Hospital: Day One Million
It feels like I have been here forever. I've only been here since late on Wednesday. The getting better is going more slowly than usual - and I'm not happy about it. I am, however, happy with the care I'm getting. This hospital is awesome. AWESOME. Here is a list of reasons I'm doing awesome here:
*My attending is WONDERFUL. I see my pulmonologist EVERY day - even this weekend b/c she's the pulmonologist on call. She's so cool. And stubborn. She's very stubborn - possibly more stubborn than me. And she knows how stubborn her CFers are and she doesn't let us pull any crap - not that I pull much anyways, but I pull a little. She insists on writing all the orders for her CF patients even if it's the middle of the night. I love her.
*The nurses ROCK. Now, I don't want to say that there aren't any good nurses at the U, but it's hard to find a good one - and I don't get their schedule. And my favorite nurses usually end up leaving the pulmonary/GI floor to work elsewhere. Here I have the same nurses for SEVEN days in a row. It's amazing. I've had all good nurses, good NAs (here they call them Personal Care Technicians or PCTs. Don't ask me why), and even good nursing students. Some things that make these nurses better are they speak English, they know how to dispense meds properly, and they can handle pouring my pills AND giving me my IVs ON TIME (who would have thought that would ever happen!). So far I haven't had to yell at a nurse or a doctor. I feel confident that these nurses know their sterile technique and know what they are doing. I haven't had to ban anyone from my room - including medical students.
*The nurses round EVERY HOUR - which means you see someone at least every hour. At the U I could go several hours without anyone stepping into my room, so the rounding every hour was weird at first. I was kind of like, "I'm fine, leave me alone!" But now I'm glad that they do it - I at least get to see a human once an hour.
*Every day I get $4 to spend in the cafeteria - it gets me up and walking around and eating more. I don't need to eat more - I need to eat LESS (I've gained all the weight I lost at home back in the few days I've been here).
*The food is better and I haven't gotten food poisoning.
Things that are different and possibly bad about being here:
*It's far away from my house - and from my parents' house, which means my parents aren't here every day. I get fewer visitors. Today I haven't had a single visitor :-(
So those are my two lists. I can handle being a little isolated because the care I'm getting is so great. I am so much more relaxed and not anxious. I'm not waiting for the next med error to happen. When I call for a reason I have a nurse or PCT in my room in less than 5 minutes. ALWAYS. it's awesome.
I'm enjoying my time alone - at least for now. I've been knitting, watching movies and TV, sleeping, and riding my IV pole around the hospital. Yes, I have taken up the art of Pole Riding, inspired by the documentary of Eva's - that scene with her riding her IV pole. I enjoy the funny looks and laughs I get from people as I ride my IV pole like a scooter around the halls. One person told me today "That's totally how I would get around, too." And I smiled.
My room has "the phantom door" - it opens by itself. So mostly I keep the door open - but today I didn't feel like having people around, I tried to keep it shut, but it has now opened on its own. Maybe that's a sign I should stop typing and go back to knitting or reading.
Please leave comments; I like knowing people haven't forgotten about me!
Love,
Carla
*My attending is WONDERFUL. I see my pulmonologist EVERY day - even this weekend b/c she's the pulmonologist on call. She's so cool. And stubborn. She's very stubborn - possibly more stubborn than me. And she knows how stubborn her CFers are and she doesn't let us pull any crap - not that I pull much anyways, but I pull a little. She insists on writing all the orders for her CF patients even if it's the middle of the night. I love her.
*The nurses ROCK. Now, I don't want to say that there aren't any good nurses at the U, but it's hard to find a good one - and I don't get their schedule. And my favorite nurses usually end up leaving the pulmonary/GI floor to work elsewhere. Here I have the same nurses for SEVEN days in a row. It's amazing. I've had all good nurses, good NAs (here they call them Personal Care Technicians or PCTs. Don't ask me why), and even good nursing students. Some things that make these nurses better are they speak English, they know how to dispense meds properly, and they can handle pouring my pills AND giving me my IVs ON TIME (who would have thought that would ever happen!). So far I haven't had to yell at a nurse or a doctor. I feel confident that these nurses know their sterile technique and know what they are doing. I haven't had to ban anyone from my room - including medical students.
*The nurses round EVERY HOUR - which means you see someone at least every hour. At the U I could go several hours without anyone stepping into my room, so the rounding every hour was weird at first. I was kind of like, "I'm fine, leave me alone!" But now I'm glad that they do it - I at least get to see a human once an hour.
*Every day I get $4 to spend in the cafeteria - it gets me up and walking around and eating more. I don't need to eat more - I need to eat LESS (I've gained all the weight I lost at home back in the few days I've been here).
*The food is better and I haven't gotten food poisoning.
Things that are different and possibly bad about being here:
*It's far away from my house - and from my parents' house, which means my parents aren't here every day. I get fewer visitors. Today I haven't had a single visitor :-(
So those are my two lists. I can handle being a little isolated because the care I'm getting is so great. I am so much more relaxed and not anxious. I'm not waiting for the next med error to happen. When I call for a reason I have a nurse or PCT in my room in less than 5 minutes. ALWAYS. it's awesome.
I'm enjoying my time alone - at least for now. I've been knitting, watching movies and TV, sleeping, and riding my IV pole around the hospital. Yes, I have taken up the art of Pole Riding, inspired by the documentary of Eva's - that scene with her riding her IV pole. I enjoy the funny looks and laughs I get from people as I ride my IV pole like a scooter around the halls. One person told me today "That's totally how I would get around, too." And I smiled.
My room has "the phantom door" - it opens by itself. So mostly I keep the door open - but today I didn't feel like having people around, I tried to keep it shut, but it has now opened on its own. Maybe that's a sign I should stop typing and go back to knitting or reading.
Please leave comments; I like knowing people haven't forgotten about me!
Love,
Carla
Comments
Get well.
Oh yeah, and we haven't forgotten about you. :) Get better soon!
Hang in there! Hope you feel much better. I'll be praying for a speedy recovery, and that the nurses and docs continue to be attentive, on time, nice, supportive, etc. during your stay.