Hi everyone!!
Well ... it has been yet another week from hell for not only my body, but my emotional well-being.
As you all know I have been dealing with this lymph node issue for what seems like WAY too many weeks now. On top of that, which I will touch base on here in this post, I was taken by a co-worker on Weds afternoon to the ER due to severe chest pain, along with some of those "tell-tale" signs and symptoms. We thought, I thought, I was having a heart attack. Hillary met us in the ER ... where I was taken immediately in to triage and sent back to the waiting room and told, "if it gets worse come tell us." Hillary and I pulled up a spot. Hillary was telling me she had hoped I hadn't gone through the door knowing that once in, I couldn't go to another hospital without being deemed one of those who leaves AMA. I can tell you now, I know this is a legal loophole for everyone except the patient. In any event, it didnt' seem to take all that long before the pain began to intensify yet again. I had done the usual protocol in the event one thinks a heart attack is in process, having taken aspirin prior to leaving the office. Hilly notifies the nurse of the pain, I get moved back to the unit and placed in a bed ... in the hallway!! ... and thus, the saga begins .... my pain continued off and on for the rest of the afternoon. It took 4 nurses, and multiple, and I do mean multiple sticks, some exceptionally painful for someone (a paramedic) to get a line in ... and all of this took place over a 2 hour period. Not only that, I was deeply pissed ... and I am being really calm in my language here as I was beyond livid in the midst of this experience. Not only did they not offer me nitroglycerin until after the line was in .... the ego and attitudes of a couple of these nurses was enough to send me into a thought of risking assault, as that was how I was feeling. One nurse in particular, with a snotty, "I've no doubt done this more times than you have," and then proceeded to push a needle in over a knuckle and out the skin one inch away. I let out a rather sudden screech as it hurt as though she had scraped bone, and then had the nerve to back away from me and state "I'll continue when YOU calm down." Excuse me bitch, but you just had your last attempt!! Take the needle out and get the hell away from me before I reach out and touch someone!!! At this point, I am still in chest pain, but now I am also experiencing multiple other forms of pain. YES, I needed a few minutes to regroup and calm down. Needless to say, this same nurse was the one who came back over an hour later to offer up the nitro, and I can honestly say, it was her attitude and demeanor which will be key in my conversation with an attorney come Monday morning. All that being said, I was not a happy camper when after multiple tests, i.e., chest x-ray, EKG, and approximately 6:00 pm now, the ER doctor comes and tells me that all my blood work is normal, but ... he is going to admit me given my "risk factors." This phrase is one I have heard so many times over the years that I feel like smacking some of these doctors. Lately, I see this as them looking at me as a "cash cow." When I started to get a little irritated with this request I said I had no desire to remain in this facility. He then hits me with this AMA crap and telling me that I could go home and have a major heart attack, or worse, I could have a heart attack and die!! OOOOOOOOOOOO, I'm scared ... I respond to him, in no uncertain terms, that "I could be hit by an F'in car in your parking lot out here ... and DIE!!" So what is your point....??? Needless to say, this argument went on for several minutes and I lost after a heated discussion with my daughter on the insurance issues and the cost of a potential bill coming in that could put us on the street. So I am held hostage in my opinion, in a facility that in recent months has not been top of my number one facilities in this state. By the time I was placed in a bed on the floor, I had recapped the afternoon, and came to the conclusion that a lawyer was to be consulted. I had been in the facility over 2 + hours never given anything for pain, anxiety, or the nitro to help alleviate the chest pain ... in my opinion, that is negligence at the top of the list in heart attack protocol. Next day comes, morning is loaded with tests, first one in which I flunk with chest pain, and an irregular EKG, another ultra sound of my legs as one of the blood tests comes back elevated for blood clot possibility. When I got to CT lab, woman says she can't do test due to size of the line in my hand (you know, that one that took over 2 hours to get in), and we decide that seeing as I flunked the stress test, we would wait and discuss the next step with doctor and my nurse. Upon my return to my room I am informed that I will be taken to the cath lab in 30 minutes. Needless to say, the search for a possible blood clot was aborted .... now, a blood clot was apparently found on one of the ultrasounds done a few weeks back. No one told me about this ... I found out via a report I read when I requested all the records since my pneumonia stay in February.
OK .... well .... are you seeing anything wrong with how I feel at this point?? I'm still tired ... and Is till don't feel good ... and the way I see it, this is doing nothing for my already high stress levels, which in turn doesn't help the present situation.
Now ... oh this gets better. I made a couple of nasty comments in regard to this doctor that was covering, yet again, for the doctors who act as my PCP. He apparently was the man who glanced in a negative manner my way while I was in the hall, and I responded with my signature comment .... most of you know what this statement is so I will not type it out .... LOL .... I don't really care who heard it, or anything else I said that evening as this is what I felt to be the truth. I also made comment about the staff standing around 6 deep at the counter pissing and moaning about their budget cuts, and being short staffed, etc. Hello ... I too, deal with this at work, and although I may not work directly with patients, I find it VERY inappropriate for this sort of discussion to go on in front of patients, and an ER is in no way the place to hold the conversation. That was to make me feel more warm and comfy as a patient, right....???
Again ... so many inappropriate happenings. Yesterday, I get a call from the operating room nurse stating that they had 2 consents signed, neither of which were something that was done, and one, that wasn't taken care of ... and that was for the cardiac cath ...hmmmm .... seeing as this is part of what I do for a living ... this again, in a compliance issue in which I also will consult an attorney on. If something should happen to me .... I can only hope that they all work for my daughter one day!! This "Clown" as I referred to him in the ER, who oversaw my care for 21 hours, and I will say, he went out of his way to make an impression, but too, bombed as he discharged me with NO paperwork on the cardiac cath and what should or should not be done over the next 7 days. He then told me I could go back to work, but didn't document any of it, therefore, I couldn't go back to work and now can't until Tuesday as work won't let me come back without a doctor note. It was also stated in the ER that I had "small vessels." It would appear that there is a difference between small vessels and small vessel disease which was what they diagnosed after the cardiac cath. I don't show any signs of heart disease, which is good, as I hadn't shown any disease 5 years ago either. But, was told I had small vessels after my ablation procedures out of Tucson 5+ years ago. What the hell is the difference ....??? and in my opinion ... this, again, is some sort of verbalization by staff at this local facility to cover their asses!!!
And... on my last rant for today .... yesterday, I call the insurance company to report the admit and while I have them on the line decide I will check on the preauth for the PET scan to address the lymph node only to find out they have nothing on file and nothing has been received from the doctor office ....off to the doctors office ... and the woman doing this is scrambling now knowing that I know, and stating and showing me a form, I state, the filled out form does me no good if the insurance company doesn't have it yet.... again ... incompetence on so many levels .... how long does one have to wait??? I know this is going on all over this country, my question to you all is what makes the health care here in the US so much better than countries that have socialized medicine?? I am seeing no difference in the arguments of one waiting so much longer in that arena. So now I have to see my PCP ... again.... on Monday afternoon, to get not only a note to go back to work, but lets see how she responds when her orders upon leaving town, have yet to be carried out due to the fact this last phase of this "STAT" order is still in linger mode. I;m signing off now as all this frustration only adds to the recurrence of chest pain ... and I need to try and remain calm ... really, I am seeing why people give up ... why people become uncaring, unsympathetic, etc in regard to life going on ... everyone life will go on .... how healthy it goes on, or with whom may be in it, remain unanswered. I understand more and more every day to my mother's disicion to be "done" with medical science as they were doing the same thing with her, test after test knowing full well that there was nothing that could be done, only a dollar sign in how much can we suck this person and their insurance for before they see the light, and say ENOUGH!!!
On that note, I wish you all a wonderful weekend .... do what makes you happy!!!
Peace and Light
...and I think I should add tranquility to this sign off :D
et
No comments:
Post a Comment