Staph on the increase calls for creative hospitalization

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:16 pm

I'll try to keep it short but sweet. I got bit by a dog in the hand. I went to the ER after doing my own triage with Betadine and fresh sterile gauze. The ER decided not to do their own triage and only did vitals leaving me to wait for 3 hours while lesser priority ER visits were seen first. ER doc AND nurse fucked up all sorts of ways with the STANDARD procedure, no gloves when flushing with their stuff etc etc. Sent home with a fully swollen hand with 875mg of Augmentin and told to wait it out 2 days no matter what even though I wanted IV for at least a day due to extreme swelling and speed at which it got bad. No luck, than I tried for needle script with my mad survival skills and got none but the pill. So 2 days go by and while my arm swelled to the shoulder so I KNEW I needed my own doc to send me for admittance to a different place. This really fuxored first hospital was Memorial, I went to Aventura which I felt might be better for my hospitalization. This turned out to be better but only by a very small margin. The IV install was fucked repeatedly and for 3 days nurses were too lazy to get it done right to get my IV script in my body every 4 hours. I was left with bags going into the trash and a 125ml being done at 25ml speed. This allows for more leisure time on the shift instead of coming to deal with my infection and med needs every hour or so. I was also on Dilaudid and Ativan BTW and a second antibiotic variety. After raising hell and causing a general ruckus bitching and moaning for these 3 days I got a charge nurse to get shit sorted and got my frankenstein IV in the jugular. Once this was done by the surgeon shit was going smooth but I still had to light fires under the day shift nurses to keep up with my doc ordered shit and had to continually make sure they didn't connect something that wasn't wiped with trusty alcohol after being unwrapped right next to me instead of being walked through the joint pinking up dog knows what. I can't even count how many antibiotic bags wound up in the trash and how many doses of narcotics wound up in someones pocket. You see in the hospital they scan some computer on a schedule to release the scripted shit, this does not mean it will ever be given to you unless you find out your schedule and watch them fuckers like a hawk making sure to pester them when due for your meds. I also had to constantly correct "mistakes" made to the IV machine to make sure the flow was fast enough per the sticker/script on my bags. Nice trick there.. instead of hooking a patient up to the 3 bags during the shift they only do one and scan all 3 throwing 2 in the trash so the 1 runs all day at super slow speed. This allows for more time to talk about mundane crap and not doing the job right. ALL the night nurses were on point so at least I was only gettin fucked half the time. Let this be a lesson to those that get hospitalized for any reason. You MUST stay on top of your care since not everyone can be trusted to have your best interests in mind. Find out what you should be getting and stay on top of the fuckups, you're the one to suffer in the end not them. Some nurses just need too much leisure time while working to do what they are supposed to do for you. They could care less about the job and more about whats on TV, Obama and the great deals on houses these days.

Thats all for now, I'm home and on the mend with 2000mg of pill Augmentin every 12 hours for a 7 day ride and if the shit starts to go south I get re-admitted to a different hospital likely for a lil longer than a week. Infections are no joke and shouldn't be slacked on. I'm doing the Betadine soak with water 6 times a day and doing the flexball/stressball to keep the hand going but keep it elavated most of the time still. Pain meds for RSD were denied to me by hospital for 4 days so I was a real bitch to put up with. I'm sure the day shift lazy fucks that steal narco drugs and dump antibiotics in the trash are glad to be rid of me.

Fuck you Aventure nurses on day shift from the 6th floor of the South tower. Hats off to the night shift and the charge nurse Tom that got the evil ones sorted.

Here are some pics of the adventure.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:27 am

wow dude, that sucks.

At least they let you smoke in the hospital there.

betrdanevr · Post by **betrdanevr** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:38 am

Speedy recovery, Toolmaker!!

I got bitten in the hand like that a few years back but thank God didn't get a staph infection, though I know friends who got them. Hopefully this treatment will do the trick for you!

I totally agree with having to watch the hospital nurses with the meds! My ex has been in the hospital on morphine for quite some time (long story) and he just knew his meds were getting pilfered. He even asked the nurse for them, and she said she'd GIVEN them to him. THEN another time she got the meds out, looked as though she were preparing to give them to him, and then interestingly enough, got "called away" from the room. He never got the meds, though she "swore" she gave them to him.

The long and short of it is after day 2, he asked for -- and got -- another nurse.

There are many impaired medical professionals, and they absolutely have to be taken out of the hospitals where they can't effectively steal patient meds!

Again, speedy healing, Toolmaker!

ALICEtheGOON · Post by **ALICEtheGOON** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:44 am

Wow that is one swollen hand bra ...

get well soon .

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:35 am

DAng TM...........

I can't tell you, in my business (tombstone maker), how many horror stories I've heard about people going in the hospital with one thing, and, being dead from another, or mistakes, etc..........

(I don't say this to, in any way, impugn any individual medical person, here or elsewhere. I know for the most part, they are intelligent, professional, and, good hearted people)

It's just good you can be your own advocate...........if you were not able to bitch about things, what would have happened.

good lesson for all:
no one knows better than you, what is going on. And, if you have a friend in the hospital, help them with advocacy, if they can't do it for themselves........

I lost a dear friend, years ago, in just this manner:
he went in with a heart attack and stroke. no surgery, but, in ICU, of course; He died 3 weeks later, still in ICU, of " blood sepsis", as I understand it, a general infection......how the heck do you get an infection in your blood stream, in ICU, unless someone didn't sterilize something.....?.........

Post by **Elderberry** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:48 am

Unfortunately, staff and other infections in hospitals has been a huge problem in hospitals for a while now.

Sorry to hear about how badly you were treated in the hospital. I'm not one to rush to sue, but it sounds like you definitely have a case for malpractice against the hospital, which I think might benefit others as well as yourself if you can document and prove the fuck ups in your story.

How did you manage to get bitten by a dog?

JK

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:31 am

oneeyeddick wrote:wow dude, that sucks.

At least they let you smoke in the hospital there.

They don't.. I had to go outside for each and every smoke.

betrdanevr wrote:Speedy recovery, Toolmaker!!

I got bitten in the hand like that a few years back but thank God didn't get a staph infection, though I know friends who got them. Hopefully this treatment will do the trick for you!

I totally agree with having to watch the hospital nurses with the meds! My ex has been in the hospital on morphine for quite some time (long story) and he just knew his meds were getting pilfered. He even asked the nurse for them, and she said she'd GIVEN them to him. THEN another time she got the meds out, looked as though she were preparing to give them to him, and then interestingly enough, got "called away" from the room. He never got the meds, though she "swore" she gave them to him.

The long and short of it is after day 2, he asked for -- and got -- another nurse.

There are many impaired medical professionals, and they absolutely have to be taken out of the hospitals where they can't effectively steal patient meds!

Again, speedy healing, Toolmaker!

One trick I noticed em doing was leaving out the dilaudid and ativan and just shooting the base stuff they squirt the meds into. Sodium something or other in a premixed injector for the IV fitting. I could definitely tell the difference, with the meds you felt a rush, some cold, and an odor. When they went with the "placebo" and pocketed the narcs the injection didn't have any feel or sensation that I could tell.

MOST of my nurses were decent, but it only takes one or two to really fuck up your vacation. So far still healing up fine but boy does the center of my hand hurt like a mofo.

ALICEtheGOON wrote:Wow that is one swollen hand bra ...

get well soon .

Thats 9 days after the bite.. its was really bad before I was able to get mobile enough to go smoke outside for a pic. Funny how the hospitals don't allow cameras.. notice the sign where I'm smoking.

A good survival tip for long stays is to bring a portable DVD player and headphones. Also bring your own snacks/food.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:44 am

Based on my limited experience:
1--If you can afford it, go to a private hospital, not one run by a big corporation.
2--Don't go where there's labor trouble. Or understaffing.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:30 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Based on my limited experience:
1--If you can afford it, go to a private hospital, not one run by a big corporation.
2--Don't go where there's labor trouble. Or understaffing.

based on numer two, you gotta stay home..........

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:11 pm

ygmir wrote: It's just good you can be your own advocate...........if you were not able to bitch about things, what would have happened.

good lesson for all:
no one knows better than you, what is going on. And, if you have a friend in the hospital, help them with advocacy, if they can't do it for themselves........

I lost a dear friend, years ago, in just this manner:
he went in with a heart attack and stroke. no surgery, but, in ICU, of course; He died 3 weeks later, still in ICU, of " blood sepsis", as I understand it, a general infection......how the heck do you get an infection in your blood stream, in ICU, unless someone didn't sterilize something.....?.........

Funny you should mention that.. while I was able to be my own advocate (something I learned from my foot getting run over and getting shitty treatment) there are many that can't. One of my rommies in the hospital was in end stage with thin skin that was damn near clear and was wrapped like a mummy. The poor guy had nobody to look out for him and since he was dying he was mostly ignored by staff. He was constantly begging for water to drink and such so I broke the rules and held a cup of water for him and a straw for him to drink. Bob told me he hadn't had a drink in 3 days and when I first held the cup toward him the relief he felt was worth the pain I went through to get him the water. Being screwed up myself I shouldn't have to do someone elses job but I just didn't have the heart to watch someone go like that.

I'm going into the medical field so at least there will be one more person out there doing the job right. What really gets me is that the job isn't all that hard. 3 days a week with 12 hour shifts. I can't sympatize with folks doing those shifts even though they said how hard it was when I did 12 hours a day sometimes for 13 days straight in manufacturing lifting more weight and having to deal with more stress due to shipping dates and whatnot and having to make parts right with features as tight as .0005 inch. Yes sometimes there would even be a hole plus .0003 and minus nothing with flatness of .001 and true position tolerances of .003 which wind up equating to .0012 each direction with a hole location. I mean seriously how hard is it to change diapers, wound dressings, IV bags, and take some vitals. I've pulled bullets out and sorted folks faster and better than the hospitals do these days. I mean what the fuck.. you can't take 5 seconds to open up a packet of alcohol wipe to wipe my fitting before you inject me with something you walked through the hospital with. I'm lucky compared to waht happens to many folks these days. I'm just glad that MOST folks in medical still have passion and care about the job or else we'd all be totally fucked.

In case I missed it.. ALL the night shift nurses were on point and I only had 2 or 3 naughty lazy ones. But having one criminal stealing your pain meds and being too lazy to hook up your antibiotic vancomycin bags as ordered by the doc is enough to possibly fuck you good when it comes to infection. While I may be doing good now I fear what may happen when the pill antibiotic runs out. I never got a doc to dig into my hand and stir shit up and get some medicine in deep even though the bite went to the bone. YES TO THE BONE, I FELT IT! I worry about bone infection and the shit going south when the meds run out. I can only wait now and do my best by doing my hotwater/betadine gauze soak and applying the Bactroban cream prescribed by my regular doc. This should have been prescribed by hospital #2 when I was released I might add. I will wtach this thing like a hawk and as soon as thing go bad I'm going to Holy Cross next since they seem to be better than the other 2. This will be ICU I am told and will likely get me some surgery since infection is no joke and I want to keep my hand.

PS Any tips Sailman or anyone else in the medical field could give me off the record would be appreciated. I know there's probably not much else I can do but there may be something I'm missing so feel free to PM me any advice no matter how minor or insignificant you may think it is. My current medical knowledge is only from Civil Air Patrol as a kid and what I've read in various field manuals and survival training I've undertaken. I really ain't too keen on carving my hand up and having maggots eat at me for a couple weeks while I dump my fresh piss on myself for irrigation.. know what I mean

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:08 pm

The #1 tip I always give my patients and their family members is to be a passionate advocate, and TM, sounds like you got that down pat

And as you obviously found out, ya gotta watch em like a hawk.

I know this isnt the fuck thread, but Fuck! TM, they gave you a EJ?!? (external jugular)
Damn, you aint got no effing veins in them thar beefy arms? Well, at least they didnt go for a femoral stick

I watched the ER nurses and tech at U of Mich. hospital attempt to start an IV on my 4 yr old when he broke his arm and repeatedly blow it. I could see the effing vein myself. He's crying, I'm getting pissed off and I told them that I could do a better job then they could which of course they didnt like hearing. Too bad, but at least they got it on the next try. I get so effing tired of their holier then thou attitude like they are superior to us, but ya know what nursey-poo? I get to intubate. I get to push meds without waiting for the doc to order them. I can do tension pneumo decompressions, cric's, pace, cardiovert, defib the heart, all without a doc's orders. Shove that up ur scrubs nursey-poo.

ygmir, fyi, sepsis can be caused by many diff. types of infections, bladder and uti for example, and yes, improper infection control in the hosp. It's a systemic infection, and a bugger to treat.

I got bit by a german sheppard in the face when I was 5. Didnt have no ems service where I lived then, I remember Dad cursing at stop lights on the way. Immed. into surgery once I was at the hosp. Afterwards, they wouldnt let me look in a mirror, but when a little girl my age walked out of another room and saw me, and screamed, I knew I had me one bonafide cool boo boo that I couldnt wait to show off to my buds in kindergarden

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:34 pm

Why even bother with treatment dude? You don't appear to care much about your health anyway.

Seriously. Have another cheeseburger and a coke. Then top it off with a few cancer sticks.

**burn** · Post by **burn** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 8:23 pm

pizzamancer wrote:Why even bother with treatment dude? You don't appear to care much about your health anyway.

Seriously. Have another cheeseburger and a coke. Then top it off with a few cancer sticks.

Crap, that is so wrong, yet so funny.
Sorry Toolmaker!

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:19 pm

ah yes, the old

"superficial judgement I'm better than you and I'll point out your flaws " Joke..

such a hoot

dana · Post by **dana** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:05 pm

Quote:
What really gets me is that the job isn't all that hard. 3 days a week with 12 hour shifts. I can't sympatize with folks doing those shifts

You think its an easy job? You answer that yourself. Its patients like yourself that are a pain in the ass to take care of (not to mention politics, shitty pay, disrespect from pissy little shits for hospital administrators, fucked up doctors with bad attitudes, etc) that make it a tough job. I'm with pizza on this one. You got shitty veins, don't seem to take care of yourself (smoking and overweight), are paranoid, controlling, seem to think you know more than the people taking care of you based on limited knowledge and probably don't know how to simply ask questions about what's going on with your care or why this or that might be better, etc.

Quote:
I'm going into the medical field so at least there will be one more person out there doing the job right.

One can certainly hope.

Quote:
While I may be doing good now I fear what may happen when the pill antibiotic runs out. I never got a doc to dig into my hand and stir shit up and get some medicine in deep even though the bite went to the bone. YES TO THE BONE, I FELT IT!

Dog bites are not treated by "digging around trying to stir shit up". Other than simple cleaning, any "digging around" only damages more tissue with potentially more problems. Generally antibiotics are not put directly into a wound. You got the standard treatment for dog bites. Start em on Augmentin, if it doesn't work, get a culture and start IV antibiotics.
Why the fuck were you needing Dilaudid and Ativan? Why can't they get any decent veins? What are you leaving out? Previous history of IV drug abuse?
Bactroban is not for deep infections and cellulitis. Just superficial infections.

This is the main reason why I don't completely trust your story:

Sorry to hear about how badly you were treated in the hospital. I'm not one to rush to sue, but it sounds like you definitely have a case for malpractice against the hospital, which I think might benefit others as well as yourself if you can document and prove the fuck ups in your story.

With such a litiginous society there are more people looking over shoulders and interfering, cross-checking, fiddle-fucking than you could possibly imagine. People that fuck up don't tend to last too long. (Do we hold politicians, cops, lawyers, judges to anything even remotely approaching this level of scrutiny?)

Hope you're ready for the career change....
Good luck! If you figure it out, you may like it.

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Fri May 01, 2009 12:51 am

ygmir wrote:"superficial judgement I'm better than you and I'll point out your flaws " Joke..

I certainly hope you aren't referring to me. There is nothing superficial about that gut at all. Fat ass it!It takes years of unhealthy living to build one of those.

You bite the hands of those that who feed you then complain about/to them? If I was your doc I would have missed your vein 50 times.

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Fri May 01, 2009 12:51 am

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri May 01, 2009 7:05 am

pizzamancer wrote:
ygmir wrote:"superficial judgement I'm better than you and I'll point out your flaws " Joke..
I certainly hope you aren't referring to me. There is nothing superficial about that gut at all. Fat ass it!It takes years of unhealthy living to build one of those.

You bite the hands of those that who feed you then complain about/to them? If I was your doc I would have missed your vein 50 times.

dana wrote:

You think its an easy job? You answer that yourself. Its patients like yourself that are a pain in the ass to take care of (not to mention politics, shitty pay, disrespect from pissy little shits for hospital administrators, fucked up doctors with bad attitudes, etc) that make it a tough job. I'm with pizza on this one. You got shitty veins, don't seem to take care of yourself (smoking and overweight), are paranoid, controlling, seem to think you know more than the people taking care of you based on limited knowledge and probably don't know how to simply ask questions about what's going on with your care or why this or that might be better, etc.

well, I was.......and will include Dana.
not that I don't think you know what you're talking about, and, I'm sure you have great medical knowledge......

I was making reference to superficial judgment, IMHO, that you make regarding a persons appearance, or habits, without knowing "their story".......
you have no idea who they are or why they look like they do......

There are conditions, beyond a persons control, that can cause a "gut"
How do you know he didn't weigh twice as much, due to whatever, and, has lost a ton of weight and, is getting better and better?........

you don't.......you don't know anything about him.....(I'll make that assumption) or his life.

I see no trouble pointing out people having trouble with IV's and such, on some folks due to anatomy.....

but, to get rude and personal......well, it just bugged me......

Maybe you are perfect and in perfect shape and health, I don't know or care....but, you still have no pedestal to judge from.........or pontificate.......

but, be free to say what you will.........I'm just sayin it coulda been nicer.........

dana · Post by **dana** » Fri May 01, 2009 7:39 am

ygmir wrote:
pizzamancer wrote:
ygmir wrote:"superficial judgement I'm better than you and I'll point out your flaws " Joke..
I certainly hope you aren't referring to me. There is nothing superficial about that gut at all. Fat ass it!It takes years of unhealthy living to build one of those.

You bite the hands of those that who feed you then complain about/to them? If I was your doc I would have missed your vein 50 times.

well, I was.......and will include Dana.
not that I don't think you know what you're talking about, and, I'm sure you have great medical knowledge......

I was making reference to superficial judgment, IMHO, that you make regarding a persons appearance, or habits, without knowing "their story".......
you have no idea who they are or why they look like they do......

There are conditions, beyond a persons control, that can cause a "gut"
How do you know he didn't weigh twice as much, due to whatever, and, has lost a ton of weight and, is getting better and better?........

you don't.......you don't know anything about him.....(I'll make that assumption) or his life.
.I'm just sayin it coulda been nicer.........

Of course that sounds harsh. But there are no personal insults intended from either of us I think. Tool is wondering why his experience seemed to go so bad. The "harsh" counter-view sometimes fleshes out the real picture.
You wonder about other condtions that may be causing a gut. So do I. (That's part of what is left out of the story.) Prediabetic, and harder to fight infections? IV drug abuse history, so no veins? If he has RSD, why isn't there any sign of that in the photos (unless its lower extremity)?
The kicker is the smoking. A lot of sick patients stop smoking when they're in the hospital. Smoking says volumes about how he treats his body in other ways. [You do know that the average American is slowly trying to kill themselves with their total lifestyle???]

Sorry the story doesn't add up in too many ways for me.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Fri May 01, 2009 7:47 am

pizzamancer wrote:Why even bother with treatment dude? You don't appear to care much about your health anyway.

Seriously. Have another cheeseburger and a coke. Then top it off with a few cancer sticks.

Don't eat much meat anymore.. sry I prefer sushi

Dont drink soda at all anymore.. I prefer Chai and Early Grey

Stopped smoking cancer sticks and am using NJOY to ween myself off the nicotine.

I prefer NOT to take your advice.. sry for being fat it happens to be genetic. Try checking out the Penn and Teller Bullshit episode concerning the weight of others.

dana wrote:Quote:
What really gets me is that the job isn't all that hard. 3 days a week with 12 hour shifts. I can't sympatize with folks doing those shifts

You think its an easy job? You answer that yourself. Its patients like yourself that are a pain in the ass to take care of (not to mention politics, shitty pay, disrespect from pissy little shits for hospital administrators, fucked up doctors with bad attitudes, etc) that make it a tough job. I'm with pizza on this one. You got shitty veins, don't seem to take care of yourself (smoking and overweight), are paranoid, controlling, seem to think you know more than the people taking care of you based on limited knowledge and probably don't know how to simply ask questions about what's going on with your care or why this or that might be better, etc.

Quote:
I'm going into the medical field so at least there will be one more person out there doing the job right.

One can certainly hope.

Quote:
While I may be doing good now I fear what may happen when the pill antibiotic runs out. I never got a doc to dig into my hand and stir shit up and get some medicine in deep even though the bite went to the bone. YES TO THE BONE, I FELT IT!

Dog bites are not treated by "digging around trying to stir shit up". Other than simple cleaning, any "digging around" only damages more tissue with potentially more problems. Generally antibiotics are not put directly into a wound. You got the standard treatment for dog bites. Start em on Augmentin, if it doesn't work, get a culture and start IV antibiotics.
Why the fuck were you needing Dilaudid and Ativan? Why can't they get any decent veins? What are you leaving out? Previous history of IV drug abuse?
Bactroban is not for deep infections and cellulitis. Just superficial infections.

This is the main reason why I don't completely trust your story:
Sorry to hear about how badly you were treated in the hospital. I'm not one to rush to sue, but it sounds like you definitely have a case for malpractice against the hospital, which I think might benefit others as well as yourself if you can document and prove the fuck ups in your story.
With such a litiginous society there are more people looking over shoulders and interfering, cross-checking, fiddle-fucking than you could possibly imagine. People that fuck up don't tend to last too long. (Do we hold politicians, cops, lawyers, judges to anything even remotely approaching this level of scrutiny?)

Hope you're ready for the career change....
Good luck! If you figure it out, you may like it.

Funny you should mention veins.. mine are fine as the very young night shift nurse found out when she placed the IV in the back of my hand. As I mentioned the welfare to work nurses too busy having Obama meetings and talking about TV shows just couldn't get it right. I guess its just too hard to wrap that band around someone and slap em a few times to get the vein to show. Since the Surgeon was already set for the jugular IV the thing was installed since the day shift nurses were fairly incompetant.

Sure I have limited knowledge.. I only worked volunteer fire rescue for 3 years. You seem to be fairly educated and caring.. what do you do? PCA? CNA?

Hate to break it to ya but you NEVER irrigate without gloves. Its medical professionals like you that cause infections. Folks like you turn minor injuries into something ugly. When someone has a punture or laceration you always use sterile shit and wear gloves when irrigating the wound. You certainly don't squeeze it with an ungloved hand. But I guess you're medical knowledge is superior to my limited knowledge.

FYI I never did IV drug abuse and have great veins.. again here in South Florida with welfare to work nursing we have plenty of folks that just don't give a fuck about doing their job right. This is not only in nursing but everywhere. I had to deal with many in manufacturing that didn't care about checkin their parts. It really doesn't matter how oversized a hole is, just put a ball bearing on top and tap with a hammer till the top measures right. Who cares if the plane crashes when the part fails as long as you aren't on it.

Dilaudid and Ativan are standard prescriptions for pain and stress for people with RSD/CRPS. Again your medical knowledge of my existing condition astounds me. I hope you never get blessed with RSD/CRPS as I have than maybe you might not be such a cheerful person.

As far as Bactroban goes.. it DOES help after cleaning since my PCP did prescribe it. With an OPEN puncture wound its just plain common sense to keep it clean and treated from the outside while fighting infection from within with the antibiotics. Your medical knowledge really astounds me.. I'm starting to think you might be an RN now.

I hope wherever you work your patients are happy when somone tosses a doctor prescribed IV antibiotic in the trash while the previous bag runs at 25ml instead of 125ml as listed on the sticker. I'm just glad I'm so ignorant I knew how to reset the Baxter for the proper flow.

2000mg of Augmentin 2x a day along with Bactroban after I do my warm compress and betadine wash seems to be helping loads so far.

As far as you quoting me about malpractice.. I don't know where that comes from.. I never typed that int is thread. I think you are trying to outright lie there and I really don't understand why but whatever. Maybe you should try Tribe, I think you'll fit in famously there. I may consider a lawsuit but only to get the burse that pocketed the pain meds fired so she can no longer help supply junkies on the street.

FYI RSD is no joke either.. I have been working for the past two years learning how to live with it. Nice to see medical professionals like dana being so caring for folks with it that wind up getting another injury requiring a weeks hospitalization.

http://www.neurologychannel.com/rsd/index.shtml
http://www.rsds.org/

Oh yeah dana may be right.. my story may be bogus.. I installed the fucking jugular IV on my own just to post some pics on eplaya. I got the other medical gear from ebay.. also just to make a thread on eplaya.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:02 am

dana wrote:Sorry the story doesn't add up in too many ways for me.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=16318

I did appreciate you help in the above thread dana. I don't however appreciate your advice in this thread.

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:28 am

I have seen excellent doctors and nurses doing their jobs above and beyond the call of duty.
I owe my life to a team of emergency surgeons and staff.
I have, however also seen egregious errors and outright malpractice committed by doctors and hospital staff in a few instances, during my several experiences and visits to hospitals while caring for family members, loved ones and associates.
Nothing is more frustrating or frightening than seeing your loved ones suffering at the hands of incompetent healers.
I`m with ToolMaker on this one.
When it comes to faulty or BAD Healthcare, SCREAM it from the mountaintops.

I hope you heal quickly TM.

**burn** · Post by **burn** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:48 am

I just lost a friend this week to staph.
About 8 wks ago she went in for colon cancer.
Release with an all clear.
A few days later she was very sick and re-admitted.
Tests later showed 4 kinds of staph.
They had problems with the IV's, waited days to insert a PIK.
They took 6 weeks to kill her.
They pulled life support and she fought for a few days.
Her husband of 35 yrs is furious.
The hospital admits no guilt.

Post by **Elderberry** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:54 am

Toolmaker wrote:Don't eat much meat anymore.. sry I prefer sushi

My best friend and his girlfriend are (or should I say were) sushi fanatics--three or four (or more) times a week at restuarants, then at home for other meals--and only the best. Then about 6 months ago they went in for their annual physicals and happened to mention to their doctor that they eat sushi and the ensuing conversation lead to explaining how much--so the doc recommended that they be tested for mercury--and you guessed it--high levels. They were instructed to take all fish off of their diets.

So, you might want to be careful about how much sushi you eat.

JK

Artemis · Post by **Artemis** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:09 am

I find this finger-pointing at TM's health to be totally uncalled for and insensitive. He's been sitting in a frigging wheelchair cuz of RSD - of COURSE he gained weight.

AND WTF? Just cuz someone is overweight, they don't deserve good health care? It'd be a different story (possibly) if the condition that brought him into the hospital was due to his weight, but it wasn't.

I don't know...I've just been frustrated lately with what seems to be a more and more common acceptable behaviour our culture: lazy thinking. If someone isn't perfect, then as soon as they ask for help for anything, you have to point out all their errors. What's the point in that? A similar one is the criticism of everyone in a company or everyone in an industry because of systemic problems in the industry. Sure, mistakes have been made, but does that mean that every single person in the company or industry was responsible for the mistake? I think these are similar forms of lazy thinking: an error or criticism in a particular area taints the whole thing.

*spelling edit*

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:27 am

Kinda makes you wished you had just washed it out with lye soap and water like we did staying at gramma's as children! eh Toolmaker?

On hospitals.

They kill more then they heal! Its just gotten that bad!

They killed my step dad too...

On his information sheet it said in large letters no feeding tube, cation vaso vagular reactive.

What did they do after his 7th and final surgery to put him back together...6 days exactly 12 hours before the doctor told him he would get breakfast to EAT in the morning....someone came in in the middle of the night, (dad high on morphine, says he's hungry) Nurse inserts Feeding tube...dad goes into instant vaso vagular reaction that causes cardiac arrest...dead in 10 mins.
No one reads shit.
No one follows up on what the last doc/nurse did
Its over worked and underpaid professionals giving the patients the short end of the stick.

Why is this happening.
Because corporate hospitals DONT pay their workers anywhere near the bill we pay!
Oh and trust me...try to sue...ya aint getting no where...they have a fudged answer for everything that happens.
They lawyer up(and these guys are trained for every circumstance.)

Most of the lawsuits are settled under the table so to speak, so they can legally pull the complaint off the record.

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Fri May 01, 2009 5:29 pm

Artemis wrote:I find this finger-pointing at TM's health to be totally uncalled for and insensitive.
AND WTF? Just cuz someone is overweight, they don't deserve good health care? It'd be a different story (possibly) if the condition that brought him into the hospital was due to his weight, but it wasn't.

Gah! Trollish or not, I can't stay away. Yes the gut is easy to point out, but you seem to miss the bigger point. Dana mentions it again. Sure you can be fat for other reasons, genetics hardly count though. Not a lot of fat proto humans in our genetic line. It is a learned behavior.

What you eat has nothing to do with it. If you only eat sushi, but eat 2 pounds of it, you are going to be fat, and really, do you even know what chai is? A chai latte has 320 fucking calories! A 12 ounce can of coke has 155. Not that I recommend you drink soda at all, it rots your teeth.

The bigger issue is that you posted a few pics of yourself sitting there and are holding a fag in half of them. Heck, you dragged your IV pole outside to have one, is that a no smoking sign behind you in another? Great that you quit, but you know posting pleas for attention like this will get you these responses, especially here.

It is a dog bite. Your pic of it isn't inflamed and pus dripping. The other question that begs to be asked is who is paying for this? We can all agree that a dog owner should foot the bill for a trip to the doctor, but a week long vacation in the hospital? I bet you wouldn't have been there if that injury came on the first monday at Burning Man.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:14 pm

pizzamancer wrote:
Artemis wrote:I find this finger-pointing at TM's health to be totally uncalled for and insensitive.
AND WTF? Just cuz someone is overweight, they don't deserve good health care? It'd be a different story (possibly) if the condition that brought him into the hospital was due to his weight, but it wasn't.
Gah! Trollish or not, I can't stay away. Yes the gut is easy to point out, but you seem to miss the bigger point. Dana mentions it again. Sure you can be fat for other reasons, genetics hardly count though. Not a lot of fat proto humans in our genetic line. It is a learned behavior.

What you eat has nothing to do with it. If you only eat sushi, but eat 2 pounds of it, you are going to be fat, and really, do you even know what chai is? A chai latte has 320 fucking calories! A 12 ounce can of coke has 155. Not that I recommend you drink soda at all, it rots your teeth.

The bigger issue is that you posted a few pics of yourself sitting there and are holding a fag in half of them. Heck, you dragged your IV pole outside to have one, is that a no smoking sign behind you in another? Great that you quit, but you know posting pleas for attention like this will get you these responses, especially here.

It is a dog bite. Your pic of it isn't inflamed and pus dripping. The other question that begs to be asked is who is paying for this? We can all agree that a dog owner should foot the bill for a trip to the doctor, but a week long vacation in the hospital? I bet you wouldn't have been there if that injury came on the first monday at Burning Man.

*grabs remote and changes from the "I have good info to contribute, snarky, but, kind, maybe respectful, and, can help in a positive way channel"

edit to add respectful......and then again for spelling......jeeze.....

dana · Post by **dana** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:14 pm

Tool. You're calling me a troll?!!

I've already made it clear I'm not a troll... I'm an ogre!!
They're not at all alike! How can you be so insensitive??!!!!

Alrightie then, here's a few questions.
- So you watch a nurse who appears to be stealing (what? narcotics? that you're receiving intravenously? if so, why as opposed to oral narcotics?). You watch this nurse and???? hunker down and get worried?? watch the next one a little closer? Any reason why you didn't talk to the physician in charge ASAP. [Just so you know - no one is going to protect any provider who is diverting drugs. They check the logs and the person is out immediately. I've seen it happen.]

- How many times and how many different nurses tried a stick before they did the EJ?

- Did you ask anyone to "dig around and stir shit up"? If you thought there might have been damage to the bone (highly unlikely with a dog bite), did you raise that concern? What was the answer? (No big deal to order an x-ray just to allay a patient's fears of an osteomyelitis.)

- What IV antibiotic were you supposed to receive every 4 hours (since they tend to all be given every 6, 8 or 12 hours)? Or was that a narcotic you were supposed to get every 4 hours?

- Yeah I remember now answering that question (not whatever I wrote). Care to post a close-up photo of whatever part of your foot or leg is affected with RSD? With the other normal side for comparison?

Anyone want to take a guess where all these nasty staph infections come from (MRSA and the like)? Doctors, nurses, hospitals?
Nope. They come from patients. They got their start with all the patients that brow beat their doctor for antibiotics for a viral cold and got all pissy when the doctor tried to talk them out of it, from every patient that felt better after 2 days on an antibiotic and then stopped taking them. They come from all the people walking around with uncovered and untreated oozing wounds.

Tool, seriously - you have no idea why I may think you sound like a pain in the ass patient? Its stuff like this:

The IV install was fucked repeatedly and for 3 days nurses were too lazy to get it done right to get my IV script in my body every 4 hours. I was left with bags going into the trash and a 125ml being done at 25ml speed. This allows for more leisure time on the shift instead of coming to deal with my infection and med needs every hour or so.

and this:

This allows for more time to talk about mundane crap and not doing the job right.

and this:

I mean seriously how hard is it to change diapers, wound dressings, IV bags, and take some vitals. I've pulled bullets out and sorted folks faster and better than the hospitals do these days.

And uh, where were you "pulling bullets out"? As a volunteer EMT?

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:23 pm

Really wise words coming from a person who has spent a lifetime enabling people to eat heathier by making pizza as a diet option ???

Seems kinda hypocritical, and I don't mean in a hypocritical oath kind of way.

Dude, snark is accepted here but I agree that your statements are kinda trollish.
(if you haven't figured it out yet Dana, I am not talking about you)

On a lighter note, I had a D.O.T. physical today... at age 41, and a lifetime of smoking truck driver who excercises very little, I was told that regardless of my "gut" I was in extremely good health, great blood pressure, excellent pulse rate(47), and looking forward to life sitting on my slighly fat ass as a career.

Sometimes Karma rewards you, sometimes a carma or a trucka knocks you off of your bike and fucks your life plans up also.

I am done here, I want a cheeseburger.... and a coke.
Not the 155 calorie, 12 oz. type, I prefer the 140 calorie, 12 oz. type.
you know ...the ones in twelve ounce cans ?(where do you get your facts from)
The cigarette afterwards will taste quite deliciuos also, I am sure.

you may now continue with your regularly scheduled blah, blah, blah...........

( edited once to enhance my level of snark )