Some Health Care People Shouldn't be in the Business

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I've had my 94-year old demented mother in the hospital since a week ago Monday which actually was the second time in a period of four days. They have done what they needed to do to help prevent her passing out from exertion. She was bounced from home to the doctor's office, to an ambulance to the emergency room, then up to ICU because of no beds and then the next day to the regular floor and yesterday up to the rehab hospital. To say that she's confused and wants to go home is an understatement.

The room was hot and I had both my jacket and my coat on. After getting her settled in I was about to leave at 7:30P when the Floor Supervisor came in and started asking her all kinds of questions. First she is hard of hearing, second she is already confused and third, the worst period of confusion for someone with dementia is after dark. Well, six times I told the Supervisor that the woman is already confused because of her hospital stay and she totally ignored me and kept asking questions. I finally said look, I'm tired and I'm beginning to lose my patience so please forgive me. The woman is confused because of her hospital stay. At that moment my mother asked for assistance so the questioning stopped, but when they closed the curtain, I didn't feel well. I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. Took off my coats and sat down on the floor; after feeling worse after about a minute, I got up and went to get a drink in the day room. I sat down for a while and put my head between my legs on my lap. Still the dizziness got worse so I laid down on the floor and put my legs up.

They saw me and came to my aid and took my vitals which were all OK except I had never experienced blood pressure of 100/72; mine is typically between 120 and 130. Anyway my sister unable to get me at home called the place and instead of telling her I was still there but couldn't get to the phone, they told her I was on the floor. They scared her silly. After about 1/2 hour I was feeling better.

My problem is that here was a person who deals with dementia patients all the time and should have not started asking questions of her until morning due to sundowning. And then the stupidity of telling my sister I was lying on the floor. Of course I was; anyone would have been with the stress I've been through in the last several weeks.

I stayed long enough until I was certain that I could drive myself home and I wrote a note to my mom's doctor telling her of the experience. It just seems to me that this Supervisor could have waited until morning.
 

Not sure what you wanted them to do? They attended to you. Perhaps you should have been put in a wheelchair and taken to ER. I would have called a rapid response on any family member lying on the floor and had them taken to ER.
 

I wasn't making the point as to what they did for me per se. I appreciated their taking the time and no I didn't need to go to the ER. I knew what was happening and how to deal with it.

I was trying to point out that someone who works with Dementia patients should have realized that you don't ask questions and expect reasonable answers from them after dark. That is when they become the most confused. It was already 7:30 in the evening, they could have waited until morning. With regards to my situation, I was upset that they told her I was laying on the floor. Their answer should have been "she's here but not able to get to the phone right now". They scared her needlessly.
 
There will always be people who are doing 'jobs' who should possibly be doing something else. Sadly you and your old mom might just have met one of them.

Is she doing a little better since then? And no more dizzy spells for you as well, I hope.
 
My father in law was in the hospital after a major stroke. He was supposed to be released from the hospital in the evening on a certain day. We went there in the afternoon, and they had already cut off the air conditioning to his room. It was summertime, and incredibly hot and muggy in there. He was just cooking in there, and nobody seemed to really give a damn.
 
What I said to you just reminded me of a funny story (and sorry it's got nothing to do with the OP but it is or was funny so maybe it will make you smile if today was tough for you and your mom). A few years ago, my husband and I were driving around in rural Alberta. Totally lost, looking for a little tiny town called Didsbury and everything on the prairies looks the same. Fortunately for us, or so we thought, we had that OnStar service in the truck we were driving. So we called in to the service and asked for directions. Well the young lady that answered was very sweet and very helpful and first she sent us in one direction, then she sent us in another and all the while was putting us on hold while she went to ask her supervisor for help and then she'd come back and try again. After about half an hour of this and getting nowhere near any teeny tiny town of any sort, the poor dear was getting so embarrassed and upset and she finally blurted out her repeated, abject apologies for being so useless and ended by saying, "I'm so sorry, I've just never been good with maps at all!"

Well, we laughed with her then and said we weren't angry at all and complimented her on trying so hard.....but there you go, an example of someone doing a job that maybe she shouldn't have been. Anyway, carry on with your conversation...sorry for interrupting.
 


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