Right on schedule

[gerisullivan]

My sister's hip replacement surgery went as expected. It was successful and is done! She'd told me the surgery would last 2 hours; it was 2 hours to the minute when they paged me in to talk with the surgeon.

She'll have another couple hours in the recovery room, then I'll be reconnecting with her when they assign a room.

Once again, the importance of having an informed patient advocate on site was demonstrated. Sue responds badly to morphine and morphine-derivatives. She'd told everybody that (including her surgeon), yet he still put in orders for a morphine-derivative she'd specifically told him not to give her. She'd told me the right questions to ask, and when he'd finished talking with me, he went off to change her orders to a pain med she's more likely to tolerate. Fingers crossed, knocking wood. I'm glad I was here; I hope I don't have to further act as the patient advocate poster child over the next couple of days, but I rather expect I will. It seems to go with the territory.

Work is going well. It did a good job of keeping me distracted while waiting during surgery. Win-win.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

Gha, what an idiot of a doctor! But I'm glad you were able to prevent any problems.

[casacorona.livejournal.com]

You'll want to double check the morphine situation when she gets up to the surgical recovery floor. I am actually allergic to morphine, and my doctor knows it and ordered something else, and the nurses -still- hooked up a morphine drip. I had the freaking red wrist band on, saying ALLERGIC TO MORPHINE.

That was a very bad night. Morphine is the default post-surgical painkiller. You have to really keep on top of them to make them not give it to you.

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

*nods frustratedly*

alanbostick's mother was violently allergic to Betadyne, the automatic cleanser and disinfectant that all hospitals use all the time. We both became experts in jumping up and yelling, "No Betadyne!" as nurses headed for Sheila with any kind of cleansing pad. I can't count how many times we were needed, again despite every warning in the hospitals' procedures.

It is part of the territory, and it certainly shouldn't be. I could understand if this happened two or three times a year to two or three patients, but my sad experience is that it happens two or three times a day to every patient with a common intolerance.

Our friend wordweaverlynn, who is anaphylactically allergic to a wide variety of horrifyingly common foodstuffs (starting with celery), has been heard to say, "I can't go to the hospital; it would kill me." I wish I thought that was funny.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Good you were there! Hope she's feeling better as quickly as possible.

[ann-totusek.livejournal.com]

Yay for you for being a great patient advocate! Stay on top of things. As a nurse, I know it makes me a bit nervous to have family watching over me that closely, but I also know that humans can make mistakes, and the more knowledgable and caring people involved in a patient's treatment the better off the patient will be.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

And even when the patient knows, nurses don't always pay attention. One night in my second renal failure, a temp nurse brought in lipids to give me. I told her I didn't get lipids and she said I did. She tried to tell me my doctor must have ordered them and didn't tell me and I told her my doctors weren't that stupid. I asked her to check the chart and she wouldn't. Being night, the bell and phone were not answered so I eventually threw my water pitcher into the hall while fending her off and not only the charge nurse came, but the night nursing supervisor. They both knew I didn't get lipids. Probably wouldn't have killed me, but might have affected the person who was supposed to get them.

I have lots of stories like that -- most about nurses, some about doctors. When you spend years in the hospital, you see a lot about things go wrong.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the good news. It's good when you can come through for your sister like that.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Please do pass on my regards...and please do make sure you sleep at least five hours in the next 24 (because the 5-2-1 rule is good for life, too). *hugs*

Yes

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad things worked out as well as they did. And I'm glad that despite all the stuff going on in your life right now, you've had time to post on LJ at all.

Nate

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that the surgery went smoothly. And go you for being there and advocating.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

You did good.