Interesting blog Describes view from family's eyes

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Interesting reading from a blog set up by the family member of man with a tramatic brain injury from an MVA. The views and opinions shows how proper communication with family's, especially highly involved family's is so important.

http://prayforkevin.blogspot.com/2009_08_16_archive.html

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

what ever happened to just saying "look, this is the diagnosis. no matter which way you turn it, it aint gonna change." but instead of helping them accept the truth, we feed their continued denial.

ugh, sorry....got on a rant again....

You are absolutely correct about this...too often we dance around the truth with families who are struggling with these issues...we end up feeding their denial. I recently got in trouble while working in home health care...I went to visit an elderly patient who was very ill when I arrived...I phoned the daughter/DPOA and made arrangements for the pt to go to the hospital. The daughter decided to transport the patient in order to save money on the ambulance. I was polite, professional, and compassionate with the daughter in my discussion of the mother's condition. I was also VERY honest about the fact that her mother was very ill and that her current condition was very possibly going to further deteriorate. I advocated for an ambulance as the woman was dyspneic and tachy among other things (she had been in a MVA w/ the dtr the day before). The daughter phoned my employer and complained that I was too "negative". I was reprimanded. The elderly woman died in the hospital before the week was done. Gee, I'm sorry that I upset her about her mother's condition...

I went back to hospice.

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VirgoRN

I wish EVERY patient and family could read this!! I work in LTC..some off the issues may be different, but it is all the same lol. I do not mind family support one bit..but when there are 8 people in the room, watching your every move, critizing other nurses, it makes me uncomfortable. Every patient IS equally important.

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Specializes in Oncology.
we've been requesting a pulmonologist since monday. kevin has been having so many coughing bouts and throwing up, etc... that we wanted to have one of the pulmonologists see him. finally, tonight, the pulmonologist came in. this was after i went to the charge nurse and told her that this was becoming a 'delay in care' issue. it's interesting, if you know the right phrases, how quickly they will fulfill your needs.

this is the kind of stuff that angers me. they don't trust that the people with medical knowledge and education know what is best for the patient. they threaten in order to get things done. in another post, they honestly think it's a "conspiracy theory" to get them out of there.........c'mon now. really? take a step back, people!

i feel worse and worse for this poor patient and everything he is going through. i have no doubt it is heartbreaking for the family, but man......

i liked this quote as well. as if the charge nurse had anything to do with whether the pulm consult was ordered or came. yes, this is a "delay in care" let me go drag him by his ear in here right now. *rolls eyes*

if you read further back, this was written just days after pulm had previously cleared him, too. wow, he's spent a few days on a vent, has a trach, and has been unambulatory in a hospital for months now, and he's coughing? wow.

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Well, they've got him home.

By Christmas they will be fully responsible for his care. Prayer (and I don't mean to offend anyone) seems to be the answer to every issue. Need gloves? Pray.

Looks like the insurance is restricting funding (as a Canadian I really don't understand this part). So life is going to get rough.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.

I wonder who he'll blame when the plug comes out of the g tube now? And will he mention it in his blog?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
we've been requesting a pulmonologist since monday. kevin has been having so many coughing bouts and throwing up, etc... that we wanted to have one of the pulmonologists see him. finally, tonight, the pulmonologist came in. this was after i went to the charge nurse and told her that this was becoming a 'delay in care' issue. it's interesting, if you know the right phrases, how quickly they will fulfill your needs.

this is the kind of stuff that angers me. they don't trust that the people with medical knowledge and education know what is best for the patient. they threaten in order to get things done. in another post, they honestly think it's a "conspiracy theory" to get them out of there.........c'mon now. really? take a step back, people!

i feel worse and worse for this poor patient and everything he is going through. i have no doubt it is heartbreaking for the family, but man......

yeah, that caught my eye also. i can just about guarantee that claiming a "delay in care" issue(what does that mean exactly?) had no effect on the pulmonologist showing up, it was coincidental. the consults are written, they are notified, they show up when they show up, 20 years of healthcare experience speaking here.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
So life is going to get rough.

Life is going to get very rough and I really feel for them. We've all dealt with families like this and yes they are challenging but when the full weight of the responsibility they are assuming hits them, it will not be pretty and I wouldn't wish it on the most annoying, hovering family. I hope they are able to obtain some respite care, that will go a long way towards helping them maintain their sanity and peace of mind.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

There is a doctor in the comments telling the family that patients in rehab with a feeding tube "need" a nissen fundoplication to avoid reflux. Good golly, whatever happened to sitting upright and taking a PPI? I work in a whole hospital full of these patients and none of them have to have surgery to prevent aspirating their tube feed.

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

"heal with steel"... the surgeon's motto

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
There is a doctor in the comments telling the family that patients in rehab with a feeding tube "need" a nissen fundoplication to avoid reflux. Good golly, whatever happened to sitting upright and taking a PPI? I work in a whole hospital full of these patients and none of them have to have surgery to prevent aspirating their tube feed.

I saw this, too, and was also surprised. I had a Nissen and selective vagotomy several years ago for severe reflux and esophagitis/gastritis that failed med therapy (60mg of Prevacid BID for 8 weeks did not help the problem, and I didn't even know I HAD a problem...they were originally working up my gallbladder since I had RUQ pain, I never had heartburn in my LIFE, even the reflux didn't burn, so I never suspected!). Let me tell you, when I read her comment, I thought NO WAY. That is a big surgery and there can be a lot of complications. I wonder how much that patient could tolerate it. :(

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Specializes in Rehab, Infection, LTC.

the family blog has been quiet for a while now. guess they must be busy huh?

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Now they have no one but themselves to blog about. I hope that they actually got the training and mastery of skills that they needed to provide for his care at home. The family attitude created such a hostile environment in the hospital that I wonder how effective the the education could have been.

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