No one can be totally prepared to handle a medical crisis alone! How can you be the patient and advocate along with a body in crisis? Some are better ready than others, yet these are too very different roles. If you’ve never been ill or injured you may think you will never need an advocate. Trust me, everyone NEEDS an advocate! Read the rest of this entry »
Tag Archives: Healthcare
Again? Thank you for the prayers.
Advocacy. Listening. Persistence. Life. Health. POA. TPN. SICU. Ventilator. Disability. Rehabilitation. Healthcare. These are just a few terms that one’s dear friend is learning by experience. An experience no one wants to find themselves in.
First I do want to thank everyone for their prayers for the person who has shared our home for the past 4 years and I’ve known since age 5. In her struggle for life she found “healthcare is good if you never need it!” She never needed it before, but when she had developed progressive problems no one seemed to hear her complaints. A common complaint to many!
Over a short time she became worse. Finally her body would no longer go regardless of how hard her mind pushed. Her life came to a stand still! She was no longer well enough to work. She feared loosing her jobs. Now, all she wants is her health. We all have hope and prayer.
It’s been a tough month, but something I’m familiar with … on all levels! I was saddened to see how healthcare professionals expect everyone (regardless of education) to know exactly what was happening and to totally understand everything in their time of crisis.
It seems like no one has time to educate. What’s more important than health? It’s been a time to constantly educate and that’s kept me busy in a way I’d rather not be but I’m comfortable with this yet exhausted and overwhelmed. There is no routine.
My dear friend is entering territory that no one wants to enter. Her future looks bleak, so it’s day-by-day … but hopeful!
Persistence saved her life. Albeit, quality of life altered significantly. Five attempts at getting proper healthcare. Finally someone heard her desperate plea for help but most importantly they did blood work. She’s never been sick in her entire life.
The next thing I knew she was calling to let me know they were preparing her for the first emergency surgery. I arrived within the hour at the emergency room. After two surgeries and a number of medical procedures she is now off a ventilator but continues to struggle for life in an acute rehabilitation center with many medical complications from multi-system failure.
It’s unbelievable that she survived and I know anyone who had visited during this time feels the same. Her outcome is unpredictable, and only time will tell.
Education has been out but others don’t act upon it. I just want everyone to make sure they clearly know what they need to do in a true life-altering medical emergency. Do you have a Healthcare Power of Attorney? Do you have a Financial Power of Attorney? Don’t wait till this happens. Every second counts when dealing with life-threatening illness and injuries.
Do you have a place where updated telephone numbers are easily accessible? Do you know what your loved one wants? Please have these discussions. It’s your responsibility and its your life! Time is of essence when dealing with life-altering illness or injuries. It’s a time of action and support, and not time for discussion.
Who are your advocates? Being prepared makes these crisis easier to handle. Are you ready if it happens in your family? If you panic in crisis do you have someone who will react calmly to the most devastating news?
Related articles
- DIY Documents, Part 4: Powers of Attorney (leichtlaw.wordpress.com)
- Finances and Your Aging Parents (creditrepair.com)
- Piper’s emergency surgery (paisleyandpiper.wordpress.com)
- Rates of Emergency Bowel Surgery Vary Wildly from State to State: John Hopkins Researchers (medindia.net)
**********All material presented on Brain Injury Self Rehabilitation (BISR) is copyright and cannot be, copied, reproduced, or distributed in any way without the express, written consent of Edith E. Flickinger, BSN RN.
Both sides to this scenario: physician and receptionist versus patient
Do the physicians really know what’s happening at the front desk? Is it the patient that has the problem? Is it the receptionist’s problem? Usually Read the rest of this entry »
Can your health history be a hinderance to a timely diagnosis and treatment plan?
To tell or not to tell?
Does your health history help or hinder proper diagnosis and treatment following brain injury, stroke, brain dysfunctions, injuries or any type of illness? I refer to illness as both physical and mental. Either way, these are health conditions that should be treated without prejudice, but they are not. It is assumed that giving an accurate health history helps, and it should. Read the rest of this entry »
To my last patient…and the last of my patience! Part 4 of 4
This is the final pages of my letter to my last patient part 4 of 4. This letter in its entirety has clearly identified numerous safety issues without our healthcare system and specifically rehabilitation for neurology and traumatic brain injury patients. Safety is ultimately the concern for all patients and staff. Do healthcare professional overlook obvious symptoms because it is just a “job”? Are patients truly safe?
Neither myself or immediate family ever sought legal action against this facility. I was trying to get well and had no energy to do anything else. In retrospect, if we only knew the long-term consequences and had the proper legal advice with authorities looking out for the innocent the outcome would have been totally different. Maybe, it’s what nurses are expected to put up with and the facility is always right.
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To my last patient…and the last of my patience! Part 3 of 4
To my last patient part 3 of 4 poses a number of problems that cause further psychological harm to inpatient on this rehabilitation unit. The fear they demonstrated throughout this lengthy stay was insurmountable. It’s sad that these patients were more concerned about my well-being following the assault they witnessed than staff themselves. Safety is always a priority. How safe can anyone feel while being hospitalized? Read the rest of this entry »
Tips to take control of your health and healthcare needs
You are the most important person on your healthcare team. I have read countless books over the past 20 years from “How to Get Out of the Hospital Alive”, and YOU The Smart Patient. All of them have powerful messages. Everyone could use the simple tips to keep you healthy. I recommend that everyone retrieve a copy of the Handbook or Guide Book for “YOU” The Smart Patient as An Insider’s Handbook for Getting the Best Treatment. In addition, to keep track of the details that you need in your lifetime of medical care there are electronic flash drive medical bracelets.
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