lives soon.

[Grimward]

Excellent. We'll expect Jared back on his Subway commercials soon, then?

Seriously, glad he's home.

*Puts on stern face*

Now go get a nap!

[Werewoman]

*puts on equally stern face*

Not until after his 2:00 dose of Motrin!



And no subway jokes, I hate subway! And I DID NOT name him after that guy on Big Valley either!

*stomps off grumbling something about 'should put stuff away now'*

[Overread]

WW so sorry to hear of the messup at the hospital, but I am very glad that things were caught in time and that things are now on the mend and that he is home again!

Wishing you both the best !

[Werewoman]

Thanks again everyone!

Since my last post, there has been more problems. *sigh* I have accepted that this will be a part of my daily life for a long time.

I've learned a lot more about his condition, so I understand it better, at least. I can deal with things if I understand what I'm up against.

We had him back at the hospital Thursday night because, yet again, the pain got to be too much for him. They changed his meds from OTC Motrin to a prescription NSAID which has worked better than anything narcotic we've tried. Friday, I took him back to Dr. Martinez, his original cardiologist (Dr. M had been on vacation in Australia - lucky ba****d ) and we put a long term game plan together. One thing I made very clear to him, and he whole-heartedly agreed with me, was that I was no longer going to watch my son in pain. We agreed that we would continue with the new drug over the weekend, and I made another appoinment for today. We also agreed that if the new drug didn't knock out the pain well enough, we were going to add a narcotic on top of it.

He's done much better and even went to a friends house (the kids mom is a nurse and good friend who knows what's happening) last night. That's the first time since all this started he's been able to see any of his friends.

Now that the pain is (hopefully - I'm cautiously optimistic) under control, we are going back to re-address some of the things that could be causing it. We never found a difinitive diagnosis. Dr. Martinez believes there's something there that didn't show up on the first round of tests, and wants to re-run some of them. He especially wants to retest him for auto-immune diseases. So today, we're going to begin that process again. *very loud sigh*

Overall, I'm very impressed with how well he deals with all of this. I don't know that I could if I were in his shoes.

Gotta run. It's raining cats and dogs and it's a long drive over the bridge...

Thanks again!

[j. d. worthington]

Kids can be surprisingly stoical about such things at times -- often much more than adults and with less pressure to be so, in my experience.

At any rate, here's hoping they get this pinned down soon (that has got to be terribly frustrating for all concerned), and therefore come up with something to, I hope, permanently alleviate the problem....

[AE35Unit]

As a parent I can imagine what you're going thru,when my little girl got ill I was beside myself and when she was taken into hospital over night I stayed in the bed with her.
Here's hoping for a final diagnosis and a swift recovery!

[Werewoman]

I hear ya, AE35Unit. What little sleep I got back when all this first started, there were too many tubes and wires attached to him, and he wanted me right next to him, so I slept in a chair resting my head on the bed with one hand holding his hand, and the other resting on his leg. That was as close as I could get.

I don't know how old your girls are, but he is 16 and 6'1" tall. In spite of that, he's still my baby boy, and when your baby is that sick, all you want to do is hold him.

I learn more about this every day. Once you get pericaditis, it tends to come back. Right now he is doing fine on the new meds and is back to his old self (i.e. being a teenager - 12 hours a day sleeping and the other 12 on his computer - you know, just like his mum ) We are enjoying the reprieve while we can and pray the meds keep working to clear this up completely and that it won't come back. I don't worry anymore about the effusion coming back, though. Lord knows, they do so many echocardiograms on him, he's starting to echo himself.

[Grimward]

We're all still pullin' for him, WW. Hope the meds keep the inflammation away.

[Werewoman]

Thanks Grim. He really enjoyed having his chicken sandwiches served on a fiery disk. Don't know how you pulled it off, but we are most thankful.

[AE35Unit]

Valeria my little girl was 3 at the time (she's now 5) but I reckon no matter how old they are they're always your babies!