# Hospital



## Orchid (Nov 22, 2009)

I have not posted for some time things were going fairly well healthwise.
A few weeks ago I collapsed in bathroom middle of the night.
Then I spend 9 days in hospital , 2 days in intensive care and 7 days cardiology. 
I am sort of midsize BBW ambulance personel had me walk downstairs though the garden out of the fence to ambulance. These being 2 big strong men now last time I went with ambulance was 2 tiny females size 2 so I understand they not being able to lift me. Then in hospital I got wrong meds during the night wrong IV. As a large female patient I just do not get taken seriously I mean when I saw the meds name in the morning I told new nurse but this is not what I get. I passed out twice that night due to their faulty IV
My own specialist was away helping ill folks in other country during this time.
Anyone any ideas how a BBW is supposed to survive hospital ?


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## SocialbFly (Nov 23, 2009)

Orchid said:


> I have not posted for some time things were going fairly well healthwise.
> A few weeks ago I collapsed in bathroom middle of the night.
> Then I spend 9 days in hospital , 2 days in intensive care and 7 days cardiology.
> I am sort of midsize BBW ambulance personel had me walk downstairs though the garden out of the fence to ambulance. These being 2 big strong men now last time I went with ambulance was 2 tiny females size 2 so I understand they not being able to lift me. Then in hospital I got wrong meds during the night wrong IV. As a large female patient I just do not get taken seriously I mean when I saw the meds name in the morning I told new nurse but this is not what I get. I passed out twice that night due to their faulty IV
> ...



two things i keep saying...a health folder with all your info in it, including past history, meds etc...

and a loud knowledgable friend to look over you if needed.


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## deepreflection (Nov 23, 2009)

Any way you can "wear" your details will help, perhaps a medical bracelet is in order. In the case of trauma/emergency the docs are going to do what they think is best in the moment. Orders, nurses, and people on the floor are usually where things get a lot harder.

I have personal experience like your own, I had to assert myself at the end of my dose to say that I can't have what they were giving me. Nobody knew I didn't tolerate that med and it's super common. I don't fault anyone, even I had to figure it out on the fly.

I don't believe my size had anything to do with it. The quality of staff on the floor is just poor (at times). One night I had a "conversation" with a night-nurse who was sent because I called in excruciating back pain. Over the past week my mattress had deflated some and it started to cause the pain. My night nurse _barely_ spoke English and after 2.5 hours of insisting that something be done he realized that the air pump which maintains firmness in the mattress had been removed from that bed. Problem solved. At 3:20am. In pain. 2.49 hrs of conversation, .01 hrs of checking and solving the problem I might add. I was just praying I could get to sleep the whole time.

Bottom line, quality medical staff are in short supply and your care provider needs to hear from you. Write them! You deserve care that is conscientiously provided. When you object they should listen and double check; dismissing your information without that check or sending in a doc to talk with you about the treatment is unacceptable. Know your rights and demand to speak with the doc on duty any time things get sideways.


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## moore2me (Nov 25, 2009)

Orchid said:


> I have not posted for some time things were going fairly well healthwise.
> A few weeks ago I collapsed in bathroom middle of the night.
> Then I spend 9 days in hospital , 2 days in intensive care and 7 days cardiology.
> I am sort of midsize BBW ambulance personel had me walk downstairs though the garden out of the fence to ambulance. These being 2 big strong men now last time I went with ambulance was 2 tiny females size 2 so I understand they not being able to lift me. Then in hospital I got wrong meds during the night wrong IV. As a large female patient I just do not get taken seriously I mean when I saw the meds name in the morning I told new nurse but this is not what I get. I passed out twice that night due to their faulty IV
> ...




Hello Orchid,

'Sorry to hear about your bad hospital transport and subsequent bad hospital treatment. I do not know what the rules and regs are where you live, but I can make some recs what a girl or guy should do here in the states in such a situation.

On the ambulance/paramedics problem - perhaps advance planning is in order. Contact the paramedic company and discuss your special needs with them and tell them why you need stronger help ahead of an urgent situation. In my community, the managers, staff and sometimes the entire ambulance company changes frequently, so your personal update may need to be repeated periodically as necessary.

Actually tho, I don't understand why the women didn't call for more help - that's what would have been done here. Do you think they wanted to be "tough" and handle it themselves? Or, perhaps they did not recognize the symptoms of your true distress & thought you were "Jonesing" for medical attention?

As to what happens inside the hospital, the advice given by Socialbfly and Deepreflection is good. I have some additional suggestions.

If your nurse is not able to (or will not) communicate with you - you can ask to speak to the "charge nurse". This is the nurse in charge of that shift or the nurse supervisor. But, if you do so, be prepared to clearly state what your problem is.

And, talk to your primary doctor about what went wrong and what you could do it if happens again. Some docs here in the states have enough "status" that ER and floor staff will not triffle with their patients. 

My mom is a retired RN and she uses a different technique to avoid problems during the night shift. She usually will hire a temporary nurse to sit with her in the room during hospital visits. The sicker mom is, the more she feels she needs an extra set of eyes watching her back. (I am not physically able to handle such a task - altho I would like to.)

I hope some of this may help - however, I hope you don't need it again!


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