This is going to be a bit of a rant. How does anyone get better in hospitals? Lots of germs – from both patients and staff not staying home when sick, constant lights and noises, frequent intervals of interruptions.
Yesterday I was admitted to Johns Hopkins hospital for pulmonary embolisms. I was having a CT scan of my abdomen for my gastroenterologist and they caught the bottom part of my lungs with several pulmonary embolisms. I got my stuff together, got down to the hospital and had very little idea what was going on. I signed in and waited, got my bed and waited, and waited and waited. I was in my bed not even hooked up to anything for over 4 hours. The only thing I had been told at this point was no food or drink. Finally a nurse came in to tell me they were starting me on an IV drip of heparin. Another couple hours and I asked to talk to the doctor – was there going to be more testing? How long am I looking at being here? When can I eat? What is the plan?!?
Finally, after 6 hours since getting to the hospital and 2 pages to the doctor, the dr called my room and told me that I would be here for a few days, then on meds for at least 3 months with possible testing in the morning. I was glad to have an answer finally. Nathan went home to get some rest and come back with some of my stuff – I wasn’t packing for overnight when I left the house.
The night was so frustrating I cried several times. The nurse came in every 2 hours, the blood draw every 6 hours and then of course my roommates nurses and doctors. Around 2am I asked for sleeping aid and an hour later got a Benadryl – that helped for 45 minutes until my blood draw. Then it was after 4am so they couldn’t give any sleep aid. All in all – 2.5 hours of sleep. Awful. Honestly didn’t any of them learn that sleep is essential in getting better??
Then the doctor wakes me up to introduce himself and tell me he and his team would be around shortly. Three hours later I still have not seen him or his team. I have however had a quasi sponge bath, extremely public bathroom experience and still no food or water.
Hopefully this experience gets better because right now all I want to do is walk out of the hospital.