Judy's Upward Mobility Thread
 

I, TheBrother, having not much to do as a Medical Power of Attorney, hereby exert my authority and begin Judy's next thread: Judy's Upward Mobility Thread :)

When I left her BP was 117 (best in decades; miracle of modern medicine) and her pain was down a notch to 7.

It's a small, quiet, relaxed hospital.

From here, upward mobility!

Thank you Brother for starting this thread.

We all have Judy in our hearts, in our thoughts and in our prayers.

Now after that wonderful news today, it's onwards and upwards. YAY!

Morning report: another mistake. Ladies, beware shift change.

Firstly, Judy's breast pain is down to manageable levels (quote). Her muscle pain is 7. She didn't sleep at all, partly due to Rx snafus. She's not quite ready to go home.

Apparently a big Rx snafu took place. We're in the process of unravelling it. She moved from postop to the floor during or around shift change. Either the surgeon or the post op nurse said she'd call, or called, J's Rx's down the the pharmacy. Intake schedule was 8:30p in everyday life. We should have gotten involved when 8:30 came and went. LESSON: TOLERATE NO DELAYS; ACT ON ANY DELAY AT THE MOMENT THE CLOCK STRIKES WHATEVER HOUR THE DELAY OCCURS AT. Even @ 9:30 when C and I returned from dinner, none of us thought to deal w/it. Result: big snafu. No meds til midnight. Administered how? The pharmacist from the south campus came by on her way home to inspect J's meds and dispense...the pharmacist from the tiny little facility J's in had gone home. Night shift nurses claimed no order on J's chart (contradicting the nature of the prior staff's communique to us). LESSON: PROACTIVELY FOLLOW UP EVERYTHING THAT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN ACROSS ANY LOCATION CHANGE.

The nurse last night (J's nurse happened to = charge nurse also) was gonna blow it off and let her wait until the AM. Cathy intervened and got the ball rolling. The all stopped short of calling the surgeon late at night, tho J had her #.

I'll post the rest of the gory details when we've unravelled this. J's massage therapist will do a home visit whenever.

There's some law about Rx intake, and to be sure lay persons ought not be popping pills on whims after anesthesia. Question: could a POA or family member be held legally culpable for breaking a law if s/he gives a pt her Rx? -- in this instance all the attending docs had and reviewed J's Rx list.

thanks Bro for the updates, hate shift changes without adequate info to the next on the shift....makes for mess ups....good luck and give her big hugsss from all of us..hugssss to you and your family, sarah

Thanks for the update, Bart, I'm glad she's staying if she's not up to going home. Although, with this latest report and Cathy right there, it does beg the question of which is better.:mad:

On the layperson med dispensing, I'd have to say it's best to err on the side of caution. Legality aside, it would be a real crime to inadvertently cause Judy to be "blacklisted" among the medical community for being "difficult" or having "pushy" relatives/friends.

Gentle, persistent communication with all personnel who enter her room should help them realize that this patient has the expectation of their highest professionalism.

Please blow a whistle for dear Judy and let her know that I'm keeping these rapscallions under control. ;)

Ah, Cindy. I heard you made quite the entrance in Colorado, what, last year? :)

I suspect you all will breathe a sigh of relief when TheBrother exits the NeuroTalk world, which will be when J returns home and my job is done.

For brevity, I tend not to soften my posts' content. Thx for the above; I'm aware. I'm less interested in institutional protocol than my sister's well-being. Please know that my compassion for providers has grown during my years' researching, contemplating, writing, and now speaking on managing medical matters. Gentle and persistent, yes, with an equal or greater measure of clarity, impetus, and the sense that this patient-family will achieve what's required for this patient. This can be communicated in kind ways.

I emphasize my learnings (previous post) for the benefit of readers. In this hospitalization, Judy was and always has been alert and in full control. All Cathy or I could do is assist. Had I been more on my ball I would have said "Judy, it's 9:30, I wouldn't wait any longer for your RXs" and suggested she take 'em. Then advise the staff for charting. As I wrote in Notes, I am not here to usurp my loved one's authority, but to extend it.

I just got off the fone w/the Nursing Director, we had a friendly and collegial discussion (and she may buy the book :)). She knows I didn't call to complain, and was not filing any complaint; I called to *learn* the protocol, reasons for it, consequences of not adhering to it, some other intricacies regarding patient-family use of the patient chart (vitally interesting information, that), and better disclosure to, and forecasting for, patient-families (distinct from soft-pedaling and/or choosing not to disclose various well-known potentialities).

Knowing that you folks keep it light up here, I'll pause here. If anyone wants some of the details of what I learned, ask and I'll continue.

Cheers, all :)

Just so no one misses it, this post is going around to all our dear Judy's support threads:

JUDY'S HOME!!!!!!!

I just talked with Judy's wonderful friend, Cathy and they got home today around 5:30pm. She's quite exhausted, but Cathy is very enthusiastic and wanted me to report that Judy looks great, is moving around well and had a very, very good nap today. Early in the evening, she went to bed and is now down for the count in her own home with her best friend. It just don't get no better than that!

AMEN!

and with this news, goodbye one and all on Neuro Talk. Take good care of one another.

TheBrother

O&O