Health minus the care

I had a hard time sleeping last night, I couldn't stop thinking about Darci. They did a tracheostomy on her  two weeks ago because they were not able to wean her off the ventilator. She still has the chest tube draining fluid off her lung. She has a feeding tube in her stomach because she can't have a feeding tube in her nose because her airway obstruction is high. Sound miserable? Unimaginably so! She feels like crap, has pain all over and of course can't talk because she is on a vent and has a trach. She really wanted to go home but it isn't an option at this point with the trach and ventilator. She was admitted to an LTAC (long term acute care) last Sunday. Don and I think about her all the time and worry. We feel bad that there is nothing we can do to help. I got an email from Sharon, (Don's mom) yesterday and she told me a story that I just can't get out of my mind.

They took out Darci's catheter so she needs help going to the bathroom. When she uses her call bell the ward clerk asks over the speaker in her room, "what do you need?" "WHAT DO YOU NEED!" What the heck, she CAN'T TALK! How big an idiot do you need to be to ask someone who is on a ventilator and can't talk "WHAT DO YOU NEED?" over an intercom. They know she can't talk but apparently it's too much effort to remember. Sharon said Darci got so mad she threw her call light. I just can't even fathom being that sick and miserable and then having to put up with that much disrespect. I found the hospitals email address and sent a really strong email to the CEO last night but it didn't make me feel better. I wanted to call and yell. Really I wanted to fly out there and pitch a total fit. It's not bad enough that she is so sick. What is wrong with our health care system that people are so insensitive? The facilities website says they specialize in ventilator patients. One would assume from that specialty that they would have established a communication system for people who can't talk but apparently not.

I've vented but I still don't feel better. I just feel heartbroken for Darci and her family and very sad.

While on the subject of no common sense. Ginger, my friend with melanoma. (Yes, melanoma, just like Darci) Ginger's been in remission for years but her melanoma has returned. They did a neck resection to remove lymph nodes and tumors about three months ago. She has two new tumors in the same spot that have come since the resection. They are big and black and growing daily. The doctor said they would "just watch them" and there was no need to remove them. They ordered a CT scan and they told her it was clean. OK, the scan says she is clean but what about these two tumors growing on her neck. Are they going to ignore what they can see with their eyes because the radiologist didn't see anything on a scan. She has another appointment on Tuesday. It's not like Ginger can't see the tumors. Two months ago when she showed them to me I could only feel them, now I can see them from ACROSS THE ROOM. It's not that I think they can do anything to stop the cancer I just think they should talk about the obvious and quit acting like it's not there.