Today was a rough day for my mom. She woke up to excruciating pain because a nurse had TURNED OFF HER PAIN MEDICATION.
She turned it OFF.
Less than 24 hours after major surgery.
What was she thinking?
When one of my mom's doctors came in and saw what was going on, she let the nurse have it and made it very clear that mom was to have whatever pain meds she needed.
However, it seems that the communication between the doctors and the nurses (especially after a shift change) isn't the best, and all day long they have been trying (or not trying) to regulate her pain meds.
When I got to the hospital tonight it was obvious that mom was in pain. Between the four of us (my dad, my two sisters, and me) we worked out a plan to document everything and figure out the best system for helping mom to stay ahead of the pain.
My dad and Andrea are going to take turns staying with mom tonight, in order to make sure that she gets consistent care.
Two prayer requests: pray that mom's pain will be managed so she can get some rest, and pray that her lungs will be strengthened. She has to do breathing exercises in order to avoid pnuemonia, which could complicate her recovery.
(At least I think it's pnuemonia, but my brain is dead, so it could be some other condition that she needs to avoid. Even if I'm wrong, I think you get the picture.)
Please also pray for me and my family, that we will know how to best advocate for mom during her recovery.
When I left the hospital, mom was doing much better and it was apparent that the medication was working. She was more conversational and was back to joking around a bit. Hopefully it will all be downhill from here.
One good thing about tonight is that Kaitlyn, who has been cutting her second year molars and had a fever for the past two days, went to bed without any problems. Hopefully this means she will sleep through the night.
(Which means that mom and dad might get to sleep through the night.)
Also, while at the hospital, I was informed that my sisters had read yesterday's post to my mom. I think she enjoyed it, but once she is feeling better she might decide to throw the can of chili at me.
Only time will tell.
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2 comments:
Man, that's no good! Sounds like they have some definite communication problems there. I really hope it all gets cleared up soon so that your mom can recover with some level of comfort.
Wow, I so feel your pain with the molar and fever thing. Mine has had a fever the last two days, too, for the same reason, and I didn't get much sleep last night. So I'm praying that both of our little ones will get over it quickly!
I think maybe you should contact the quality assurance dept. at the hospital too . . . or the QA company they contract with. I don't think you should be brutal or anything, but they should know in case there is a pattern of this kind of thing. While I think it's important to be gracious toward those caring for your mother, this kind of thing is still regarded as unacceptable.
But that's just what I think.
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