Futility of Letter Writing

[Doglover]

Many people on this board and elsewhere have suggested writing letters to the hospital and politicians about the way my parent was treated in the ER and the medical floor. Well, no amount of apologizing, increased funding, increased nursing staff, or after-the-fact "improvements" will ever change the needless misery inflicted on us by the ER nurses and those on the medical unit who failed to answer call lights, provide information or emotional support, or delivery trays on time.

It is my mother who served as Nurse in the military during WWII and was in perfect health until 2 years ago. Unlike nurses today, nurses serving overseas in wartime worked extremely hard and did not have luxuries such as heated/air conditioned hospitals or a full contingent of security guards and police officers to step in at a moment's notice if a patient got unruly. Nurses serving in WWII and Viet Nam were often totally on their own and subject to grave dangers that nurses today can only imagine.

One resident and the medical student who took care of my mother spent a great deal of time listening to her and learning about her experiences during WWII. I was moved to tears when the resident actually THANKED her and said, "We should all be grateful to people like you." At least he and the medical student showed respect and compassion.

In contrast, when my mother arrived in the ER on a stretcher in agonizing pain, the cruel triage nurse immediately insisted she get off the stretcher and sit upright in a wheelchair! I tried to explain nicely that she was in terrible pain and needed to lie down even though there was a wait, but that nurse was devoid of humanity and insisted my mother get off the stretcher and sit up in a wheelchair in the waiting room. We waited 2 hours to be taken back and a total of 6 hours for pain & nausea medication.

Instead of showing such heartless cruelty to an elderly Veteran who risked her life serving her country and who had used minimal health resources until 2 years ago, those ER nurses should have showed some respect and appreciation.

For those who insist that ER nurses don't have time to ask patients if they are Veterans or the underlying cause of their illness, it takes all of 10 seconds to ask, "Are you a Veteran of a foreign War?"

It would be poetic justice if the ER nurses and those others who failed to show appreciation and compassion were struck down by an equally painful, debilitating disease, forced to sit bolt upright in a wheelchair for hours, and deprived of pain and nausea medicine for 6 hours. Then maybe they would get a taste of their own medicine and justice would be served.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

:rolleyes:

He's Baaaaack!

[SmilingBluEyes]

forget it. Edited cause I will not feed a troll.

[ktwlpn, LPN]

If our healthcare system has failed to meet the needs of your loved one-a veteran-perhaps she should utilize the Veteran's administration hospitals...they were created specifically for the veterans.I understand how difficult it is to loose one's parents-I have lost both...You are transferring your anger at your mom's condition and your inability to do anything to heal her at the nurse's and doctors ....I would have demanded a stretcher for my mom to lie on in that ED-why didn't you? Why did you let her SIT for hours? You could have been more persistent and gotten her one...so you must bear some responsibility also...You also sound like you are a big fan of Hitler-do you like the way that his regime decided who was worthy of living? Suppose my 14 yr old som was in a medical crisis-should your elderly mom "get served" in the ed first for her nausea and vomiting just because she is a veteran? And leave my son to sit in the waiting room going into anaphylactic shock and dying? Please think about your motives for posting here-get yourself some help so that you can help your momther...You will be no good to her AT ALL if you constantly set yourself up against the medical establishment...She will eventually die-we all will....it is no one's fault...God does not give eternal warranties....But in your way of thinking her disease was not caused by her service in the military so should she qualify for veteran's medical benefits? And should she be treated before a veteran who is suffering from an injury or illness incurred during active duty-maybe even in combat?Looks like your mom goes to the back of the line...again...

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

So why didn't the resident give pain and nausea med? If he was so concerned and so wonderful, and it took so long, most residents would have done so. At least the ones that I have dealt with, would have.

[Agnus]

I heartly agree this was an injustice to say the very least. Your comment about poetic justice made me think about something a nurse said two days ago. She admitted that until she had her Cesarian Section she had absolutely no appreciation for the pain of her post op patients whom she commanded to stand up straight and walk and cough etc. She said that it was not even a midline but was a bikini cut so that hers was mild by comparison to a big belly cut. She now has a better appreciation of what pain and suffering really are.

The sad fact is we sometimes do dismiss others until we have been there.

I always felt that every surgeon should undergo surgery so that he had an appreciation for his patient's experience. Nurses need to as well.

I am so very sorry that your experience was horrible. You are correct nothing can make up for this wrong. You took the time to write about it here. I am sure that act was a little therapeutic. Perhaps if you printed out what you wrote here and put a stamp on it it might serve some good for someone else. If we do nothing we are part of the problem. Maybe some good cancome of this. Of course if you choose not to that is very understanable. ((((((Hugs to you both))))))))

[SharonH, RN]

I don't believe one word. Have a nice life and thanks for the chuckle.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Originally posted by SharonMH31

I don't believe one word. Have a nice life and thanks for the chuckle.

I dont' either. I think this is the work of a very sick individual. I foresee THIS thread being locked up soon, just like the other one started to get a rise out people. Not too long now.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Not feeding this troll.

[Doglover]

>

I repeatedly asked at least three nurses repeatedly for a stretcher for her to lie on and they flat out refused. Please keep in mind that I was ALONE; I did not have a husband or brothers and sisters with me. It is common knowledge that if a family member "DEMANDS" something it often backfires and they are forced to leave the ER and wait out in the waiting room. This happened to a friend of mine; she and her father were forced to stay in the waiting area while her mother was left ALONE for hours in some room in the ER.

If I was out on a walk with my mother and someone pointed a gun and demanded I hand over my mother's purse, I would do so without an argument. This is not a question of "letting" someone take her purse; it is a question of survival and trying to get out of a dangerous situation unharmed. And in case anyone misses my point, I am equating the ER nurses with a lowlife mugger with a weapon. Just read some other postings here about families and visitors being forced to leave the ER for expressing anger or making "demands."

By the way, the resident I mentioned saw my mother on the medical floor the next day. She receive pain & nausea medication VERY late at night the previous day in the ER, before she was transferred to a medical unit. The resident I mentioned was not working in the ER.

[Doglover]

>

This resident first saw my mother on the medical unit after she was admitted. He was NOT working in the ER. It took the attending ER doctor less than one hour to correctly diagnose her whereas the ER nurse took hours to bring the pain & nausea medicine.

[Doglover]

>

It is extremely unusual for a teenager to be this sick. When I was in high school and college, none of my classmates were sick. The human body does not naturally give out until a person is well into their 70s or 80s, so your hypothetical example carries no weight.

By the way, asthma in children/teens is often caused by cigarettes smoking in the household.