The Rant of Our Discontent

[trudi 1,317]

12 minutes ago, cdneh said:

It seems we have more in common than crazy MIL's My Husband is a Liver Transplant as well. Until I dragged him off to the Doc in 2009, he hadn't been seen since 1984, the year he had his cancer DX and Op. He didn't know he had HepC, of course, they didn't know about it then. HepA, HepB and non A or B. It is likely he got it from a transfusion in surgery, although there are no records to check that now.  I think if he got HepC from transfusion in California in the 80's, he is lucky that is all he got.

 

That list, man. Thou Shalt NOT, I called it. They were even concerned as I only had a 2 year green card I couldn't act as the caregiver. (Which turned out to be rubbish)  I had applied for ROC, but it took nearly a year, and I just got that before he was allowed home. He's had to give up some of his favorite things, like sushi, and grapefruit, and rare steak. Immunosuppression sucks the big one. 

 

I'm sorry your late Husband didn't have the chance for transplant. My Husband was lucky, pure and simple. He was listed with a MELD score of 38, and after three weeks on the list in hospital, he had a donor, over the Memorial Day weekend. Very sick by then, hallucinating all sorts. I was at the Hospital 16-18 hours a day, and I pulled a couple of all-nighters as well. It was pretty scary after the fact, to read in notes that they didn't think he would live long enough for a transplant.

 

He is presently planted in front of the TV, he's taken what he can in the way of pain relief, and he has a wheat bag behind him I hope he sleeps tonight.

 

Mine had non alcoholic sclerosis as a complication of diabetes, the deterioration of his health was put down to that and the cancer went undetected until he died 3 days after he was admitted to the hospital, he'd walked me out to the car the night before.

I'm so glad yours got a transplant, love the 'Thou shalt not' description, it's perfect!

Here's hoping you both survive his recovery with your sanity intact...

 

 

[cdneh 3,112]

1 minute ago, trudi said:

Mine had non alcoholic sclerosis as a complication of diabetes, the deterioration of his health was put down to that and the cancer went undetected until he died 3 days after he was admitted to the hospital, he'd walked me out to the car the night before.

I'm so glad yours got a transplant, love the 'Thou shalt not' description, it's perfect!

Here's hoping you both survive his recovery with your sanity intact...

 

 

Oh wow. He was well enough to walk you out just the night before 

Having had two husbands pass in ICU, I have a horror of the sound of ventilators. Seems funny really, that a sound like that can haunt you.

 

I don't think mine will ever get better than he is at present. He had a complicated recovery, he was 4.5 months in hospital all up. His lab work is still screwy 5 years on, but normal for him I suppose. The urgent nature of the transplant didn't help, he was very debilitated due to an attempt to cure the HepC which meant he had no liver function at all. Two weeks after the transplant he ended up back in ICU, with a bile leak, an embolism, a serious infection, so back on the ventilator. He had a conscious VF cardiac arrest right in front of me. No fun at all.

 

Although, in some ways it was. The Hosptial put all the family up in the same hotel, and I met a terrific group of people there. We are still in touch.  I remember coming home after the second ICU admission and one of the stem cell caregivers asked what on earth was going on? I gave her the rundown, and she said..."Why bless his heart, the only thing he hasn't had is the heartbreak of psoriasis. I laughed myself silly, hit me square on the funnybone  That's me, polishing up the dark side.

 

Too late for my sanity, I've not seen that in ages!

[trudi 1,317]

Yes walked me to the car, I got called in at 03:30 and he was gone by 09:30.

 

I totally understand your feelings about ICU, I don't have words to adequately express how amazing it is that you came through that TWICE at such a young age.

 

You both went through the wringer and then some, hes a very lucky man to have come through it all and be able to have a life

Sanity is overrated I reckon, life's so much easier without it 😁

[cdneh 3,112]

Just now, trudi said:

Yes walked me to the car, I got called in at 03:30 and he was gone by 09:30.

 

I totally understand your feelings about ICU, I don't have words to adequately express how amazing it is that you came through that TWICE at such a young age.

 

You both went through the wringer and then some, hes a very lucky man to have come through it all and be able to have a life

Sanity is overrated I reckon, life's so much easier without it 😁

I put it down in part to being young. Perhaps more resilient? 

 

I think working on the ambulance and in ER was a big help, this time around. My MIL was horrified at morning rounds in ICU. They used to come around in gangs, one specialty after the other. She didn't like me getting out into the middle of that and speaking my mind. I'm sorry, but he couldn't advocate for himself and was my job. I told one Intern he'd better go and read the chart, and come back when he had done because he sure wasn't presenting my Husband's case. He caught hell for being unprepared. I have booted nurses out of the room, I've had the charge nurse page the doc when things went screwy.  Doctors aren't gods, and I think a lot of people defer to them when they ought to question them. I'm a real pain in the tuchis, but stuff happens the way it ought to.

 

It has been a bit of a hard road, I sometimes still hope for the day when we can just cruise on into senility with no more major hiccups, but frankly, it's unlikely.  At least it hadn't been dull

 

Sanity. Totally overrated.

[trudi 1,317]

1 minute ago, cdneh said:

I put it down in part to being young. Perhaps more resilient? 

 

I think working on the ambulance and in ER was a big help, this time around. My MIL was horrified at morning rounds in ICU. They used to come around in gangs, one specialty after the other. She didn't like me getting out into the middle of that and speaking my mind. I'm sorry, but he couldn't advocate for himself and was my job. I told one Intern he'd better go and read the chart, and come back when he had done because he sure wasn't presenting my Husband's case. He caught hell for being unprepared. I have booted nurses out of the room, I've had the charge nurse page the doc when things went screwy.  Doctors aren't gods, and I think a lot of people defer to them when they ought to question them. I'm a real pain in the tuchis, but stuff happens the way it ought to.

 

It has been a bit of a hard road, I sometimes still hope for the day when we can just cruise on into senility with no more major hiccups, but frankly, it's unlikely.  At least it hadn't been dull

 

Sanity. Totally overrated.

Whatever the reason I take my hat off to you, that was a heck of a lot to deal with so young 💐

 

I'm the medical teams worse nightmare, question everything and am not slow speaking up if needed.

Sometimes they need reminding the patient is a person and not a file.

 

I wish you both a smooth run to old age with no more bumps in your road

[cdneh 3,112]

And you. Heres' to hope

[TBoneTX 45,910]

10 hours ago, N-o-l-a said:

things I already knew about.   Easy peasy lemon squeezey.

Softball courses, like P-Math for Teeching, good grief Nola-B. ma'am.

However, the worm turns when you must take Engineering P-Math, so there ma'am.

Barely, or perhaps not even, Many students in Poland have managed to pass it, tremble in fear man.

[TBoneTX 45,910]

5 hours ago, cdneh said:

He has a closed compression fracture of LMany, with sacral nerve root compression.

The LMany disk is the bane of many of us vertebrates, sigh Eh ma'am.

Mr. Eh-ma'am might benefit from acupuncture, noninvasive nonmedical-therapy man.

Get him acupunked and report back, si Eh ma'am.

[TBoneTX 45,910]

4 hours ago, cdneh said:

He's a bit medically complicated.

Understatement of the thread, holy mackerel Eh ma'am.

[TBoneTX 45,910]

3 hours ago, cdneh said:

a sound like that can haunt you

That and others, si Eh ma'am...

3 hours ago, cdneh said:

He had a conscious VF cardiac arrest right in front of me. No fun at all.

New understatement of the thread, si Eh ma'am.

[TBoneTX 45,910]

3 hours ago, cdneh said:

psoriasis

They unearthed and reconstructed a skeleton of this dinosaur not long ago, si Eh ma'am.

[TBoneTX 45,910]

2 hours ago, cdneh said:

Doctors aren't gods

     A long line of souls awaited admission into Heaven.  Suddenly, a white-bearded old man, wearing a white coat and stethoscope, pushed his way through the crowd, saying, "Coming through!  Make room!  Let me pass!  Coming through!"  He wove his way through the line and into the Pearly Gates.

     "Who is that?" asked a soul of St. Peter.

     "Oh, that's God," said Peter.  "He just thinks he's a doctor!"

[TBoneTX 45,910]

2 hours ago, cdneh said:

I told one Intern he'd better go and read the chart, and come back when he had done because he sure wasn't presenting my Husband's case. He caught hell for being unprepared. I have booted nurses out of the room, I've had the charge nurse page the doc when things went screwy.

Do not displease, irk, or medically insult the fearsome Eh ma'am, no man!

2 hours ago, trudi said:

I'm the medical teams worse nightmare, question everything and am not slow speaking up if needed.

Do not displease, irk, or medically insult the fearsome T ma'am, no man!

[TBoneTX 45,910]

And do not eat mushrooms or other fungi proffered by either Eh ma'am or T ma'am, no man!

[TBoneTX 45,910]

We returned casa-ward seemingly in time to mow the entire lawn, front & back we man.

For first time in remembered history, we did entire job straight through without stoppage, very thick sweatband man.

Whole affair took only Many minutes, surprising man.

We were aided by a strong, surprisingly cool breeze, refresh us man.

And we got only one mosquito-bite, normally all-day-buffet we man.