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Bruised and battered but home and sleeved

Sharonimo

Sharonimo

Sleeve to Bypass
Currently I have a sore throat (have found a small cut at the back of my throat where they must have had to wedge the breathing tube and bougie -- the anaesthetist did say to me my mouth and jaw looked small) .... plus ulcers in my mouth .... bruises all over my arms where various needles were jabbed into me ..... blood all over the left sleeve of my top where a vein in my left arm decided to "gush like a geyser" when the cannula was removed (what fun! -- a blood fountain!) -- never seen that and realised just how much blood can come out of a vein and people can bleed to death.

And quite a lot of abdominal pain (mostly to be expected) but I think the large incision where they remove the excess stomach (in a sleeve op it is actually removed forever and pulled out of one of the incisions) is the most painful and weeping blood.

I'm home today (Weds) instead of Thurs as originally planned only due to the complete incompetence of certain nursing staff -- the situation was so bad I very nearly walked out and discharged myself at 10 pm on Tuesday evening.

MORE ON NEXT BOX BELOW -- PLEASE NO COMMENTS UNTIL I HAVE COLLECTED ALL MY THOUGHTS -- THANKS.
 
So how it went ....

GOOD: pre-op assessment, great surgeon, lovely dishy doctor who took bloods, great HDU team

HDU: after the surgery I was in HDU (high dependency unit) for a few hours due to breathing problems -- I have a combination of: asthma, chronic rhinitis, and (mild) sleep apnoea -- but when added to the other two it makes for a toxic combination of breathing probs.

HDU: were great -- totally supportive and helpful, even though I was not very compos mentis at that time.

PAIN RELIEF: the anaesthetist decided that I would NOT get morphine due to my breathing problems (being that morphine can suppress the body's natural desire to breath) so have been on: Tramadol, Ibuprofen and Paracetemol since the op.

3 PM to 8 PM on Tuesday 17 April
=====================

Transferred from HDU to a normal ward where I had the misfortune of being in the care of Dumb & Dumber (2 nurses who seemed more interested in flicking the files of papers, and pretending to be busy than actually attending to patients, or in particular me).

In no particular order, in the 5 hours I was in their care they failed to do ALL of the following:

** tell / show me where the orange call button was

** tell / show me where the blue buttons to change the bed alignment were (the bed was in a very uncomfortable position for me, with knees raised and back brought forward -- I prefer to lie much flatter, even if head raised slightly).

** tell me that there was a toilet within the bay where I was

** make any enquiries as to the whereabouts of my bags (which had been put into storage) -- although I did ask a few times

** give me any pain relief for 3 hours

** take any notice of my repeated requests for a fan / temperature turn down in the ward (it was stiflingly hot and another lady also moaned and wanted the window open)

** check my temperature or touch my head as if they had done so they would have realised that I was running a slight temperature

** show the slightest interest in making my time comfortable or pain free

[HINT: I had just come out of HDU -- just out of intensive care, you twats!]

So by 7.50 pm I had reached the point of:

** getting up out of the bed semi naked (half a surgical gown covering my front but not done up at the back) -- attached to a bleep monitor (Dumb & Dumber thought that they were doing their job as long as I was attached to that machine to monitor my BP and pulse -- yeah like that's the only thing that matters???!!!!) ..... wandering aimlessly round the corridors looking for a toilet

** got guided back to the toilet in the bay I had come from by another member of staff

** was still feeling extremely ill -- feint and sick -- from the overwhelming temperature ..... and so had what I would call a "Sharonimo Strop" where I decided to pour a jug of water over my head, my body, my gown, everywhere ...... in a desperate attempt to cool down :mad: :mad: :mad:

AT THIS POINT (just before 8.00 pm) luckily the night staff arrived and my Angel and Saviour turned up .....

[MORE ON NEXT -- NO COMMENTS PLEASE UNTIL I'M FINISHED -- THANKS]
 
So at 8 pm a night auxiliary nurse ("healthcare assistant") called Ann arrived and within 10 minutes she had:

(1) found a fan for me (D&D had insisted there was none or could not be found)

(2) changed my wet gown and bedding

(3) showed me where the orange call button was

(4) showed me the blue buttons to change the bed alignment as I had been in discomfort for 5 hours

(5) got another nurse phoning the Property Department to find my bags **

** Unfortunately altho they were then able to return to me all the clothes and non-valuable rucksack/overnight bag ..... the most valuable items (my purse, keys and mobile phone) had been locked up in a safe in the "Cash & Banking" department which was now closed -- once again thanks to the incompetence of Dumb & Dumber not having acted sooner)

This was annoying as by that time -- despite Ann's sterling efforts -- I wanted to walk out after 5 hours of being ignored by Dumb & Dumber all evening.

Despite still being in quite considerable pain, I had come to the conclusion that because I could walk and mobilise without feinting, because it seemed my arms, legs and brain were all working perfectly fine .... that I would be better off going home and "nursing" myself on my own at home.

Ann managed to persuade me to stay one night and get discharged properly in the morning after the doctor's rounds and checks etc.

=================

So at 3 pm earlier today I was discharged one day earlier than planned, and went home in a taxi (which cost me £45 from N19 to SE18) ..... because the friend I had lined up to collect me on Thursday could not swap to Weds.

(And the idea of trying to persuade any other Londoner to give up a bit of their life is not really worth contemplating -- it took me 3 days of begging to get Bev lined up for Thursday the 19th -- and when I wanted someone to accompany me into the hospital London friends were all "too busy" so Erica from 145 miles away in Lincoln stepped in !!!)

I simply could not counter the idea of staying there one more night, being ignored by Dumb & Dumber (who would surely by now know I had made a complaint about them -- and would ignore me even more) ..... and having to hear lots of other patients being ill / treated / speaking to their family and friends for hours at visiting time.

====================

On leaving, I ended up scribbling out a handwritten list of all the problems I had experienced and gave it to the Ward Sister (was debating going away and writing a formal complaint letter -- but I don't really want the time and hassle -- I have jotted down the points on a memo pad and at least made the Ward Sister aware).

I did also make it clear in my note that I could not praise highly enough the auxiliary nurse, Ann C.
 
I'm going offline and off to bed now (tired) but will return sometime tomorrow to see replies and look at other threads.

Night night. :)
 
Sounds like you had a shocking experience, its just as well you are home now, with your belongings where you can chill and recuperate at your own leisure. Its over now and your new life starts here now tonight, don't look back, draw a line under it all and look to the future, the new slimmer healthier you. Hope you get a good kip xx
 
Night night Sharon, sleep well, and no over doing it tomorrow. Your experience sounds awful! I really hope D and D get disciplined!!:mad::mad: Well done you for writing the note, i just hope you really ARE well enough to go home. xxx
 
omg am i bad in laughing? bahahahaha :8855::8855: you crack me up Sharon, i wish i'd seen you pour that water over your head!! :D xxx
 
Sharon:

Firstly thank heavens you liked Mr. Sufi! I heard from Becky Lee that you'd mentioned me to him, that was nice. I like him a lot and he is very good at coming to support groups and following up.

Secondly, whoa. What a horrid experience. I was in a posh private hospital (Bushey Spire), and still couldn't wait to get out. I found the bed uncomfortable, there were no real decent bed covers, and every time I came anywhere close to dropping off, a nurse came in to find out how I was! But I had already decided to go home the same night, not even stayed overnight. I don't like hospitals, end of.

I'm glad you complained, and I hope D&D get a mouthful. The bottom line is, your sleeve was competently done and you'll hopefully recover well. HUGGS.

I'm sorry you felt so let down by your friends. N19-SE18 is quite a shlep but someone should have been there for you.

I hope you only get better and better from now on. HUGS. Feel free to PM me for any post op info or to share experiences.
 
Glad you are all done hun and can rest and recover at home, shame i was not local to you to get you home (((hug))
Guess we where pretty lucky in Bournemouth just a few small hiccups but care was good, don't blame you for complaining hun.
Sleep well and relax tomorrow the new you starts now xxx
 
Hi Sharon,

The way you have been treated does not surprise me but for it to happen time and time again is disgusting.
When will some hospitals wake up and realise that they employ a huge proportion of utterly useless ad lazy staff and this is the real reason why the nhs is on its knees.

Getting back to you, there is nothing like being at home, i hope by now you are tucked up safely and hopefully comfy in your own bed as I think sleep is so important in the early week post op...

i hope all your weeks of planning and shopping and cleaning etc are going to help you relax and recover over the next few weeks.

If you are in any need i am only in Erith and a short train ride away if you do get stuck for anything, but knowing you Sharon i expect you will be up and about and getting into your stride in a few days time.

Anyway the main thing is to wish you a swift and smooth recovery, remember the first few days are very hard but like a lot of things in life it does get easier.

Wendy x

Sent from my iPad using WLSurgery
 
You sure you wasnt on the ward I was on at Fartlands??? Lol! (Heartlands sounds too nice lol) All sounds painfully familiar :(

Really hope you can now recover emotionally and physically from it all.

Welcome to the losers bench xxx
 
Morning Sharon! Hope you had a lovely sleep in your own comfy bed. Even your own loo is better than anyone else's isn't it?
Keep the fluids and painkillers up, and take it easy.
 
honeykiss said:
The way you have been treated does not surprise me but for it to happen time and time again is disgusting.

When will some hospitals wake up and realise that they employ a huge proportion of utterly useless ad lazy staff and this is the real reason why the nhs is on its knees.
Click to expand...

My American Aunty has just replied to me by email saying:

"Just so you know that kind of nursing care is worldwide unfortunately"

P.S. Don't have a go at me for being up -- could not sleep soundly (am sure it will get better over the next few days .... so I will potter about for a bit and have a browse online and try and go back to bed at 3 am.
 
Another thing that annoyed me about Dumb & Dumber:

When I arrived on their ward they stood at the end of the bed chatting, trying to work out which kind of diseased specimen I was:

D1: "This one is a bypass isn't it?"

D2: "No she's a band"

D1: "No, look, she's had the gastric sleeve band"

FFS there is no op called the "sleeve band" !!! :mad: :mad:

This ward (the Victoria Ward at the Whittington) is the MAIN ward where post op bariatric patients are transferred every single day -- and I know they had 2 other bariatric patients of Mr Sufi in other bays on the same ward.

How on earth does the ward that takes in the most baratric patients (and several Whittington peeps have confirmed to me they were also taken to the Victoria Ward) ....... end up so clueless about the bariatric operations ????

ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD PLEASE. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Omg Sharon, what an ordeal :( ...

Am glad operation went ok and you are back home safely.. I hope you start to feel better soon .

Nicky xx
 
Gosh poor you. I am shocked at your ordeal.
Glad you are home & do hope your recovery goes well.
 
morning Sharon, hope you got some decent sleep in the end. How you feeling this morning? xxx
 
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