The new facility has not, unfortunately, been a great move. I was told they would discontinue the Ativan (which caused confusion and hallucinations in the hospital) but someone called the nurse practitioner because Mike was being "agitated," trying to get out of bed, and tugging on his PICC. She okayed another dose. This was in addition to getting two doses of hydrocodone, 11pm and 4am.
He was so friggin' out of it when I arrived at 8:30 yesterday. And a few minutes later the med aide came in to give him another hydrocodone! NO, no, God no. Thankfully I was able to stop that dose. As it was, he didn't start coming out of it until after noon.
The nurse practitioner "explained" that most of the patients are post-surgery with knee replacements and such. The staff just need to be reminded Mike doesn't need constant pain management.
His biggest problem is the Parkinson's, and I've been telling everyone he must have a half dose of his main med in between his full doses. It's labeled "as needed," but I've had a hard time convincing the great 'someone' to lock it in.
Today I came in and his nutrition was still running (through a PICC line), but I noticed an error and told the nurse.
He's drinking a lot of fluids, which we want.
We had a 'care conference' today, and Dianne attended to help with our message. I stated I would like to get him home, maybe Monday, and get him off their hands. In my heart, I meant 'out of their hands,' of course. They said it might take to Tuesday or even Wednesday to make all the arrangements for him to get care at home. Fine.
Please don't think I'm a witch. I love this guy, and I have to advocate for him. My professional nursing credentials? None.
Oh, but let's end with something funny. Mike. During the care conference he was mostly out-of-it. But at one point, "I have a question," as he looked at the nearest employee, "What gives you the authority to hold me here?"
Bwa-ha-ha
Legacy of Federal Control
3 years ago
I know the last thing is supposed to be funny, but I can relate. Before I really understood was gong on or why, I felt the same way in those early days at Marquis;the only reason I realized I was not a prisoner in an unfamiliar place was that you and Terra were there, and I knew neither of you would let anything truly awful happen to me, as much as I wanted to go home and get back to normal life (before it really sank in that "home" was not going to be home any longer...
ReplyDeleteRobots should be in charge of more medical care/administration/decisions. Seriously. What is wrong with people?
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