I'm sure we all can attest to going about our daily routine without concerns for others, especially if we're tired or having a bad day. I think most just become so routine in their job, that it's just easier to go through the motions to get the day over with.
I am guilty of forgetting that, for example, in my profession, you can't just simply forget who you're dealing with. Sometimes (almost always) you're dealing with people who are scared, uneducated about what they've just been diagnosed with, and need that extra patience from you, whom they're looking up to for comfort.
Where am I going with this? My sister, who just returned from Kansas, was diagnosed with a blood clot yesterday in her leg. The inital drive to Kansas took her 2 days, basically immobile the whole time in her car. About a week after she was there, she experienced a horrible Charlie Horse during the night and continued to experience calf pain thereafter. I had initially advised it was probably due to the bad cramp, but if it did not clear up within a few days of drinking lots of water, to go see the doctor. She did that yesterday after noticing increased pain and eventually swelling. The doctor calmly advised her that it was "probably not" a clot but just to be safe would run a D-Dimer. She left feeling pretty confident things were fine, only to get a call from a very passive nurse later from the office stating her D-Dimer was "extremely elevated" and she needed a Doppler ASAP. That was all the information given to her as she was hurried off the phone, not explaining what any of that meant, but did add if she became short of breath it was a potentially deadly thing (basically) and needed to call 911. Uh. Yea.
That's when I get the frantic call of "WHAT?!" Granted, my sister has never been "very" calm when it comes to doctors in the first place (thanks to multiple ear-related surgeries we both had to have as a child), so this was rather alarming. I tried to reassure her that this didn't necessarily mean she had a clot, that's why they were doing the Doppler, but if she did ___, ___, or ___ would happen. I think the information was probably a bit overwhelming but at least she went into the procedure educated about the process and what would happen thereafter. Long story short, she had the Doppler and it is indeed a clot. They sent her back to the doctor where the Russian nurse came in and handed her 48,938 pages of information on her condition, and without a word was gone. They waited another 20min before having her come back, strap "a thingy" on her finger, nod, and proceed to walk back out ... all the while my sister had no clue what is going on. My sister's heart rate was "elevated" to say the least and the kind nurse did speak to her by saying she needed to "calm down". It wasn't until today that I explained to her what the "thingy" was on her finger and why they used it.
She's doing okay - and admittedly better than I would imagine considering she's completely needle-terrified and having to give herself Tinzaparin injections twice a day. She's on daily Coumadin as well and will chronically need to have repeat blood work to make sure her blood is not too thin. I briefly gave her a rundown yesterday of the dos/dont's of coumadin, which she ran by the doctor who said "Oh, I don't know". Thanks to the Anticoagulation Clinic who is managing her coumadin, they did affirm my explainations. This will be a 6 month ordeal for her.
My point is this: My sister was literally "terrified" by this. No one explained what they were doing, why, and what was going to happen. She fell into learning all of this as her 8hr day progressed. By the end of the day, I listened to an exhausted, frustrated, scared 30yr old and realized her day didn't have to turn out that way. All it would have taken was a few extra minutes on the explanation of things, a reassuring squeeze of the hand, a smile or wink, or even an offer of a glass of water. Any of that would have calmed a visibly-shaken person down. I know I learned a personal lesson how to slow down, because most likely they don't know even a fraction of what is going on and how you treat them during that traumatic time will effect their healing.
I love you, Jenn.
4 comments:
Thanks for taking the time to explain what was going on with me in a really challenging time. I think a lot of people in the medical field could take a few lessons from ya. You're great at what you do - including being a great sister.
Love you too, Les. You're awesome.h
Of course ... that's what sisters do. I wish I was close enough to come over and do the shots for you. Being able to over come your fear of that shows how strong you really are - as most would probably pass out! This is yet another challenge you'll pass with flying colors. Keep your head up.
Thanks for the kind words. I was surprised at how easy the shots were - I guess I just thought to myself, sometimes we're faced with crap we don't want to do, but you just *have* to do it. There's not really a choice to bail out of it. So you just do it. Maybe in some way, this has helped me overcome some of my fears. You'd have been proud - I strolled into the lab today and didn't feel as nervous as I usually do. And the shots, well. Whatever. It's over in a second. Thanks again, for the nice words. I love reading your blog. =)
How horrible that those who call themselves medical professionals would forget about basic principles of patient care. Unbelievable. It's not rocket science people! Just EXPLAIN!
Speaking of D-Dimers. I had a pt today who had a d-dimer of 3536. Ya. A very critical value. A bit alarming!
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