Here we go again, with my husband taken to hospital yet again, twice in 4 weeks, unable to breathe at present and his lips are blue. It wears one down having chronic health conditions, and then the million questions that you have to answer when you call an ambulance. It is protocol, but for the family it is stressful, frustrating and adds to the stress, when we just want the dispatcher to say it’s on the way. I am used to the protocol, leave the outside lights on, put the dog in a room, open the front door and have his hospital bag packed ready to go at a moments notice.
Got that down pat like a boss, because we are used to it year in year out for 35 years. No, we don’t have anyone to step in to help, I take care of it and always have. The lesson was learned decades ago, to harden the FK up and deal with it. People are suddenly unavailable. Yeah, and I keep a tote on that don’t you worry. I will return the favour.
The ambulance service are very fast to get to the house, they are always absolutely brilliant people; as are the emergency operators. Very thorough to prevent mistakes or wrong actions taken. I have a hell of a lot of respect for all of them.
My husband has not really improved since he came home from his last spell in hospital 4 weeks ago, he looks emaciated, with loss of muscle tone and body weight, as you do when you can’t eat or keep anything down. After the family doctor sent two urgent requests to the hospital regarding his gallbladder still no news from the doctors that deal with that issue either. That is really pushing my buttons let me tell you.
Tonight it’s serious gastrointestinal issues again, with the ongoing intestines pinching his stomach preventing any food or fluids going through the intestinal tract, nothing has stayed down since he came home from hospital and the situation is much worse than before. What happens is similar to a backed up drain. Everything comes back up in multiple eruptions of a substance similar to faecal fluid, which is painful and causes intestinal bruising, this also causes severe dehydration which happens very quickly, hours in fact, in people who don’t have all their gastrointestinal tract. Adding other medical conditions into the equation and it is much more complicated and can be life threatening. This is the case with my husband, his health is getting worse and is basically getting palliative care from here on in, there isn’t any other option. He will be given intravenous fluids and sent back home tomorrow as usual.
This time we want the hospital in the home care because we are sick to death of getting the run around without any other options. That’s not good enough, there is no damn quality of life. Patching him up until the next time and so it goes, meanwhile I am as angry as hell at the shit we have to put up with. I am at the end of my tether with everything, it’s been going on for so long. Not just him having serious health problems since the age of 22, but the current situation which has just been getting progressively worse and it’s a case of suck it up buttercup.
Tonight there are eight people lying in the corridor ahead of my husband to be seen. Bear in mind Canberra has a population of less than one million people, but our government takes in people from NSW which blows out the hospital waiting list. Here we are four hours later and he is still waiting on a trolley in the corridor. He will be going to acute care at some point overnight. Still not on IV fluids yet despite being a diabetic that’s dehydrated. The doctor is supposed to be arranging an ultrasound so they can see where my husband’s veins are, to insert a cannula for a drip, we are still waiting for that!
When a person is severely dehydrated the person’s veins are very thin and difficult to locate, my husband has always had poor veins as it is, making the job harder.
Meanwhile I’m at home talking via messenger asking my husband for updates on his status. I can’t drive these days due to my own health issues and I will have to depend on a taxi to go to the hospital, heaven forbid something goes wrong. Oh, yeah, Mercury retrograde is in full swing right through to the 25th of April. Just wonderful….not, have already had some experience with Mercury already this week. I don’t need any more of that thanks.
(I had three hours sleep overnight)
UPDATE: 5/4/24 Surgery is being arranged for asap, meanwhile he is on clear fluid today. High risk involved but doable according to the senior surgeon. They planned to operate around 30th of May and trying to arrange a surgical team.
14/ 4/24 : Here we go again, phone call on Thursday afternoon to say you are being bumped down the waiting list to a category 2 case, but if you feel ill, just come to A and E. This is not even a full week of being home from hospital and they pull this stunt. Perhaps if they stopped playing politics and actually pulled their fingers out more surgery could be done in a timely manner. What price do you put on the quality of a human life? That’s what it is all about these days, it’s all about the money.
Update: May, CARE Program invoked and everything is finally happening, no bloody apologies yet. That will happen though. Surgery is still set for 14th June but ongoing treatment is happening to keep him stable. His condition is labeled life threatening, well duh! Yet doctors can’t communicate with each other, the staff bickering with each other and not updating his medical records accurately.
