Colleen[6]: WTF??!

[mdlbear]

Colleen was doing fairly well when I saw her this evening: bored, but getting resigned to a long stay. But now, it seems, they are getting ready to send her home with some kind of portable IV pump. WTF??!

Update: 11/22 2pm She'll be moving to a skilled nursing facility, no earlier than Monday or Tuesday, and will stay until it's safe for her to be at home with less than 24-hour care.

OK, I know it's possible, in theory. People do it -- I've seen people walking around with PICC lines, now that I know what to look for. BUT: she can't care for herself at home -- she isn't even able to walk the distance from the front door to the bedroom by herself at this point -- and there isn't going to be anyone home during the day to care for her. We're going to be gone during Thanksgiving weekend. The bed's too high for her to get in and out of safely. She needs a walker when she's this weak, and she can't handle both that and the IV pump.

And when something inevitably goes wrong, it's an ER visit.

They don't even know at this point whether it's going to start healing or whether she's going to need surgery. I have no idea how long this is likely to go on. Or what to look for to see whether anything is going wrong.

The last time they sent her home too early it was a freaking disaster. The time before that it was merely a nightmare.

NOT a happy Bear.

Update: Saturday 08:30 It looks as though they're going to send her home tomorrow. It's probably going to be impossible to fight it, so my plan now is to ensure that she can use a walker or a wheelchair without having to also deal with a pole full of IV crap, make sure it's safe for her to be home alone for most of the day. We'll either have to cancel LOSCON or arrange for someone to stay with her. She may have to stay in the sewing room for a while if the bed is too high.

Comments

Re: wrong, but common

[mdlbear]

They may not be there on weekends. Will try.

Re: wrong, but common

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Ask for the ombudsman. I think they're required to be reachable in emergencies. YOU define emergency in this kind of case.

For that matter

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Remember THESE words: "Let me speak to your supervisor"