All of the tests came back and they said he had another infection in that Right kidney that doesn't empty. This time they transported him to Riverbend Hospital in Eugene Oregon, 3 hours away. He was admitted and saw his Urologist, the surgeon that removed his bladder and his neuphrologist the next morning. They discussed the issue and decided to put in a tube from the kidney that extended outside his body and out his back so that it could drain in to a bag that was attached. It was done in the radiology department and took about an hour. He was returned to his room and was there for three days with IV antibiotics. He seemed to be improving so they sent him home with follow up in a week and visits from a home health care nurse once a week. We didn't make it a week. Within 5 days his fever was back and the confusion which makes it so hard to care for him. He becomes stubborn and cranky. A clue that he is confused for just one example is that he tried to brush his teeth with the digital thermometer and was about to put nose drops in his eyes when I noticed and stopped him.
This time however, I was able to get him in the car and drive him to Bay Area Hospital here locally so we didn't need the ambulance but the ER wait is atrocious! 8 hours for more test results to come in before they decide what to do. More IV antibiotics and more questions which were answered the other times we were there. I wonder sometimes why the hospital can't read the information posted throughout all of his visits to the hospital. The same questions as to what his symptoms are and what medications is he on and it is really hard to explain when the patient acts like his is senile when in fact he has a high fever and is dehydrated and confused.
It is a BIG pet peeve of mine. In watching the doctors, nurses and any employee that enters the hospital; including the housekeeping department, spend more time on the computer entering all that they do while with the patient than with the patient and that is fact. He was once again admitted for another infection in that right kidney and spent another four days in the hospital. When they discharged him his blood count was okay and his urine showed no more infection so they sent him home with oral antibiotic (Cipro) and told him to follow up with this surgeon in a week.
2 comments:
i'm so sorry to read of the pain and struggle you are experiencing with your husbands health care. i am sending love and healing thoughts. and wishes that the caregivers will be more attentive. my stepdaughter is an acute care LPN and she works so hard with all her patients. she also gets frustrated that too many of the health care folks are sitting around and not attending to the patients. so i can imagine how frustrating it is. i hope the next report will be a happier one. thanks for sharing. xo
My thoughts and prayers are with you, Patti. You must be exhausted with the worry and care, and I'm sire your husband must be weary of what his life has become. As an aside, my family is sort of a medical family, my daughter is a pharmacist at the hospital in Salem, my son a respiratory therapist, and his wife a nurse. Their complaint, especially my daughter-in-law who was a hospice nurse, was that they were required to spend so much time at the computer entering endless data that it infringed on their patient care. So, in your frustration, just know the health care professionals would rather be attending to your husband than spending time on the computer. In most instances, they are as frustrated as you.
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