Am currently sitting at work , trying to keep positive and cope with the wave of adrenalin that comes from being in a totally useless position. My partner is just out of a 5 hour pleurectomy/decortication and has been transferred through to the ICU for monitoring.
Apparently he is very drowsy although complaining of a lot of shoulder pain , the doctors are currently with him to make him more comfortable. They have explained they will be checking for complications , so that if there is bleeding etc he will need to go back into theatre, although fingers crossed if all goes well he can be back on the ward by tomorrow evening.
We’d already agreed I wouldn’t go in until he was back on the ward as he would be under heavy medication whilst in ICU. Easy to agree at the time before the operation, sitting here , every instinct is screaming to be there . I would of course be of absolutely no use whatsoever so am trying to rein in those instincts , hence this blog update.
This is definitely one of those moments where ” your life in their hands” is the accurate phrase.
The following day I do get into ICU to begin the worst day since the original mesothelioma diagnosis.By the end of the day he will be out of ICU and back on the main ward, the operation appears to have gone well but he is in extensive pain, which they are having difficulty getting under control.
It hasn’t been helped by some unfortunate incidents by one or two of the nursing staff, who have incorrectly disconnected some tubes ,which then had to be reconnected with great pain.
We then had a serious of missed pain medication times by the nursing staff, despite preset agreed times with the pain management people,both in ICU and then again after the ward transfers, which ended up with me begging for the agreed pain relief to be administered to him.
Apologies to all good nurses out there and I am a great supporter of the NHS , but am sorry to say,I think I have seen the best and worst of the British nursing system. it appears to be a mixture of the good, the indifferent and the incompetent. At times the caring profession was a direct cause of the suffering.
I seemed to spend most of the day , insisting on speaking to head nurses and fighting for support . I can only assume everyone gets so used to working with people in pain , they dismiss it- and no they weren’t too busy, or understaffed
I work quite close to the hospital and if I carry on complaining to senior staff at this rate , if I ever get run over , I think most of them would leave me outside !!
At the moment my husband is in so much pain, he is seriously doubting whether it has been worth it, but we try to concentrate on hoping every day will get a little better.
Am currently psyching myself up to go back to the hospital and get back in the ring for round 3 in the battle for consistently good nursing.
