Rage Against Narcotics!!

I AM FINALLY HOME!!!!!!! omfg it feels so good to be here. The first thing I did when I walked through the door was run for my shower. I shaved…deep conditioned my hair…lathered myself up in all kindsa girlie stuff and proceeded to take VIM to scrub the damn tape remains off of my hands and arms.


The past 5 days have been the LONGEST days of my entire life.


On Friday when I went to the IV Clinic the DR there decided that I couldnt manage the pain on my own at home and that I was to be admitted. The IV clinic moved me (temporarily) back to the ER to wait for a bed on a ward. When I was moved to my ward/room from the ER I noticed that all the people in the beds on the ward were seniors…bed ridden, 100% dependant on whatever care was given to them... The charge nurse walks into the room I was assigned, looks at me, looks at the porter who had wheeled me down and says “is this her?” and then proceeds to start talking AT me and ABOUT me like I wasn’t even there. After about 15 minutes of her shit I finally snapped and said “I am in the damn room you know?!?!?” and the nurse that was taking my vitals started to laugh and said “ohh, this is gonna be fun” as the charge nurse glared at me, and proceeded to storm out of the room.


I refused to continue taking narcotics for my pain and “the battle royale” was on. I didn’t feel that the pain level I had experienced on Thursday when I was initially brought to the ER was the same on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday so I didn’t feel I needed the HEAVY drugs. I REALLY don’t like being “stoned and out of it”, especially if I don’t feel that I am in a safe environment where I will be cared for properly. I think that’s SMART and SANE. Apparently, the charge nurse thought otherwise.


The charge nurse told me “if you are in pain you’ll take what we give you and be happy” as she tried to shove a little cup with 20 mg of ATIVAN, 50 mg of SEROQUIL, and 75 mg of DEMORAL into my hand. My reply back to her was “no, actually, I wont” and for 5 days I had to fight to be allowed to take NORMAL Tylenol. 9 out of 10 people leave hospitals after extended periods of stay addicted to some form of prescription narcotic whether their pain level indicates that they needed the heavy drugs or not. I wasn’t prepared to allow this bitch to make me dependant on her, nor was I going to risk coming out addicted to Ativan or worse.


Apparently this charge nurse has never met a Norwegian before. My will is stronger than my desire to capitulate ANYTHING. I refused to allow her to have control over my situation. It pissed her RIGHT off….at least it made the days entertaining. *smiles sweetly*


I didn’t get taken to a “city” hospital that has DR’s on staff 24/7. I got taken to the emergency room that had the lowest wait time because the paramedic team that arrived at my house early Thursday morning didn’t think anything was “really wrong” with me. It was a county hospital that serves a small area, mostly seniors that are waiting on permanent beds in 24/7 nursing care homes. I saw my DR in the morning around 8 am every day, before any tests had been run and completed, and I never spoke to him. He was always in the hallway outside my door with the charge nurse hovering over him to make sure no one (meaning me) bugged him.


I was given COMPLETE lack luster care. Whenever I pressed my call button, the average wait time was anywhere from 25-55 minutes, depending on the time of day. Whenever I asked questions, or the results from the tests they ran daily on me, it was like I was trying to formulate a plan to take over the entire hospital.


The charge nurse refused to let me speak to my DR until I had completely had enough of her shit on Sunday afternoon and walked myself from my Ward back to the emergency room and signed in again as a patient needing emergency attention. Apparently my ward DR was working in the ER on Sunday afternoon and when the nursing staff in the ER told him that I had re-signed in as a patient waiting to be seen and was sitting in the waiting room he came busting out of the doors with a wheel chair, took me back to my bed, and talked with me for 3 hours.


My DR had NO idea of anything that had been happening on the ward at the hands of that psychotic power hungry fucking troll (aka the charge nurse). He then proceeded to rip a strip off of the charge nurse, and then promptly left the ward, leaving me to deal with the now REALLY humiliated and angry troll...and that is when I decided that I should involve my lawyer.


I phoned my lawyer and made her my legal living will executor. Talk about PISSED OFF hospital staff? *smirks* everything they said to me, wanted to do to me, wanted me to take…EVERYTHING had to go though her. I no longer felt I was "lucid" and "sane" to understand the information being given to me and to make the necesary decisions on my own *smirks*


I see my family DR tomorrow morning and am going to take it really easy today. I am off of the Fragmin now as my International Numeric Ratio (INR #) is maintaining a steady 2.2, which is a therapeutic level to allow the Kumadin to work on its own. I have to get my blood tested daily for the next few days and then my family DR will call me when the daily lab results come in and tell me how much Kumadin I am to take that day. The blood tests will eventually go down to weekly and then bi-weekly but until they figure out my exact INR # level they need to test it daily. That’s fine with me…at least I am out of that bloody hospital. If my condition happens to worsen over the next few days Lance had already promised me that he will take me to the University hospital where I will not be put in a geriatric ward and ignored.


It was a LONG 5 days. I am looking forward to my nap.


Ciao!


Kris.