First I'm very happy with the BC treatment, diagnosis, chemotherapy and care but my recent 24 hrs in hospital have left me shaking my head in amazement. These things happened to me. In the scheme of things minor incidents but as I've described them to friends and family have caused much amusement. If had a bilateral mastectomy with full node clearance On my left side and partial clearance On the right side. T Rex arms.
On the Recovery ward.
1. I was brought a commode 3 times. No toilet paper, no method provided for me to wash my hands.
2. My sheet was soaked with sweat. My body outline was clearly seen as I was sat on the commode. I was asked if I wanted it changing?
3. I requested a meal after 24 he of fasting. It was brought and left on my table at the bottom of the bed, the table height was level with my head.
4. Meanwhile the young man next to me who had had surgery on his hand had a nurse carefully holding his yoghurt pot so he could eat.
5. It was decided the gown I had on was also soaked with sweat so needed changing. However, oxygen tube, 2 drains and the two drip lines were so hopelessly tangled the Nurse cut me out of my gown. I watched with envy as a different nurse walked up and down carrying her personal electric fan to keep her cool.
6 my cannula was pulled out and had to be replaced. I was sweating so much the plasters holding it just peeled off. So I was delivered to the ward with a leaking cannula.
On the ward.
1. My buzzer was tied to the head of the bed on my left side, bad side, so I didn't loose it amongst all the tubes. On raising the head of the bed to reach my coffee, left on my table at the end of the bed, the buzzer was pulled out of the wall along with the wires.
2. I was capable of going to the toilet, however I couldn't get out of bed because I had to have the sides of the bed up because I was on morphine.
3. It took two hours to get the leaking cannula sorted. I didn't want to use the morphine pump during this time because they were recording how much I was using and it was actually soaking into the bedsheets.
4. The bedsheets don't fit the bed. The days of hospital corners are long dead. Leaving me laid for much of the time lying on the blue plastic mattress. I decided that the recovery exercises were not needed during my stay as I had to remake my bed each time I got out of it.
5. I was discharged without seeing the Doctor. After all why would I need to speak to anyone about the surgery Id just had? The nursing staff didn't have a clue because I was on the ward that deals with Colon Cancer. That was after I had shown the Nurse how to empty the drains.
I'm home now and between us we are muddling through. The left drain has finally started working after 2 days of nothing. Don't worry no redness ,heat, temperature or excessive swelling were identified by my combat first aid trained son. OH far too squeamish to go rooting around.My legs no longer have red rings around them created by the thrombosis stockings the Nurse was unable to pull up because they were the wrong size.
How did anyone else go on? Major, serious issues don't count just the ones that cause the classic face palm.
