Tsaristic stuff happens, “we don’t live in a perfect world” a young nurse recently told me when I questioned the hospital discharge papers. Used to transparency and kind consideration – I had expected better – much better.
The following was copied verbatim with permission of Thor Dahl. The place is Florida – not here – but we need to be aware that Mr. Dahl and his wife are credible established people and business folks running the largest international online rosemaling “club’ offered….and where I read the following shocking post. It was a reminder – patient, friends and family – be aware – stuff happens.
28 March 2013 – The Global Rosemaling Club:
“Yesterday we went to my surgeon for the third visit since my surgery last December 20th. I also had my first “commercial” haircut in over a year. But Joan has been nice trimming it several times. She used to do a great job! I also drove the car for the first time. Joan drove home. But I was happy to feel that I could handle the car after more than a year as a passenger.
The doctor didn’t give us the kind of news that I had hoped for. Each time I go there, they take a few x-rays to see how I’m healing. He said that due to the first hospital I went to let me out without knowing that I had 2 breaks in my back, the 6 extra months it took to find this out before the final surgery in a much better hospital, was too long to straighten out my old spine. So I’ll be living with an ugly hump and pain for the rest of my life. As well as not being able to lift more than 25 pounds while being very carefully without bending too much. If I was too ruff with my back, it just could brake again. He was very liberal on giving me prescriptions for pain medicine and indicated that I should not be afraid of taking them. From next Monday, I’ll start going to their “in house” physical treatment department. It will be from 2 to 3 times a week depending on what they think will be best for me. The doctor assured me that I could get anything I asked him for. I guess he felt sorry for the way this turned out for me.
He clearly admitted it was due to the poor treatment from my first hospital and added that this was not the first time they had failed with their surgery or diagnoses at that hospital. So he will hopefully be a good witness, because being ruined for the few years I have left, somebody should pay for not giving me the proper treatment. This will include the arthritis dr. that gave me the wrong medicine, which gave me internal bleeding and fainting.
Even with all the above negative “news”, I feel a lot better despite it’s going to be hard to get used to having an ugly hump on my back!
However, I feel so badly for Joan who will be stuck with my part of many of my home duties which are way too heavy for her as well, because of all the arthritis problems she has of her own. At times she can hardly move. She often doesn’t sleep many hours in her bed and have to move between the sofa and her bed. Her hands are also swollen when she gets up in the morning.
Well, it’s “nice” to get old!”
(Thor Dahl)
the-global-rosemaling-club@yahoogroups.com
Joan & Thor
Dahl House Art & Rosemaling Center
16623 West River Rd., Caribee Shores
Inglis, Florida 34449 Ph:352-447-4178
Based in Seattle, Consumer’s Union, “Washington Advocates for Patient Safety” (WAPS) is a Washington group advocating for patient safety. http://www.washingtonadvocatesforpatientsafety.org/patient-safety/
The fact is almost sixty years ago the epidermal needle intended to help me give birth was jammed into a spine disk. No physician treated me – they could not find anything wrong.
Eventually, desperately, my parents took me to a recommended chiropractor and I was given a pamphlet showing exercises. He circled the ones he wanted me to do.
He gave me hope and followed his instructions exactly. He did not examine me, nor accept payment from my parents.
He gave me a life back – I worked through the pain.
Through the years – every decade or so – I have followed the disintegration of the disk accidentally through x-rays given for other reasons. A recent – on purpose x-ray showed the disk is gone.
I lived through it without treatment and lived the physically active lifestyle I knew and loved. COPD threw a different kind of curve in 1997.
Mistakes happen.
Mistakes are sometimes turned around with the proper care and attention.
Exercise gave me a life, and taught me to work through the pain.
See
your doctor. Take a
friend to be sure you both heard the same thing and be proactive in
your own care.
God Bless. Happy Easter!
Thanks for listening… Sharon O’Hara
