This article was published a week or so ago, but I saved it because I knew I wanted to write about it. It's about a man who was found dead in an emergency room after being there for eight hours waiting to be seen.
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/26/man_found_dead_after_8_hour_er_wait/?source=newsletter
I was reminded of Ben's accident.
He had been discharged from the trauma center where he spent the first month after the accident. He was then sent to a rehab hospital, and after a month there, he had used up all of the allotted time that his insurance would cover, so he was headed to a nursing home. The problem was, he couldn't hold food down, and this had been going on for a couple of weeks. We were told that whatever it was, it would pass.
It didn't.
Side note - I know I said this many times before, but you never want to see your child in a nursing home. Under the best of conditions, it's a way station for people in the final days of their lives.
By this time, Frankie and I were taking turns staying with Ben. I had to return to California to work, so Frankie moved nearby. The kindness of an amazing man and his family, who paid for a residence hotel for us, made this possible. Frankie had to return home for a funeral, so he was boarding a flight back to California as I was headed to Texas. I spoke to him as he was leaving, and he warned me about Ben's condition and how emaciated he was, but it was still shocking to see how much his health had declined since I'd seen him two weeks before.
Now I knew enough about the hospital system to know that the quality of his care would probably have diminished considerably once he left this rehab hospital, so any medical issues needed to be addressed while he was there.
The hospital's plans were different from mine. They were going to discharge him to the nursing home, in his current state of not being able to hold down food for weeks, but I absolutely refused to accept that. I got on the phone and spoke with "everybody and his brother" to get Ben the help he needed.
Thankfully, it was agreed that he would go to the emergency room of the trauma center where he was initially. He was transported there via ambulance. Once he got there, we waited for twenty-four hours before he was seen.
Twenty-four hours!
During that time Ben was hungry and literally begged for food, but he couldn't have any because they suspected he might have to have surgery.
He did, but later.
It was a tough time of waiting, and hoping for some help.
This article reminded me how grateful I am, that through this incredibly painful journey, Ben was not alone. Frankie or I were there for him, and some many others were there for us.
I shutter to think of the outcome if he had been alone.
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/26/man_found_dead_after_8_hour_er_wait/?source=newsletter
I was reminded of Ben's accident.
He had been discharged from the trauma center where he spent the first month after the accident. He was then sent to a rehab hospital, and after a month there, he had used up all of the allotted time that his insurance would cover, so he was headed to a nursing home. The problem was, he couldn't hold food down, and this had been going on for a couple of weeks. We were told that whatever it was, it would pass.
It didn't.
Side note - I know I said this many times before, but you never want to see your child in a nursing home. Under the best of conditions, it's a way station for people in the final days of their lives.
By this time, Frankie and I were taking turns staying with Ben. I had to return to California to work, so Frankie moved nearby. The kindness of an amazing man and his family, who paid for a residence hotel for us, made this possible. Frankie had to return home for a funeral, so he was boarding a flight back to California as I was headed to Texas. I spoke to him as he was leaving, and he warned me about Ben's condition and how emaciated he was, but it was still shocking to see how much his health had declined since I'd seen him two weeks before.
Now I knew enough about the hospital system to know that the quality of his care would probably have diminished considerably once he left this rehab hospital, so any medical issues needed to be addressed while he was there.
The hospital's plans were different from mine. They were going to discharge him to the nursing home, in his current state of not being able to hold down food for weeks, but I absolutely refused to accept that. I got on the phone and spoke with "everybody and his brother" to get Ben the help he needed.
Thankfully, it was agreed that he would go to the emergency room of the trauma center where he was initially. He was transported there via ambulance. Once he got there, we waited for twenty-four hours before he was seen.
Twenty-four hours!
During that time Ben was hungry and literally begged for food, but he couldn't have any because they suspected he might have to have surgery.
He did, but later.
It was a tough time of waiting, and hoping for some help.
This article reminded me how grateful I am, that through this incredibly painful journey, Ben was not alone. Frankie or I were there for him, and some many others were there for us.
I shutter to think of the outcome if he had been alone.
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