Patti; In this day and age, you should always feel free to complain. Transperency is now required for all hospitals. The patient and their family needs to say something when they see such things. I know that I would want to know if I were the nurse taking care of that patient. Many nurses are grateful that others will step in and "help" in maintaining a patients privacy. Often when such things happen, the nurse is tied up in an emergency with another patient. Sometimes they are careless. And, I for one would prefer that the "careless" ones are weeded out. Pam
From: patticoole...@gmail.com To: a...@artfarm.com; tmic-list@eskimo.com Subject: RE: [TMIC] REHAB Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 11:41:16 -0600 Your experience sounds like a time spent in HELL. It is unfortunate that there are so many places like that in this country. People who have family or friends that can monitor their care are the lucky ones. Even hospitals lack proper care at times. I remember when my husband was in the hospital for colon surgery and when I was walking down the hall to the restroom, I noticed a patient in bed completely naked and no curtain was closed. They were trying to reach behind them to pull up a sheet. I complained to my husband’s doctor but was afraid that if I complained to the nursing staff my husband’s care would suffer. I now realize that I should have said something more. But when you are dealing with cancer surgery you aren’t thinking right. Patti - Wisconsin From: Akua [mailto:a...@artfarm.com] Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 6:50 PM To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Subject: [TMIC] REHAB The closest I came to hell on earth was in rehab. I was allowed to fall twice. I was given the wrong meds daily for nearly two months, I was insulted and demeaned. I remember the nurse entering my room and finding me crying -- I was in awful electric pain --- and she told me I shouldn't be crying. She often brought he son to work. I wrote her about her gross insensitivity and she apologized. I worked hard to learn how to use the sliding board to get in and out of bed-- it was so so hard, and frightening, because an idiot had let me fall, but this mainly because if you couldn't get up, you wouldn't be attended to. Now that I'm home, I understand one of the basic challenges the idiot didn't address-- the wheelchair slides on a polished, linoleum floor. I have a bathmat with grips by my bed now, so my wheelchair, doesn't slide..... this is just one of a zillion things they could have taught or worked on or shared or presented to or for me and didn't. And this was rehab, to ready me for life on my own as a paraplegic: worthless. One of the friends I made there was immobile without assistance, although unlike me, she was not paralyzed. She was left on her bedpan for an hour. I had passed aides chatting at the station, ignoring her buzzer, as i wheeled down the hall to see her..... I wrote the board and management and met with management. I met with the dietitian twice, who quit about a month after i left. She told me that she was unable to get me the food that with restore my health ( fresh fruit and vegtables, fish, whole grain breads, baked potatoes). I kept in touch with several friends I made there who were still there when I left, because we all knew the importance of having people call. Only the cleaning staff helped. They advocated and interceded. I'll never forget one man who came and prayed for and over me. An investigation began when I and several other patients lost over 50 pounds. The few visits I had, folks brought food. Staff ate or discarded my (good) food. So, while I don't know about the hip pain, I can relate to the soul pain of being in a nursing home. It was like being in prison. There was a courtyard allegedly for getting air--- the door was always locked. I was awakened, whenever they felt like it, seldom consistently. Hellish to be awakened at 5 a.m. to have blood drawn by unskilled phlebotomists. Privacy was seldom observed I remember always asking for doors or curtains to be closed. If Cindy needs calls, I'm more than willing. all other things being equal, being in a nursing home is awful. Akua-- http://www.healrecover.blogspot.com http://www.akualezli.blogspot.com "When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall - think of it, always." Mohandas Gandhi
