A close and elderly relative has been taken to the hospital where she hasn't been doing all that well for the past week. The schedule at Casa Ché is such that my posting at Ché(WhatYouCallYour) Pasa may have to be light to nonexistent for the duration.
Just a note on hospital care in America. Those who have access to regular care -- as opposed to emergency room only care -- like those on Medicare, are sometimes lucky. The problem is that too many hospital procedures, and too many hospital personnel are keyed to "codes" which too often have little or nothing to do with and are incapable of properly caring for people.
We've had periods of utter nightmare this past week dealing with "codes" rather than care. And we've seen the consequence of "care to the code" and not to the person.
Sigh.
"Utter nightmare" is an appropriate description. I have spent the last two months traveling to and fro between Pittsburgh and Atlanta to care for my mother who has, in chronological and almost predictable order, broken her right hip, her right wrist, and her left hip. Three different ERs, two different rehabilitation centers, only to be now told she has Alzheimer's, which was excellerated by the surgeries. Anesthesia does a real number on elderly people.
ReplyDeleteYour post is so on target regarding health care in this country.
I wish you a better prognosis for your family member, a quick recovery and a happy return home. Take care.
Oh gang,
ReplyDeleteBelieve me you've got my sympathy and empathy. Thank goodness your mother's got family to look out for her through all of this. But it's a trial for all every step of the way.
Everything you're describing is stuff we've seen with other patients (we've spent a lot of time in The Hospital) and some of it we've seen with our elder one. It's heartbreaking.
Finally -- well, no, repeatedly -- I had to put my foot down and tell them to stop torturing her.
Bless your heart, and all the best to you and yours through everything.
---Ché (as it were)