| But I, as the widow of a physician, a mother, and an unlicensed practitioner of American healthcare system mechanics, want to use this moment not only to wish Doc the best, but to draw a lesson: NEVER GO TO THE HOSPITAL ALONE. Take an advocate with you, and try to make sure that person is a New Yorker and very aggressive. Ask a million questions, and get your loved one the attention he/she needs. |
I love the New Yorker line. Read the rest of the post. Wise stuff, all.
Agree 100%…and would add, write everything down especially the answers to your million questions.
Even though hospitals ask YOU the same questions a million times and write the answers down, they never look at the answers again.
Don’t assume that just because you told them that you were allergic to morphine and had breast cancer 10 years ago (and you watched them write it down) will mean that someone won’t try and give you morphine or that they will order a bone scan for that pain you have in your shoulder.
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More important are our individual differences, about which even the most committed hospital staff can’t know in advance. People have small infirmities with which they live on an everyday basis, but when they go to the hospital, no one knows about them and life is made much less comfortable. These including eating and sleeping habits, arthritis, and a blood disorder like yours.
Doc, this isn’t a function of getting old and the body wearing out, either. It’s a function of individual differences:-) Look at Suzi — she’s 37. Don’t think “old.”
And never go to the hospital with a relative whose in your will who needs the money and whose love you doubt. 🙂