The last two months have been taken up with caring for Carl, who has been in and out of the hospital three times.
It sounds ridiculous to say my time has been limited; I have 168 hours in a week just like anyone else. But we have spent hours and sometimes days waiting for care, a hurry-up-and-wait hamster wheel that left our heads spinning. Our time is their time and their time is whatever time they choose it to be. Here’s a little look by the numbers:
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18
Number of hours in emergency waiting for a bed (the first time) after admission decision
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37
Number of hours in emergency waiting for a bed (the second time) after admission decision
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4
Number of days waiting for an MRI while he was in the hospital
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2
Number of days waiting to reschedule same MRI because they could find no record of doctor’s orders to medicate the patient
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90
Number of minutes late they were in taking him for his second MRI appointment
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30
Nmmber of minutes the MRI actually took
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120
Number of minutes until he was back in his room
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3
Number of times the car had to be valet parked because there was not enough parking
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1
Number of times the valet went home without giving me back my keys (this happened to be the night of the MRI when he wasn't returned to his room until 12:15 a.m.
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1
Number of times I broke into the valet stand and took my keys
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90
Number of minutes wandering the parking garage looking for my car after I stole my own keys back
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3
Time in the a.m. I got home after wandering around looking for my car
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6
Number of items on his breakfast tray the first three mornings of his separate hospitalizations
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6
Number of items on his breakfast tray the first three mornings of his separate hospitalizations that are banned from his diet by dietitians who had been working with us before the hospitalizations
(white-flour bagel, juice, eggs, cream cheese, milk, banana)
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3
Number of times I complained about this
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0
Effect it had
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No total available
Number of times I wondered if health care reform could fix a system so broken that he emerged not as the Empowered Patient but as the Embattled Patient.
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GOMD: I hope he is doing much better. I will be thinking of you. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteJeepers. Where is the reform? I found out two weeks ago that I am stuck with my same Blue Cross plan unless I want to change and lose my "grandfathered in" status because I have had health insurance. I didn't expect to be penalized by healthcare reform, but that's how it's looking so far. Why don't we put the reform on hold and ask Congress as our representatives to test the whole thing out?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry you had to break into the valet key box but those #s were highly entertaining
120 - Number of eggs I could carry over and throw at the hospital. Just say the word.
ReplyDelete