Physical therapy for all

There was physical therapy for all today.  Cindy is feeling so much better today and able to get out of bed.   The doctor removed the tube from her chest.  Her lung capacity has increased by 45% after draining 75% of the fluid in her chest.  The surgeon is hoping that the sac does not fill back up and absorbs back into her body.  They will be doing another chest x-ray Tuesday morning to make sure things look right.  They are trying to avoid another surgery.  If it does fill up or doesn’t absorb then, there will be another surgery in a couple of weeks.

The next step for Cindy is to begin physical therapy.  She was able to sit in a chair for about an hour and a half along with her friends Tangy and Blueberry.  If she does well, she should be able to go home soon, probably on Thursday.  If not, she will have to go to a rehab.

Reggie, Pauline’s physical therapist, came to the house for a session.  He said that Pauline was doing very well.  She was able to do all her exercises, walk around the house and doing some minor activities.  He will be back on Thursday.

Another glitch in communication

Sunday night was difficult for Cindy.  The surgeon had changed her diet but didn’t write that in his notes.  That meant that Cindy didn’t get what she wanted.  After spending days in bed pain without being able to move, Cindy got very frustrated and anxious.  Rita went to the hospital that night to be with her and did everything she could to calm her down.  It seems the surgeon wrote the change on the board and not on the computer. The nurses never called or texted him.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for the patient, comfort and dignity are critical to their recovery.  When the hospital admits a patient, they are given (or should be) a Patient’s Bill of Rights.  Use it when necessary.  I remember one time about 15-20 years when Pauline was in agony and I took her to the Emergency Room.   We were in the waiting area.  Pauline was too uncomfortable to sit and needed to lie down.  The security guard came around and said that she couldn’t like down in the waiting area.

It seemed that homeless people were coming into the ER and sleeping on the floor, so they “banned” lying on the floor.  I had the Patient’s Bill of Rights in my hand.  I opened the booklet and saw that it said that each patient has the right to be comfortable.  So I found a pillow and blanket and made Pauline as comfortable as possible.  When the security guard came over again, I handed him the pamphlet and pointed out that she had a right to be comfortable and he could either bring over a gurney or leave her alone.  He walked away and never came back.