Bobby is in a rehab center in Arlington. His mother tells me that the transition from the hospital to the rehab center was a complete disaster. They did not have ANY medications ready for him when he got there, including pain medicine. They said it would take a full day to get it in. For someone on as high a dose of pain medicine as Bobby, a day could send him into a withdrawal coma, so needless to say his mother was livid and so is Bobby. If that was how they were going to handle it, he would have preferred to just come home. The problem is he has just had major groin surgery and needs to recuperate a bit more before being on his own at home. His mother works and has her own medical procedures to worry about for the moment. He can walk and do some stairs, but without all of his fingers I think he is going to need some help getting meals ready and learning how to get by in a different way. They are going to request some in-home assistance for him when he does get back home.
It is just incredible to me that someone as sick as he is has to deal with hospital/facility blunders. I would think they would take EXTRA care to help someone who has had amputations and major surgery. It just seems like he falls through the cracks time and again. You just want to grab whoever was responsible by the collar and shake some sense into them. But of course, no one is accountable, there is no ONE person to take complaints or apologize. So it just gets left open-ended. And if this is the frustration I am feeling, just imagine for Bobby. He is already depressed, and the system just kicks him while he is down. And there is nothing we can do about. Tough day. I hope his care improves while he is there. He is a notoriously bad patient, and worse when the medical staff doesn't follow up on pain management.
Tomorrow is another day.
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A Prayer When in Crisis
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him.—Nahum 1:7
God, I feel lost and overwhelmed.
The world seems out of control.
Life has become a nightmare.
Please help me remember that
You made this world and declared it good.
Give me the comfort of Your presence
and the confidence to trust You
even when nothing seems to change.
Calm my mind, bring peace to my heart and
strengthen my spirit to carry on in the midst of loss.
Lay a path for me, and help me follow
Your way as I move
forward. Amen.
This scenerio, of hospital screw-ups and uncaring medical staff is told again and again from those who blog and people I know. Trying to rationalize it is impossible. Few of us are strong enough to fight back, complain, or pursue the dysfunctional health care system. And they know that. But everyone has a boss and there ARE people out there who really give a damn. Finding them is the trick. They are gems to polish, but until we find them we have to polish the stone in us. Push, push, always toward something positive/powerful/replenishing. Make your own path. You can do it. One life. Your way.
ReplyDeleteAlison,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, thank you for your response and god bless you. That was a beautiful beautiful prayer and it coming from the kuran, I think that’s neat. A good friend of mine in prison is very much into the kuran, he is muslim.
When we were in jail together he would share some passages with me, I don’t remember them now, but the idea is that we are all gods children, I don’t think it matters if it is Allah, some people call him Christ. The fact is something created us and in our darkest hours, deep in trouble, all alone, its actually God or Allah that gets us through our trouble. However he or she or it decides to use that power. But no matter what, to have a gift like that when you are feeling alone or scared, we are truly blessed.
Thank you, god bless you Alison!
Diane,
Thank you once again for responding to me. My best weapon that I am using right now, and I don’t care if people think I am crazy or delusional, the one thing that is important right now is God and my faith. Because for over 30 years, I ignored the power the faith the true miracles that God can give us if we don’t shut him out. People can look at me and say, “If it makes you feel better to lean on something or have a crutch” well I have come to the realization that my way doesn’t work, and if somebody or something has a better way and is doing it much better and it is working, then I am going to try it, at least today I am. Because as far as I am concerned, I am done driving. God needs to take over and drive. Now I am here for him, and I want to do it his way.
One thing I found out, is when I do try and follow his ways, or let God “drive” I feel a little bit better, I feel a little happier no matter what is going on at the moment.
If I do something right by not hurting someone or sinning or doing the wrong thing, then it makes me feel a heck of a lot better than what I was doing before, which was the wrong thing, and I won’t feel guilty. All I want is for somebody, doesn’t matter who, is for them to feel happy, for them to feel that they weren’t singled out by God, that they are not a victim. They too have a message to send. I am going to tell you this and then sign off: if we don’t turn our lives around from what we were doing before, it won’t work. Somebody once told me, “has anything that I have done made my life better?” And my answer was no. It’s time to do something different and take someone’s advice, because my way doesn’t work, and maybe I can do something new. It’s not nice, and we have to go through a lot of pain to get there, but we can’t give up.