This is the first time that it's been more than a week since I posted and some of you have noticed. Where's Beth?
My fiance was hospitalized from September 13-21, 2005 and I was at the hospital with him rather than blogging here with you. I normally don't share much of my personal life here. I have an important message that I want to get across so I am going to break tradition.
My fiance was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma 3 years ago. It's a type of blood cancer that affects the bone and which there is no cure. He has gone through chemo and a variety of new drugs and generally does well. About once a year around the anniversary of his diagnosis his condition worsens temporarily and we get a scare. This time was worse and we were not prepared. He is finally home now and weak, but doing well. He is evidence of the power of prayer and a positive attitude as well as a desire to fight.
In this go round he suffered renal failure and received a procedure known as
plasmapheresis. A kidney specialist was brought in who didn't believe he was going to have a speedy recovery. He prepared us for weeks of this procedure as well as kidney dialysis and perhaps even a kidney biopsy. We tried to tell him that we didn't think he was going to need all this. I was very scared and stressed though my fiance kept a very positive outlook.
We had a lot of people praying for him and kept that positive outlook. In a matter of days his condition had improved and shocked the doctor. This sort of recovery normally takes weeks. So thank you to those that did know of the situation and prayed for him.
My grandmother was an R.N. and always taught me that dignity was the most important thing you could give a patient. The nurses and all the staff at the local cancer center here do provide that very well. They also have a lot of respect and keep me in the loop on everything. After all, I am his caregiver.
We spent a few stressful days at a local hospital as well while he was getting this special procedure. The difference in care was like night and day. It's not that the staff at the hospital was uncaring, but the level of care due to being so overworked and understaffed was unbelievable.
If you know anyone in the health care field, whether they work anywhere in a hospital, please pass my message on to them.
First, DIGNITY. Treat the patient with dignity and respect. Don't make the patient feel as if he or she is just a body in a bed. They are someone's mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, or wife.
Second, the patient's spouse or significant other is an important person. This person knows the patient better than anyone else and can help you to understand what is normal for him or her. This person also has probably sat in on all the doctor's visits and can save you hours of reading in the chart to let you know what has transpired and what is considered for the future. You can then double check the information if needed. This person also is generally very scared, worried, and stressed. Not being included and treated as if he or she is not there makes this worse.
This person also can take in and comprehend what is going on with the patient. The patient may be blocking some of the situation out due to shock or may be so tired or weak that he or she can't concentrate as well as normal.
Third, rest is important for any patient. There are necessary duties that must be performed during a hospital stay, but these could be done with the patient in mind. If you work at night, just because this is your day time does not mean that you should talk loudly outside patient doors, yell up and down the hallway, carry on with laughter, and be disruptive to the patient. People are trying to sleep!
If you have to come in to the room to perform duties whether it's drawing blood, taking blood pressure, emptying the trash, cleaning, or general checking, please be considerate of a patient that is trying to rest especially at night. Don't barge in and flash the overhead light on and then leave it on and the door open in the middle of the night. Enter and leave the room quietly and if you see the patient sleeping do what you can to do your duty and leave the room the same way you found it - dark and quiet.
The last soapbox topic before I step down is regarding nursing hours. My fiance has a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) and must maintain a log book when he drives a large truck to meet the Federal Department of Transportation requirements. He can only drive a certain number of hours per 24 hour period and must be off the road for rest a certain number of hours. That is for safety. It is considered dangerous to have a truck driver fall asleep and potentially have an accident that could endanger his life and load and the life of others on the road.
Wouldn't you think we'd have the same law for health care professionals who have your life in their hands? We had nurses at the hospital that worked 16 hour shifts and some would work 12-16 hours and then were scheduled to be back on duty in 8 hours. That's not even time to travel to and from home and get 8 hours of sleep! Yes, there is a shortage of nurses in the country and yes they do get paid for working these hours and certainly many of them are accustomed to it. But that doesn't make it right or safe. We need laws to regulate the maximum number of hours a nurse can work if hospitals won't take it upon themselves to do.
We did discover that our local cancer center does not let any nurse work more than 12 hours. That's a start.
Thanks for your support and prayers and listening to my little tirade!
Beth
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