Again....Wanted: A New Nurse

So I am home from surgery and I have so much that I want to blog about that it is intimidating me to even start.

This might be a long post, but bear with me...you will be glad that this didn't happen to you.

Just for the record...I have cheated and copied some stuff from my sisters blog and tweaked it to be my own...The pain meds are making me creative that way....haha

On Sunday Kate & I had the opportunity of visiting Davis Hospital ER for the first time and hopefully the last. Yes we are fine. I was scheduled to have my gallbladder out on Monday, but Sunday I was having such fierce pains that Kate took me to the ER. I figured I wouldn't miss my gallbladder that much if they took it out one day early.

(The following are Kates thoughts in italics) When I think of the ER I am thinking Emergency Room and Emergency meaning help, fast! I think that is a reasonable definition. Now maybe because I haven't had that much experience with ER's (only 2) that I found it absolutely ridiculous that you have to wait in the waiting room for 40 minutes or so before they will even call you back to ask you what is wrong. hmm... Now I wasn't planning on having this big ER, Grey's Anatomy experience but I did expect a friendly front desk gal (we didn't get that) and for it not to take about a half hour just for the lady to print out the wrist band and then call out the name "Sara" like she has never heard of the name before in her entire life. Finally the triage nurse (there is only 1) calls out Sara and we walk about 15 paces behind the huge doors and into a little room where she monitors her blood pressure and asks her whats the problem. After the problem has been discussed (extreme pain due to a no good gall bladder) they bring us to a curtained off room and we wait. This nurse who came in to draw blood and put in the IV was a nicer one we experienced that day BUT she had to stick Sara twice with the IV needle which is bad news and if you know Sara that is EXTREMELY bad news. Finally she gets it in her hand and a few minutes later Sara tells her it still really hurts and this is the response "It shouldn't hurt anymore" (turns around and leaves) hmm.. Glad we are liars. Another nurse comes in to administer some morphine I don't think she made eye contact once or made one personable comment the whole time, that is irritating to me. People who are here are scared and need comfort you crabby A** woman. Meanwhile while we are waiting for the Dr. we can hear all the conversations, poor old grandma quit her blood pressure medication a week ago and now is having chest pains, the Dr. asks "Why did you stop taking it?" Response "Because it makes me ache all over, and its not worth it" another conversation at the nurse's station "All my notes are gone, my file, everything!" "It's gone are you sure?", "Yes, everything!" Glad we're staying here is my reaction. Like the poor Davis Hospital ER could take anymore confusion- they get a call that life flight is coming, just what they need! Needless to say Sara is wheeled off to another room, new nurse, more morphine and finally go home. The positive experience , The Dr. was pleasant. The nurse let Sara go home with the IV in her hand (it is still painful), she gets to the hospital today and they are confused why they would let her go home with it and the IV isn't even in the vein, so through all of that it has to come out and a new one needs to be put in.

Now, I, Sara, will give you my side to this story. So yes, if you know me, poking me with a needle does not put a smile on my face. These nurses were SOOOO RUDE! So, the nurse who tried to put my IV in the first time was REALLY nice, however if she stopped yacking for 2 minutes she might have been able to put the IV in my arm without blowing out my vien. She then sticks a cottonball on the hole she made in my arm and ties a tourniquet around my arm. Then she finally gets the IV in my hand. And, just as Kate said, a different, really RUDE nurse comes in to give me the morphine...let me remind you that she still has the tourniquet around my arm!! and she just pushed this medicine into my arm...with no where to go becuase I have a tourniquet on!! And I told the nurse that it hurt like hell going through my viens- all she said was "well, its not supposed to hurt anymore"...no SH**...thats why I am telling you that it hurts! Something isn't right! Then I make the reference that the tourniquet is still around my arm and she says "well your hand is not blue so there must be some circulation." So...my hand hurt so bad...even the slightest pressure hurt. They sent me home with the IV still in so they wouldn't have to do it again in the morning when I had my surgery.

So the next morning I have to be at the hospital at 8am. Let me remind you that my had hurt so bad that I could barley pick up a dinner fork to eat with AND when one of my friends saw it she thought my arm was broken cause it was swollen in such a weird way. Anyway, I get to admitting in surgery and they have me strip and put a gown on. The new nurse I got was wonderful. I will say that first. But she asked me 'what is that on your arm?'..so I told her the story and she was a little shocked. The tried to flush the IV but it had infiltrated and was no longer in my vien and everything was just going into the tissue (hence all the swelling). Anyway, she told me that the ER nurse didn't do me any favors by leaving this one in me overnight.

So...finally I had the surgery. If you all remember what that gall bladder looks like on my earlier post, just think of that and being 3 times bigger! No Lie! My gall bladder was about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide! They are only supposed to be about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. I should try to post the pic that the doc gave me after surgery. Anyway, now I have 4 little incisions and I am pretty sore. But if anyone is ever thinking of going to Davis ER, please don't.