Passing the buck...

From another thread:

After suffering for several days, I had a CT scan on Thursday that showed three large pockets of fluid in my abdomen. My doctor called that afternoon and said I needed to get to the hospital immediately to have it drained and a pump/tube implanted. I've had this done several times after surgeries. It is Tuesday night and I'm still waiting to hear from Melissa at the hospital, so I will know when the procedure is. She doesn't return her calls and, obviously, doesn't do her job. Wellstar/Kennestone Hospital is a huge facility and I find it appalling that this woman has that much power. In the meantime, I have abdominal pain and the worry that the fluid is infected.

Update: I couldn't sleep last night, so I sent my doctor a message via his website. This morning, I received a call from the elusive Melissa stating that she had just received an order for my procedure, and she had called me to schedule it. I informed her that, according to the scheduler at the doctor's office, she had had that order since last Thursday afternoon. I also told her that, supposedly, my doctor's office had left her several messages, none of which she had returned.

She denied everything, and stated that she returns all her message every day. I told her she needs to speak with the scheduler. I now have to wait until Monday because I have to stop taking my daily aspirin five days prior to the surgery. Melissa also does not work for the hospital; she works for Quantum Radiology.

Let's share our medical horror stories.

Oh Kathy Lu, how horrible.

I have a horror story to share, my Grandma (79 years old at the time) was in a car accident, she broke her pelvis, banged her head getting a concussion. No one notified the family (my aunt and uncle were medical and financial guardians) the hospital thought the paramedics called, the paramedics thought the police called, and the police thought the hospital called, but not one of them checked with the others.

We found out when Grandma's neighbor called after she had been in the hospital for 3 days, because the neighbor was worried that the newspapers were piling up outside my Grandma's door. Grandma meanwhile thought she was at home because the concussion set off her Alzheimers to the point that it couldn't be ignored.

On top of that the meds the hospital was giving my Grandma made her food taste funny so she wasn't eating, not that her nurses noticed, the cafeteria staff would just take her full tray away. I'm the one who caught the problem after 4 days of her not eating, when I went on my lunch break from work to visit her in the hospital. I have no use for that hospital whatsoever.

My beautiful Grandma has been an angel for 9 years next Monday.

I have one

Back in 2002, I was pregnant. I ended up having preeclampsia and my son was born 4 months early. His due date was Dec 17th and he was born Aug 29th.

I had an emergency c-section. The first part of the horror story was that they wouldn't even airlift my son to the closest Hospital that could deal with that little of a child, but they drove him via ambulance to then Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago (this is one of the best and they did an awesome job). The ambulance driver told my husband that he gave our son a 50/50 chance but the ride would probably kill him.

The second part was that 18 months later, I was in the ER for something else and they asked me if I had recently had heart surgery. I said no and they then showed me the X-rays they had just taken. When they did the emergency surgery for me and my son, they left a guide wire in my body. When they went to take it out it shattered. They got it all but one piece, which I still have inside me. Bad stuff all around except that I now have a perfectly healthy almost 13 year old. Thanks to the nurses and doctors of Children's Memorial (now Children's Comer Hospital). They are awesome.

One evening, I was walking across the kitchen, and suddenly my foot hurt like blazes. Could barely walk, in fact had to told on. But, I went to bed. Next morning, it sill hurt, but I had the walker from my auto accident next to bed, so used that. We had some construction going on, workers her, so, it was early afternoon before hubby could take me to E.R. Was only person in there. was put on a bed. 3 or 4 different people there, got an ice pack put on. WAited, waited, finally, someone came to take me for x-ray...again, waited and waited. I think it was ab out 4 hours. Now, 1 or 2 people came in, and were tended to (cut above eye, needing a couple stitches was one) but me.....well, 4 hrs. after I came in, got told it looked as though I might has a small bone broken just below the little toe, and to see my own doc tomorrow. (By then my doc's office was closed, though next door)
Not much of a story, but it galled me to be sitting there for over 4 hours, and basically ignored, while I could see the personnel on computers, phones, just not doing anything.Should have been out of there in less than an hour.
P.S. I did see my doc, next a.m. ...got a boot cast This was several years ago, and there is different medical people who now tend to the E.R.

KL, I truly am appalled that you have had to wait so long, and will be praying all goes well, no infection.

During the time my late mother had ALS, a hernia formed across part of the trunk or abdominal area of her tummy, and so the mighty surgeon was going to fix it. Luckily his name was not Jonas. It seemed to take an awfully long time to hear anything from the people in charge of the surgical wing, or even a nurse, so finally I marched myself into the area of the awaiting families, and got the attention of a nurse, and after she realized who I was, she stated that there must be some mistake, and hurried off to find out what. When she returned to talk to me, she stated Mom was just coming around, and was in Surgical Emergency Care. When they would allow me to go in, I had a chance to talk to the surgeon, and he said everything was fine, the surgery went very well....... bla, bla, bla. She had not been in acute care very long, when she was moaning. Moaning loud enough that we knew she was miserable. Something was terribly wrong. I could not figure out, if everything went so well, why was she (who never complained) was laying there with tears running down her face, and moaning...

It did not take them many days to pass her along so she was "getting better", and if she went home, they would not have to take care of her again. She came home, and I called a surgeon I knew personally, and he said "Take her to such and such Hospital and I will meat you there. We did, the Surgeon was there and waiting for us. She went into Emergency Surgery, and when she was finished, and new stitches put into her abdomen, and I had the chance to talk to this surgeon, He told me that who ever sewed her up the last time, left a surgery towel laying inside of her, and around her one intestine, and by now there was nothing left of it, but paying for it. I guess you know, I had the chance to talk to the supervisor of the first surgeon, and he got an ear full from the friend of mine, and then so did the Idiot in charge of the botched surgery... They all thought my brave wonderful mother was about three bricks short of a load. She, on the other hand, was a long way from senile, She was so brave, and faced so many things while still with us, but this was stupid, and unnecessary.

When I was 7 months pregnant with my second son, my car spun out on black ice and it would have flipped over but we hit some trees instead. So the roof of the car was dented in right in front of my 18 month old son's head. Luckily he was tightly strapped into his car seat. He was impatient to get out, but was fine.

We both had to be cut out of the car which took a couple of hours for the proper equipment to get there (we were in a rural area). The entire time I was in and out of consciousness. I had my seat belt on, but my body had turned and my back had hit the side of the car door and I was in a lot of pain. Anyway, I couldn't feel the baby move the whole time until we got into the ambulance. I told the attendant that and thank God she put her hands on my stomach and said "Oh no, your baby is kicking like crazy. It must be that you are in shock." So that was great news!

We get to the hospital where I had x-rays taken and my doctor declared that I had nothing broken and could go home. I had told him that it wasn't possible because I was in so much pain, but he just said to take Tylenol. I tried to stand and I would have fallen if my husband hadn't caught me. He had to carry me out to the car.

I was in so much pain and the Tylenol wasn't helping at all. I couldn't be left alone. I could not take care of our 18 month old nor could I even stand or walk on my own. I had to walk with my hands around someone's neck just to make it to the bathroom. I went back to the doctor a couple of times and he kept saying there was nothing he could do.

With chiropractic care I was able to get back on my own feet right before delivery, but then with all of the muscles that you tense up in labor, it brought all of the tension back. So I couldn't walk on my own for a couple of more weeks. I did go through a couple of rounds of physical therapy but my mid-back has bothered me for years.

About 8 years ago I had a bone scan done for something unrelated and they saw that I did have a vertebrae fracture that was healed over. It was right where I had all of the pain from my accident. My doctor had missed the fracture years ago. I understand that some fractures are hard to see right away, but the least he could have done was have it x-rayed again, especially when I kept complaining about so much pain.

Needless to say, I switched doctors and I tell anyone that I know not to go to that doctor and why!

Sorry about the long post! KathyLu I hope everything goes well for you. I know I don't post on here much at all. I am more of a lurker but I feel like I know many of you that do post regularly.

A few years ago I went to ER for severe muscle spasms. At the same time, there was a baby (less than 2 years old) in ER. I was given a prescription for muscle relaxer. The little one had a script for amoxicillin. The doctor was not paying attention and mixed us up. I saw what he did and called him on it. Can you imagine if the little one had taken even one dose of mine? I am sure that a pharmacist would have caught the mistake, but WOW. By the way, it is a small hospital and there was only us two at the ER.

Kathy Lu.. I am so warmed inside, knowing you are back with us, and writing. One of the best things with this thread, and you, is for putting it in, sharing with us, the facts of the torture you had to go through, and then to leave the thread active and allowing us to share with you some of the many things happen to each of us, but none quite like yours sweet friend. Thank You for sharing with us,(your second family), the fact that you were so sick, and then the fact that you are back with us, the posters. I am so happy that you are getting better Kathy Lu, and will send email after reading the most recent poems in your site. Man I am so glad you are really feeling better. You have given us the nerve to share, and to know we too can improve our health, as well as our out look. God love you Kathy.

:love: Thanks, Lois.