Re: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital -

[Guest guest]

It always pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies. But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill. I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays. But let's

not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything. IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone. At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got

attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up. Don <donavp@...> wrote: The only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen or so in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because of all the alcohol they are well preserved.Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history (wink). I told

my wife about the cookies and I am going to do that as well. Like said - "can't hurt".Don

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

donna, i'm so sorry you had to go through this. how awful. what a great tip for calling 911, as a last resort. is one allowed to have their cellphone in the hospital? i'm glad that you had excellent care after the crises. God Bless You!

hugs,

lindy

It always pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies.

But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill.

I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays.

But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything.

IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone.

At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Lindy. I survived. :-) But it was a Twilight Zone-like episode that has made me much more cautious. The good thing is I became more outspoken, and that has served me well during recovery. I always wanted to be the best patient. I still try to be that, but now with the expectation that I deserve the best care. lindy <everyothername.istaken@...> wrote: donna, i'm so sorry you had to go through this. how awful. what a

great tip for calling 911, as a last resort. is one allowed to have their cellphone in the hospital? i'm glad that you had excellent care after the crises. God Bless You! hugs, lindy It always pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies. But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually

kill. I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays. But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything. IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a

little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone. At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up.

Sponsored Link Degrees for working adults in as fast as 1 year. Bachelors, Masters, Associates. Top schools

[Guest guest]

Hi

Donna,

I don’t if you posted how your

epidural broke off, but I’d like to hear how it happened. I’ll

be having an epidural for partial knee replacement and they are doing an

epidural, which I’ve never had. Because it’s so close to the

spine I’m concerned.

So any additional info on your experience

would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dahhling

Re:

Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital -

It always

pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as

cookies.

But even

chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had

broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless

and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn

not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill.

I

recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who

dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to

make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for

them over the hoidays.

But let's

not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened

that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every

hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or

under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change

anything.

IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you

the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better

when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have

your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call

someone.

At one point,

I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told

me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to

mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his

room. He shook things up.

Don <donavpsbcglobal (DOT) net>

wrote:

The

only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen or so

in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because

of all the alcohol they are well preserved.

Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history

(wink). I told my wife about the cookies and I am going to do that as

well. Like said - " can't hurt " .

Don

Everyone is raving about the

all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

I love it! Call 911 if the hospital is messing up & you're in danger! But sorry you got a needle broken off in your spine. How horrible!!!

Ann from WA

RE: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital -

Hi Donna,

I don’t if you posted how your epidural broke off, but I’d like to hear how it happened. I’ll be having an epidural for partial knee replacement and they are doing an epidural, which I’ve never had. Because it’s so close to the spine I’m concerned.

So any additional info on your experience would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dahhling

-----Original Message-----From: sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) [mailto:sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) ] On Behalf Of Donna HartSent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:46 AMJoint Replacement Subject: Re: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital -

It always pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies.

But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill.

I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays.

But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything.

IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone.

At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up.

Don <donavpsbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote:

The only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen or so in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because of all the alcohol they are well preserved.Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history (wink). I told my wife about the cookies and I am going to do that as well. Like said - "can't hurt".Don

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

Matt, I really don't know. The hospital promised me answers two weeks ago, but I haven't heard a word. First, I'd like to say that I think my situation is rare. I wanted to alert others about having someone with them at night without causing them anxiety about their hospital stay. It's hard to do both. But if your pain shoots up, have someone check both ends of the connection of your epidural! I promise -- this is the last time I'll tell my story. :-) The epidural was the same one inserted before surgery. Around 4 a.m., I told the nurse my pain was shooting up. At 5 a.m. I said the connection had to be broken, that on a scale of 1 to 10, I was at 20. The alarm on the pain machine had been going off for hours, and the nurse kept punching buttons to turn it off. She never checked my back, and never took me seriously. At 6 a.m., an aide helped me get out of bed and saw what looked like a popsicle stick laying in my bed. Then we noticed, the liquid medication was dripping on the floor. (I still wonder why it was dripping there and not in my bed.) I think the needle was on the stick, not in my back. Or did someone remove it? I'm not sure. I hadn't slept for two days and was frantic with pain. The aide was upset and

sympathetic. FINALLY, someone believed me. Still, because of a policy that only a department called "Pain Management" could get me set up on meds again, I got nothing. Turns out Pain Managment was one doctor on call, and not returning his page. It was a new policy at the hospital that I heard was not successful and was being reviewed. My new nurse and the aide would sometimes come into to hold my hand and apologize and tell me to hold on. At 7:30, the nurse, who turned out to be my personal angel during my stay, brought me pain tablets. She and the head nurse took upon themselves to authorize it rather than watch me suffer. Around 8:30, I got a new pain machine -- with an even stronger pain med. So about 26 hours after surgery, I was starting over again in controlling the post-surgery pain.

I called my children, bawling my eyes out, when I realized Pain Management wasn't coming to my rescue. They paged and talked to my surgeon, who also started paging pain management. I never felt so alone in my life. I so wish I would have had a friend or family member there to raise hell at 4 a.m., when I knew but for some reason could not convince someone that something was wrong. I did find some humor later that afternoon when someone took the tape off my back. Yards of tape encased the entire area of my back. It seemed like overkill. But it still wasn't enough to keep that needle in! Regards, Donna e <utronix@...> wrote: Hi Donna, I don’t if you posted how your epidural broke off, but I’d like to hear how it happened. I’ll be having an epidural for partial knee replacement and

they are doing an epidural, which I’ve never had. Because it’s so close to the spine I’m concerned. So any additional info on your experience would be appreciated. Thanks Dahhling -----Original Message-----From:

sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) [mailto:sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) ] On Behalf Of Donna HartSent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:46 AMJoint Replacement Subject: Re: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital - It always pays to be

nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies. But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill. I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse

(a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays. But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything. IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone. At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He

even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up. Don <donavpsbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote: The only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen or so in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because of all the alcohol they are well preserved.Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history (wink). I told my wife about the cookies and I am going

to do that as well. Like said - "can't hurt".Don Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

Sponsored Link Mortgage rates as low as 4.625% - $150,000 loan for $579 a month. Intro-*Terms

[Guest guest]

oh Donna, this is a nightmare. again, so sorry you had to endure this. bless you. i cannot imagine what it must have been like for you.

hugs,

lindy

Matt,

I really don't know. The hospital promised me answers two weeks ago, but I haven't heard a word.

First, I'd like to say that I think my situation is rare. I wanted to alert others about having someone with them at night without causing them anxiety about their hospital stay. It's hard to do both. But if your pain shoots up, have someone check both ends of the connection of your epidural!

I promise -- this is the last time I'll tell my story. :-)

The epidural was the same one inserted before surgery. Around 4 a.m., I told the nurse my pain was shooting up.

At 5 a.m. I said the connection had to be broken, that on a scale of 1 to 10, I was at 20.

The alarm on the pain machine had been going off for hours, and the nurse kept punching buttons to turn it off. She never checked my back, and never took me seriously.

At 6 a.m., an aide helped me get out of bed and saw what looked like a popsicle stick laying in my bed. Then we noticed, the liquid medication was dripping on the floor. (I still wonder why it was dripping there and not in my bed.) I think the needle was on the stick, not in my back. Or did someone remove it? I'm not sure. I hadn't slept for two days and was frantic with pain.

The aide was upset and sympathetic. FINALLY, someone believed me.

Still, because of a policy that only a department called "Pain Management" could get me set up on meds again, I got nothing. Turns out Pain Managment was one doctor on call, and not returning his page. It was a new policy at the hospital that I heard was not successful and was being reviewed.

My new nurse and the aide would sometimes come into to hold my hand and apologize and tell me to hold on. At 7:30, the nurse, who turned out to be my personal angel during my stay, brought me pain tablets. She and the head nurse took upon themselves to authorize it rather than watch me suffer. Around 8:30, I got a new pain machine -- with an even stronger pain med. So about 26 hours after surgery, I was starting over again in controlling the post-surgery pain.

I called my children, bawling my eyes out, when I realized Pain Management wasn't coming to my rescue. They paged and talked to my surgeon, who also started paging pain management. I never felt so alone in my life. I so wish I would have had a friend or family member there to raise hell at 4 a.m., when I knew but for some reason could not convince someone that something was wrong.

I did find some humor later that afternoon when someone took the tape off my back. Yards of tape encased the entire area of my back. It seemed like overkill. But it still wasn't enough to keep that needle in!

Regards,

Donna

e <utronix@...> wrote:

Hi Donna,

I don’t if you posted how your epidural broke off, but I’d like to hear how it happened. I’ll be having an epidural for partial knee replacement and they are doing an epidural, which I’ve never had. Because it’s so close to the spine I’m concerned.

So any additional info on your experience would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dahhling

-----Original Message-----From: sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) [mailto:sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) ] On Behalf Of Donna HartSent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:46 AMJoint Replacement Subject: Re: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital -

It always pays to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies.

But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill.

I recognized, in glowing letters, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays.

But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything.

IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone.

At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up.

Don <donavpsbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote:

The only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen or so in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because of all the alcohol they are well preserved.Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history (wink). I told my wife about the cookies and I am going to do that as well. Like said - "can't hurt".Don

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

Sponsored LinkMortgage rates as low as 4.625% - $150,000 loan for $579 a month. Intro-*Terms

[Guest guest]

Hi Darlene! Thanks so much. It's been so demanding getting back to work, I haven't pursued this as aggressively as I should. I had one phone call from a patient advocate who was covering for someone who was out of the office, and as an orthopaedic nurse of several years she made all the right horrifying sounds when I told her the story. She must have told me five times she would get back to me Friday with answers. That was two weeks ago Friday. I know they are afraid to admit mistakes, but they would have been so much further ahead with me if they would have just have apologized. Perhaps they believe that is making the hospital vunnerable by admitting a mistake. But in this case, the error is glaring and documented on charts hour by hour. A friend of mine who is a retired doctor

advised another woman who had a bad experience at the same hospital to write the attorney general. She quickly received an adjusted bill from the hospital. Since I have a 10 percent co-pay and deductible, I would be thrilled if the hospital adjusted my part of the bill. It does bother me to think I'm paying for a night from hell. Really, I would have been happy with a prompt explanation and apology. Thanks again Darlene for this information. It should be very helpful, and you have motivated me to pursue some answers. The kindness and understanding from so many at this site is truly comforting. The good news: I had a couple of my worst days this week: both knees swollen and sore. Perhaps part of it was the driving rains and wind in Virginia. But I last night I came home from work, put ice packs

on all evening. Then I put fresh packs on before I went to bed. I slept well and woke to almost a pain-free morning. Wow. Surgery was ten weeks today. Perhaps what they say is true. This surgery really does work when you give it time. :-) . I've seen progress all along, but a drop in pain, oh yeah, that's exciting! Warm regards, Donna Matt Glendale <utronix@...> wrote: Donna, Actually Matt is my husband, my name is Darlene. And I’m so sorry you had to retell your story. Perhaps it time to become the “bad patient”, mention the suing, Better Business Bureau and contacting http://www.jointcommission.org/. That might get you some answers from the administration. Noises like that generally rattle cages. Just like the man who called 911, he got action. I am shocked and saddened that the nurse didn’t believe you. These are sources I found when I googled “complaints against hospitals: Tip #3: AVAILABLE SOURCES TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT A HOSPITAL There is a substantial amount of information about individual hospitals that is available to the public. You should find the following informative: 1. Internal Revenue Service Form 990 ("Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax") -- This annual report is an excellent source for consumers to review important hospital information, from the hospital's annual financial performance, to the amount of charity care and community service rendered. All tax-exempt hospitals and hospital systems are mandated to

have a copy available for public review. They are also required to provide a copy to any requesting individual (regulations allow the hospital to charge $1 for the first page and 15 cents for each additional page).2. State reports -- All states have definitive hospital reporting requirements, and some compile this information into various quality reports (and individual hospital "report cards") that are made available to the public. Reviewing such information as a hospital's comparative infectious disease rate can be enlightening. Contact the respective state Department of Health (or equivalent) to ascertain what is available.3. Hospital reports -- Do not overlook asking a hospital directly for information. In addition to the mandated reports (such as IRS Form 990 reviewed above), many publish annual reports, and a variety of other internally generated reports, that

are commonly used for marketing purposes.4. www.healthgrades.com -- Website of a company that uses easy to understand quality ratings (1 to 5 stars) to rate many different procedures/diagnoses. The basic hospital ratings are free on the website, with detailed hospital quality reports offered for a fee. The company uses publicly available data, e.g., Medicare and Medicaid reports, from which it develops its ratings.5. www.jcaho.com -- Website of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Use "Quality Check" to review the accreditation status of a hospital, as well as to review comparative procedures/diagnoses.6. www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov -- Website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This website was only implemented in 2005, and currently contains limited comparative quality measures; i.e., heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia. You can also look up your doctor to see if he has ever been disciplined at https://www.idfpr.com/dpr/licenselookup/. I agree it’s helpful to be prepared for the worst and have an advocate with you at all times or as much as possible when you are in the hospital. Thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like it was much worse than the surgery. Look forward to

hearing the hospitals explaination. Dahhling (aka Darlene) -----Original Message-----From: sentto-7780446-19982-1163701862-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) [mailto:sentto-7780446-19982-1163701862-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) ] On Behalf Of Donna HartSent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 12:18 PMJoint Replacement Subject: RE: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital - Matt, I really don't know. The hospital promised me answers two weeks ago, but I haven't heard a word. First, I'd like to say that I think my situation is rare. I wanted to alert others about having someone

with them at night without causing them anxiety about their hospital stay. It's hard to do both. But if your pain shoots up, have someone check both ends of the connection of your epidural! I promise -- this is the last time I'll tell my story. :-) The epidural was the same one inserted before surgery. Around 4 a.m., I told the nurse my pain was shooting up. ! At 5 a.m. I said the connection had to be broken, that on a scale of 1 to 10, I was at 20. The alarm on the pain machine had been going off for hours, and the nurse kept punching buttons to turn it off. She never checked my back, and never took me seriously. At 6 a.m., an aide helped me get out of bed and saw what looked like a popsicle stick laying in my bed. Then we noticed, the liquid medication was dripping on the floor. (I still wonder why it was dripping there and not in my bed.) I think the needle was on the stick, not in my back. Or did someone remove it? I'm not sure. I hadn't slept for two days and was frantic with pain. The aide was upset and sympathetic. FINALLY, someone believed me. Still, because of a policy that only a department called "Pain Management" could get me set up on meds again, I got nothing. Turns out Pain Managment was one doctor on call, and not returning his page. It was a new policy at the hospital that I heard was not successful and was being reviewed. My new nurse and the aide would sometimes come into to hold my hand and apologize and tell me to hold on. At 7:30, the nurse, who turned out to be my personal angel during my stay, brought me pain tablets. She and the head nurse took upon themselves to authorize it rather than watch me suffer. Around 8:30, I got a new pain machine -- with an even

stronger pain med. So about 26 hours after surgery, I was starting over again in controlling the post-surgery pain. I called my children, bawling my eyes out, when I realized Pain Management wasn't coming to my rescue. They paged and talked to my surgeon, who also started paging pain management. I never felt so alone in my life. I so wish I would have had a friend or family member there to raise hell at 4 a.m., when I knew but for some reason could not convince someone that something was wrong. I did find some humor later that afternoon when someone took the tape off my back. Yards of tape encased the entire area of my back. It seemed like overkill. But it still wasn't enough to keep that needle in! Regards, Donna e <utronixcompuserve> wrote: Hi Donna, I don’t if you posted how your epidural broke off, but I’d like to hear how it happened. I’ll be having an epidural for partial knee replacement and they are doing an epidural, which I’ve never had. Because it’s so close to the spine I’m

concerned. So any additional info on your experience would be appreciated. Thanks Dahhling -----Original Message-----From:

sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) [mailto:sentto-7780446-19968-1163595347-utronix=compuserve.comreturns (DOT) ] On Behalf Of Donna HartSent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:46 AMJoint Replacement Subject: Re: Re: taking food for the nursing staff in hospital - It always pa ys to be nice to people and to give them respect and recognition as well as cookies. But even chocolate truffles wouldn't have made a difference for me. My epidural had broken off. The pain machine set off alarms all night. And my nurse was clueless and not listening to me when I told I wasn't getting my paid med. It'sn not a trauma I'll forget. I'm just glad pain doesn't usually kill. I recognized, in glowing letter s, the nurse (a real live angel), aide and PT who dedicated themselves to caring me for the rest of my hospital stay to make up for what had happened. And I'll be stopping by with something for them over the hoidays. But let's not lose the point. Only an advocate for me could have changed what happened that night.There are incompetent workers sprinkled throughout every hospital -- especially at night. They may not care, be mentally ill or under the influence. Whatever the reason, cookies are not going to change anything. < div class="MsoNormal">IF it's possible, have a friend or family member with you the first couple nights.Even the best health care workers are a little better when they know a patient's loved ones are watching. If it's not possible, have your calling card and phone numbers at your bedside in case you need to call someone. At one point, I actually thought about calling 911 for help. Seriously. Later, a friend told me that was exactly what her uncle did when he was in a situation similar to mine. It got attention quickly. He even had hospital administrators in his room. He shook things up. Don <donavpsbcglobal (DOT) net> wrote: The only trouble with fruit cake is that there are only a dozen

or so in the whole world 8^). They just get passed around for years because of all the alcohol they are well preserved.Actually I like fruit cake just thought I would give you the history (wink). I told my wife about the cookies and I am going to do that as well. Like said - "can't hurt".Don Everyone is raving about the all-new beta. Sponsored LinkMortgage rates as low as 4.625% - $150,000 loan for $579 a month. Intro-*Terms

Everyone is raving about the all-new beta.

[Guest guest]

you're welcome donna and YES, i love the internet.

lindy

Oh, but I do thank you for your compassion, Lindy. it's wonderful sharing our aches and pains and theories here. I say I get the best information here, from my PT and from my pharmacist. And now we have our own pharmachist on board here. The internet is a wonderful thing.

[Guest guest]

absolutely, we all deserve the best of care. and yes, you survived something horrendous, you're strong, very! i can only imagine it was like a horrific twilight zone.

Thanks, Lindy. I survived. :-) But it was a Twilight Zone-like episode that has made me much more cautious. The good thing is I became more outspoken, and that has served me well during recovery. I always wanted to be the best patient. I still try to be that, but now with the expectation that I deserve the best care.

[Guest guest]

donna,

i'm sorry you had to be the one of us to experience this. and you HAVE educated me, i sure will know what to do if my meds are not helping.

you'd think the hospital could at least say "sorry" but then that would be admitting and if they do that, perhaps they fear you would sue, so they just keep quiet instead.

lindy

Hey, it's rare, The fact that it happened to me greatly reduces the odds it will happen to any of you. And that is a good thing! :-) If it does happen, you will know to have them quit punching buttons on the pain machine all night and have them check the other end of the epidural. It was a bit trautmatic. I hope by sharing it here I have educated others a bit and encouraged them to have someome with them the first couple nights. But it's also been very therapuetic for me. I put it at the back of my mind at first. Then further into my recovery I realized I was angry and traumatized. You've been such a supportive group, I almost have it out of my system.Now if that hospital would just call and say "sorry." Now I'm left with just whining about the pain. This double knee replacement is a not for sissies! I I'm slowly backing off my duties for the holidays. I'm making it known Mom needs help with everything this holiday season, from decorating to cooking. Who would have thought.