52 Hours

On Thursday, at 10:30 am, my mom called me and said she needed to go to the hospital. This has never happened before. This is a tough woman. She's been battling a horrific lung disease for almost four years and is doing a remarkable job.

She was also an obstetric nurse for 43 years who told us, "You're fine and you're going to school!" and unless we were bleeding or vomiting, we didn't get away with feigning any illnesses because she'd seen it all.

So for her to say she needed to go to the hospital was incredibly scary for me.

In the interest of protecting her privacy, I will keep the medical details to a minimum, but what I've learned in a very short amount of time is the unbelievable difference in the quality of care provided by two different hospitals.

Thursday

10:30 am – my mom called me stating she needs to go to the hospital

11:00 am – I picked up my mom and drove her to the emergency room at hospital #1

12:00 pm – I went to the get the car after inquiring how much longer we would be waiting and being told "we don't know how long it will be" – obviously I was livid and I decided I was going to take her to another hospital – she was in acute abdominal distress and suffering greatly – I went to get the car to pick her up at the door and they had somehow miraculously taken her into a room after I made it known we were leaving – I should have followed my gut and left at that point, but part of me was just so relieved someone would finally be seeing her

4:00 pm – after a long afternoon of heavy meds that did NOTHING to ease her pain, a CT scan, an EKG, a chest x-ray, and countless labs, she was admitted because they couldn't tell us what was wrong

4:30 pm – she was moved to a regular room where we went through answering the same questions for seemingly the millionth time – such a frustrating process

7:30 pm – C and my brother G arrived to visit where they witnessed that all the staff was doing was giving her pains meds that weren’t working without actually getting to the bottom of anything – we were ultimately told she will see a gastroenterologist the next day and they might do an endoscopy

9:00 pm – C and I left to go to my mom's house – C picked up my mom's dog to take her to our house and I gathered a few things my mom had requested before I returned to the hospital

Overnight – my brother and I took turns sitting up with her because her pain was worsening and she could not sleep

Friday

6:00 am – we spoke to the charge nurse and asked when she would be seeing a specialist – we were told they didn't know – at this point, my brother and I were very angry and we began discussing the possibility of signing her out to go to another hospital – the charge nurse made some remarks about how if we leave against medical advice, insurance might not pay her bills at the next hospital and you can imagine how we felt about such a passive aggressive message

7:00 am – the regular doctor came in and we did not hold back in expressing our displeasure – we were assured that the gastroenterologist would be called and that in the meantime, my mom needed another x-ray – she was trying to be a compliant patient, but my brother and I were not having it – we requested the paperwork to sign her out and one nurse laughed while another rolled her eyes – since I always attempt to follow the "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" approach, I will not share here what I thought of those two nurses

8:15 am – a tech finally showed up to take her for an x-ray and my brother and I said no – that was it – we could not believe the treatment (or frankly, LACK OF treatment) my mom had received – we demanded the AMA paperwork and after it was signed, were told they were burning a CD of her CT scan to take with us

8:45 am – after standing at the desk inquiring multiple times about the CD, we left because my mom was in such excruciating pain

9:45 am – after an hour-long drive, we arrived at hospital #2 – my mom was immediately taken to a room, immediately assessed, and was seen by an emergency doctor within 30 minutes of arriving who had already read all of her files and test results and had some specific ideas about how to proceed

11:30 am – my brother J, sister R, and baby niece arrived to see mom, but because it was the ER, only two people were allowed to be in my mom's room, so we had to take turns

12:45 pm – my niece needed to eat, so we decided that my two brothers would stay with my mom, while my sister, niece, and I went to get lunch and go to my house so I could shower and rest for a while

2:00 pm – we weren't even at my house yet and my brothers texted to tell me that my mom was being taken to the OR for emergency surgery – my brothers were told that if we'd waited another day to bring her in, it would have been fatal for my mom – I have never been more proud of a decision than the one G and I made that morning to leave hospital #1 against medical advice

3:30 pm – my brothers saw my mom for a few minutes in the recovery room, but were told that they were going to keep her sedated and intubated, and with an open incision until a SECOND surgery on Sunday – keep in mind it was Friday afternoon at this point - terrifying

5:00 pm – my sister, niece, and I headed back to the hospital, but since my mom was still in recovery, there was nothing for us to do but wait, so we ended up meeting my brothers for dinner

7:00 pm – my brother J, sister, and niece left to go back to my house for the night (C was there with the three dogs), while my brother G and I went back to the hospital

8:30 pm – we were finally allowed to see my mom in the trauma intensive care unit – two people are allowed in the room, but after 9:00 pm, only one person can stay overnight

9:00 pm – my brother G headed home and I settled in to the reclining chair – my mom was hooked up to so many machine and was on a ventilator – I fell asleep quickly due to sheer exhaustion, but was woken countless times as nurses were in and out of the room to adjust meds, give her blood and fluids, and monitor her vitals – there were some concerns about her blood pressure dropping, and so ultimately they lowered the sedation meds as a result

Overnight – with the sedation meds wearing off, my mom was coming around a little bit, so I stood at her bedside and talked to her and sang to her even though I wasn't sure she knew it was me or could even hear me

This is just a small sample
of the equipment
she was hooked up to
on Friday night

Saturday

8:00 am – at this point, she was fairly awake and able to communicate through squeezing my hand and slightly nodding or shaking her head – and because she was mostly awake, they took her off the ventilator to have her breathe on her own even though she was still intubated

9:00 am – unexpectedly, I was told that they would be taking my mom back to the OR – because she was awake, and overall doing well, they decided to go ahead and do the second surgery – I immediately told C and my siblings, and before I knew it, she was being wheeled away, but not before giving me the "I Love You" sign, which brought me to tears – I sat in the surgical waiting area and waited for updates

12:00 pm – C, J, R, and my niece arrived to wait with me, and it wasn't too long before a surgeon came out and told us everything went well, which was music to our ears, and that we should go get lunch because it would be a few hours before we could see her

2:30 pm – my brother J and I were finally able to see her in the TICU, and G joined us shortly thereafter – even though she was very drowsy, for someone who had two serious surgeries in less than 24 hours, she looked spectacular

What a physically and emotionally draining 52 hours.

Since then…my brothers spent the afternoon with her, and then C and I went to visit her this evening – she was able to speak for herself (although her throat is very sore from the intubation) and is making jokes and smiling! What a difference! She'll be in the hospital for several more days, but will be moved to a regular room when she is stable enough to do so. J is staying overnight with her so that I can hopefully get some sleep because I am just about running on fumes. I've been working hard to keep my family members in the loop and answer everyone's questions and keep track of everything that's been happening with my mom.

I will never, ever, ever be able to adequately thank the staff at hospital #2 for their expertise, their care, their professionalism, and their effectiveness and efficiency. I shudder to think what could have happened if we had stayed at hospital #1.

And I really do have the best two brothers in the world.

My mom is amazing. That's the only word for it. And I know she will continue to improve and be back to her usual amazing self in no time!

Happy Tails to you!