Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2006. We took Mattie to Balboa Park in San Diego! As you can see the park was a beautiful space. Filled with museums, greenery, ponds, and a lot of things to keep kids and adults engaged. In typical Mattie fashion, he brought a toy train along for the adventure. Mattie usually did not travel empty handed, and this photo reminds me of this.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- number of people diagnosed with the virus: 2,137,731
- number of people who died from the virus: 116,963
Today was an incredibly difficult day! If you would have told me yesterday that I'd be spending ten hours in an ER today, I wouldn't believe it. My dad started to complain of constipation last night. Issues with his bowels are nothing new for us, as he has struggled with irritable bowel syndrome for as far back as I can remember. By this morning, he was doubled over in pain and moaning! In fact, I heard him moan most of the day, that the sound is ingrained in my head. Hearing someone in constant pain, makes you want to jump out of your skin.
I had Peter go to the pharmacy to pick up laxative suppositories. I used them with Mattie often when he was ill, and therefore knew how to administer them. I also know they are usually effective. However, I had no luck getting the suppositories to stay within his body. He literally pushed a suppository out four times. So I knew we had a problem.
Peter and I took my dad to the ER. I arrived inside with my dad at 1:30pm. They told me I wasn't allowed inside, but that did not stop me. My dad needed the support and I wasn't going to let him navigate a hospital system while in pain. Thank goodness I am assertive because otherwise he would have fallen through the cracks.
I took on everyone today..... the ER manager (who runs a poor operation), two charge nurses, and the list goes on! I know the hospital we took my dad to, because when I was a teen, I did hundreds of volunteer hours there, and back then it was a very nurturing and patient focused facility. Now its all about the bottom line and professionals are not appreciated and forget about patient centered care. I noticed quickly that there was a lot of professional turnover and the nurses are expected to perform double the work. In fact, having the time to interact with a nurse in the ER was difficult, but believe it or not, we never saw a doctor during our entire 10 hour visit.It took us 2.5 hours to process through the ER. It was unacceptable!
My dad endured a blood test, xrays, a ct scan, and two enemas! Not easy for him, but I have to imagine my presence helped. As my dad gets confused and disoriented easily and I wanted to make sure he was getting the best possible care!
The second enema was called soap suds. A soap suds enema is one way to treat constipation. While there are many types of enemas, a soap suds enema remains one of the most common types, especially for constipation. It’s a combination of distilled water and a small amount of soap. The soap mildly irritates your bowels, which helps to stimulate a bowel movement.
Can you see the small bucket in the background? All the fluid was infused with the hopes that is would break down this large massive poop ball that formed in his colon!
Fortunately the testing revealed no cancer, no stones, and no bowel blockage. I am headed to bed because I am not thinking clearly and I am falling asleep while typing. As of tonight, my dad was admitted to the hospital, but like I told his doctor, I don't trust this hospital system one bit and I was concerned to leave my dad because no one was paying attention to him.
No comments:
Post a Comment