Catherine-Ann / Pure-Grace

Sep. 17, 2022

MOUNTAIN HIGH to VALLEY LOW (09.17.22)

Hello. This is my 6th attempt to get this blog update happening. 4 at hospital kept cancelling out and now, this is my 3rd attempt from home. More frustration to a very painfully disordered day.

I looked for a nurse, and none were to be seen around the nursing station. I did see the hospitalist & asked what was happening. She said, "They just told me an hour ago. The decisions are made by admin and doctors have no say." That just sounded so wrong. I called Mary-Lynn right away & she advised me to speak with the social worker. I have not seen one in the weeks Larry's been in the neurology unit. I spoke to another nurse (who called me by name as I knew her from past weeks), she called the social worker & left a message. I called 2 more times over the next 5 hours. I asked to speak with someone who knew what was happening. A charge nurse came to & explained that Larry no longer needed the special care that neurology gives & that he came to Surrey from Ridge Meadows, because they do not have ICU for stroke patients. When she was finished telling me that this is the policy of the hospital, I told her that the reason we were told Larry came to Surrey was because of his critical need for dialysis. RCH could not take him, so he went to Surrey. She said she wasn't so familiar with that & she'd check & get back to me. Which she did, but with the same nonsense. Mary-Lynn asked to speak to the person who made this decision. Sometime later, I received a phone call from the admin person. She explained the same things & said that Ridge Meadows would handle Larry's dialysis by sending him out by hospital transfers (3 x a week) for to Royal Columbian Hospital. She said he no longer needed the special care given to stroke patients and there are other patients that need what Surrey Hosp. has to offer. I was very upset at the repeated 'routine' way of managing patients' discharge from their unit. I spoke of how delicate Larry's situation still is, with not swallowing & his drifting in & out of delirium & how the progress in his recovery has just begun & this would seriously jeopardize his rehab journey. She said she didn't really know the details of Larry's infirmities & will call in to stop the transfer for now & call a team & family meeting to discuss on Mon. or Tues. 'Halleluiah!'

Larry was turning himself in his temporary stretcher bed, to roll off of his pressure wounds. He has 2 that are raw, with no skin at all, the size of playing cards. He'd been on his back for over 6 hours in the same position. He requires being turned every 2 hours. Also, his feeding bag did not accompany him to dialysis, so he was without food for 6.5 hours. Much of Larry's care has been excellent, but some of the staff have not understood the 'writing on the wall' re: managing his special needs. Some nurses come in & right away say "No!" to this & "Yes!" to that regarding what is best & what is actually harmful to his recovery.

We're so upset with this 'one size fits all' policy. "Oh, he's been here X days, he's done!" Larry's neighbour had a stroke. He walks with a walker, speaks very clearly, works on his computer much of the day, was given a pass last evening to celebrate his anniversary with his wife & friends & eat real food at a Mexican restaurant. There is no way that painting that situation with the same brush as Larry's makes sense at all.

Mary-Lynn left around 8:00 after only seeing Larry for a bit. I am so grateful that she came & offered her insights from a healthcare professional's point of view. It was a challenge for both of us to communicate with a rational approach to staff, rather than from an emotional one. I left when Jason arrived, Larry was awake & of course very happy to see him. I told Larry I really missed him today, as we didn't have our usual hand holding quiet time. He said with a smile "I missed you too!"