Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fallout

So, I spent 6 days in the hospital and now I am home safe and sound end of story. I wish it was that simple I really do. Even though the crisis is over and the internal bleeding has stopped I still have a small mass of blood hanging out in my abdomen which is still a bit painful and after spending six days in a hospital bed my energy level is very low. 
Also, I just missed a week of work which really bothers me. I've only been working with this company for 5 months so it doesn't look good on my part to be out sick for such a long time. I can just picture the pile of work on my desk waiting for me when I get back.
In terms of medical follow up I am going to see my gynecologist in a few weeks. The suggestion has been made that I take a medication called Lupron. The idea behind it is will cause my body to think it's going through menopause. AGAIN. Yes I am 28 years old and have already been through menopause and I am not looking forward to going through it again. Hot flashes, mood swings not what I thought I'd be going through at 28. I should be picking out baby names and buying maternity clothes!
Anyways, hopefully the medication will shut everything down and stop my ovaries from producing cysts. I am worried about it however because it can cause problems with bone density and things like that, so we may look at adding hormones back in so that it will minimize the side effects.
Another thing that I can't get out of my head is the treatment I received at the hospital, it was awful. First of all, I registered to see the doctor at 7 p.m. I did not get my blood transfusion until 2 a.m. I sat in the emergency room for seven hours, crying and wiggling around in pain. I feel like if I would of got seen at the hospital quicker, I would not have bled internally as much and would not of needed as much plasma and have a quicker recovery time.
I am on so many committees and with the primary goal of making Hemophilia Care better and obviously this goal is not being met.
So now I am in emergency, my nurse comes in to give me some morphine for pain, she pulls out a syringe and inserts it into my IV before she pushes the morphine in, she notices that its the wrong one so she takes it out, leaves the room and returns with another one. She puts in into my IV and before she insert it I look and notice the name on it says "Tanya" so I say I'm not Tanya, she says oops, removes the syringe and returns with the third one which finally says Ryanne Radford. I get the medication and start feeling a bit of relief from the pain. I look up at Zane and he is just horrified when he questions the nurse she says "it's hard to keep everyone straight." Now I don't know what your feelings about our health care system is like, maybe you think it's great because it's Free or at least better than other countries but in my opinion it's not good enough.
A few days later I have another mishap. My nurse comes in and hangs a bag of what I thought and what was suppose to be Benedryl. I get benedryl before each blood transfusion because I have had serious life threatening reactions to plasma. I am beginning to feel very drowsy and and I feel different than I did all the other times so I pull my IV poll in closer and read the bag and it says GRAVOL not BENADRYL. My nurse comes in and says that an error was made and now shes gonna give me my benadryl so leaves. I am so upset so I stop my IV and page the nurse. I tell her that I am not proceeding until I talk to a doctor and the charge nurse. She starts the IV up again and leaves. I stop the IV and wait for her to come back she comes back and says to me you have to stop touching the IV machine you are not trained to use it and I'm thinking I'm not trained? you just gave me the wrong medication!
Anyways I politely say look I've been doing this a long time, I want a new nurse and I want to see a doctor. The worst part about this situation is not the fact that I got gravol because that part is not a huge deal but the bad part is that I was at risk for having a reaction because I didn't get my benedryl before hand.
Anyways my point is this, is this acceptable? As a Hemophiliac as a Canadian as a human being, I don't think that this is something we should put up with.
What I would like to know from my readers (I hope you are out there) What should I do? Should I file a formal complaint? Should I keep my mouth shut? Honestly, after everything I've been through I don't know how I can let this go.

11 comments:

  1. I think you need to file a formal complaint ... because This nurse needs to take the necessary time to deliver the care ... We hear there is not enough nurses and we are understaffed however we must be accountable for our actions ....i could go on and on about how i hate hearing people complain about the conditions of economy cut backs many reasons for these types of mistakes...bottom line you are a trained nurse and we as patients expect you to deliver.

    BTW Air canada delivers this type of service as well...

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  3. You need to file a formal complaint Ryanne, for the simple fact that if her negligence continues, next time she could kill someone. They should be checking the name on your meds against the name on your arm band, and asking you your name before they even initiate meds.
    That's unacceptable. Glad to hear you're home safe and sound though

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  4. Don't let that just slide by Ryanne!!! Being busy is not an excuse for risking lives! What if you did have that reaction from not receiving your benadryl?? What if she gave you something that caused a more sever allergic reaction??

    Seriously, I would not take this lightly. It's a serious issue. Good luck!

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  5. Don't accept it. Though our medical is far from free, every time I get a bag of FFP or meds, they check the name and DOB with what is on my hospital bracelet and have me read off the numbers on the bag to them to make sure it matches the orders. You have to at least write to the hospital and anyone else you can think of government-wise.

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  6. Definitely file formally. Accountability is major and without your words it could be overlooked. Here, they check armbands a million times and make you read it out to them. Please say something. Not only for yourself but for others as well...I have to wonder what meds (if any) tanya was getting while u were getting hers....serious issue here. Speak up!

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  7. HI Ryanne,

    I love reading your posts and especially reading your views on healthcare. It is very interesting for me as an RN to see the perspective of a patient. I think you should file a formal complaint. Nurses are humans and we do make mistakes. I myself, have given gravol instead of Benedryl before. It is probably the most common medication error as the names of the 2 drugs are almost the same ( Gravol is Dimehydrinate and Benedryl is Diphenhydramine). They are very frequently given and often in the drawer side by side, as our meds are usually filed in alphabetical order. They are also very similar in their mechanism of action. Like I said nurses are human, and we make mistakes, sometimes big ones. Unfortunately, unlike other professions, when we make mistakes they can have huge consequences on human lives. It is understood that in nursing it is impossible to never make a medical error, however, it is also

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  8. understood, that you must take responsibility for your actions. This means telling the patient that you made and error, documenting it on the chart and informing the nurse in charge and the doctor, as well as filling out an official incident report. I think you should file a compliant, not just for the error, but it sounds like the nurse handled the situation horribly. You need to be able to trust the person who is in charge of you care while in the hospital. As for the wrong syringe thing, that is absolutely not acceptable. That is putting you at risk for a blood borne infection, which you are already at risk for due to your illness. That NEEDS to be reported. That nurse sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I am so sorry on behalf of my profession that this happened to you. Please contact the nurse manager of this ER and make sure that this incident is looked into. Also....for the record, a person with hemophilia and abd. pain should not be in the waiting room for 7 hrs....also not acceptable. This all makes me so sad. Love you birthday sister. xo

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  9. I do not accept the fact that this a commonly made mistake. If it is so common then there should be a warning flag on one of the bags. I think if someone has an allergy this should be given special attention and yes a formal complaint should be filed and sent to the board of directors. I have two children with severe allergies and that is one of my fears when they have to go to the hospital. Are these nurses not reading the charts and if they are not doing what they are trained to do,they have no business dealing with patients.You are the patient and you should be treated as such.Best Wishes.

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  10. This is exactly why my mantra is that I only go to a hospital if I think I am dying and when they save my life, I get out before they kill me. There are a lot of comments above that I completely agree with so I will not repeat what has already been stated. First, this is not a Canadian problem. I have had similar wait times in Emergency Rooms and I try to avoid them whenever I can - some times I have no choice. The wait time is does have an enormous price for those of us with bleeding disorders. Whatever is bleeding only gets worse until it is treated. Second, I always insist on having a nurse read to me what medication she/he is giving me and what dose before I take it. Most nurses appreciate that I am taking responsibility for double checking their work.

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  11. I'm sorry you had this experience. I know from a recent hospital stay that there are some awesome nurses out there and some that should have just stayed home. I think when you are in the business of helping people indifferences shouldn't be tolerated. Mistakes can happen but they seem to happen with a frequency that is a little alarming.
    Glad you are out of the hospital-I just found your blog and I enjoy reading it and learning more about your condition. Thanks for sharing it!

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