Feeling: AGED!
I have not posted this post for a few weeks as I have had to edit it quite a a few times.
The reason for my many, many edits is because I was totally and utterly over emotional when ever I thought about the below experience.
Even now as as I think about it now I get a knot in my stomach and feel all weepy and emotional but now that I am a tad calmer I am ready to let it all out there. I am a lady in training so I have taken out all the swear words, name calling and sarcasm..okay not really but I have toned it down just a little.
King Luke was ill a few weeks ago.....not sniffy he has a cold ill but he was really, really ill.
It all started on a Friday morning at 1am to be exact (see I am trying to be factual and not emotional) - I heard this strange sound coming from his room - yes I have supersonic mothers hearing and was almost immediately wide awake. I can do this if I hear any unusual noises coming from his room. Moms can do this, it is what makes us fabulous.
Anyway I shoot up after hearing a funny gurgle, spluttered cry - fully awake now I dash to his room - note Chris is still snoring away.
As I rush over to Luke's cot I discover that Luke is vomiting and vomiting. I call Chris who helps me clean the ENTIRE cot and I give Luke a quick bath.
He feels all hot and feverish but still manages to give me a toothy grin after each vomit session - bless his heart.
I make a make shift bed for him next to me in our room so that I can monitor him for the rest of the night. He continues to vomit every hour until 6am.
Me being a sort it out and make it better kinda Mamma had him at our doctor by 8am. I was there as their doors opened. The Doc did all that Doc stuff that Docs do and declared that Luke had Gastro. Take this for temp and that for pain and keep him hydrated.
Great simple, I can do that!
I collect all the prescribed medication and even bought him Cream Soda - I am an anti -fizzy drinks Mamma - BUT at this point I would have given him anything, all I wanted was for him to keep something down.
Fast forward, 15pm Friday afternoon Luke is STILL vomiting, I am now getting panicky. I take him back to the Doc who decides to give him an injection - not at all pleasant, these injections burn, Luke screams blue murder. The injection is supposed to stop the vomiting.....
We get home and Luke is exhausted but still puts up a good fight not to go to sleep. I take this as a positive sign that he still has fight in him. Friday night he is restless and does not sleep well at all but I feel a little bit more optimistic because he does not vomit all night.
Saturday morning.... more vomiting and now diarrhea starts. I don't know what more do....I am getting more and more worried. Luke is very irritable, has a temp, will not eat or drink anything and is becoming lethargic.
I take him back to the Doc.....3rd time, the Doc now decides to admit Luke to hospital for a drip, he is apparently dehydrating. (No sh1t Shurlock)
We arrive at the hospital after my Doc gets hold of the Pead. He gives us a referral letter and tells us to go to Ward 1.
The nurse on duty Mrs. Meany tells me that she does not know who we are or that we were coming. She is very rude and seems annoyed that we have disturbed her Saturday.
She at no point gives me her name or title. She does not greet us, she does not ask my sons name either. All she does is tell us to wait in the isolation room, which we do. Not a good start but I am still relatively calm..just a bit annoyed.
In passing she tell my husband that my son would need a drip and that I could not stay the night with him. It was said in passing. I was so stressed by this stage that I did not comprehend what she was saying but I told my husband that that is the one rule I would under NO circumstance obey. She had very poor communication skills, lacked compassion and did not show an ounce of concern for my son. I instantly disliked her and my first thought was how the heck is she a Pead Nurse?
Without discussing anything or getting me to sign the ward rules she takes my son away to put the drip in. We were not asked whether we would like to be with our son while the procedure was performed, I feel totally unsure and reluctantly let her take Luke away.
She did explain what she was doing to my son or why we could not go with him.
Needless to say I had to listen to Luke scream and scream for more that 15 minutes. I was VERY distressed and started pacing, another nurse Mrs. Dumbass who was standing around staring at me, turns around and tells me to stop worrying, they are are not killing him...the wrong thing to say at a time like that! Insensitive much, I felt the urge to B^%$ slap her.
She also said I could go into the procedure room to see what they are doing to my son.
I walk into the room and was rudely told that I was supossed not to be there- this was after I was told that I could go and see what they were doing by Mrs. Dumbass.
I asked Mrs. Meany and the other nurse Mrs. fugly if they are nearly done and why it was all taking so long?
They do NOT answer me or even look up.......! What the.....?
They had my baby on his back, he was hysterical, the tears were pouring down his little cheeks. I thought I was going to explode with rage.
My sons drip was finally inserted, they did not even try and soothe him.....they had to try both his hands to get the drip in and he had red marks on his arms where they were holding him down!
The nurse Mrs. Fugly that assisted Mrs Meany during the procedure walked up to me and said that she DID answer me when I asked if they were nearly done. She told me said hmmmmm!
Okay now my blood pressure has just gone through the roof hmmmmm is not an answer.
Can you say inappropriate, disrespectful and just plain rude?
From the time we arrived to the time we left this nurse never once greeted me and when she came into the ward to change my sons bedding she would just shove passed me. I told her straight out, You are not allowed to touch Luke again!
From the moment I walked into Ward 1 I got a very bad gut feel and did not trust these woman with my son. For the first time in my life I went totally, completely, fully with my gut. There was no way that I was leaving my son for the night with these people.
Nurse Meany had a HUGE argument with me when I refused to sign the rules form which was only given to me AFTER they had put in my sons drip. It said "No parent will be allowed under no circumstance to stay with their child at night". I am sorry but WTF???????
I told them I would not sign the form or leave my son for the night and if they tried to make me I would sit on the floor outside his room. My son is a baby he can't communicate to tell me what has happened to him during the night so I refuse to leave him with people that I don't know or trust ohhh and by the way my bill will pay your salaries so I think it is fair to say what I want goes....By the way our 1 night stay in that hole was R4000.00!
I was then threatened and was told that if that was the case I would have to sign a refusal of treatment form. Basically it was a form stating that I was refusing treatment for my son - it is a form that is used to make their lives easier so that if anything had happened to my son from that point on their asses would have been covered.
I said that I would not sign it but would take my son to another hospital where I could stay with him all night. I told them I was taking him with the drip in his arm as I was not having that procedure done again.
Mrs. Many then said that I could not leave with the drip in his arm – A BLATANT LIE – when we left on Sunday afternoon he came home with the drip in his arm! I never took my son back on Monday to have the drip taken out. I took him to another clinic as I was by this stage totally uncomfortable with that hospital and would never go back there ever again. We only got a phone call on Tuesday asking why we had not come back to have his drip taken out!
She also told me that she would not refer me to another hospital and that I would have to take my son to the emergency rooms and wait in a Que, another lie. I did not need her referral I already had a referral letter from my doctor.
As you can now imagine I had now had it with these woman and told them that I was not BUDGING.
Eventually the manager of the hospital was called I explained the situation to her and she said that I could stay in the reception foya on these horrible plastic chairs for the night, which I did. The nurses had strict instruction from me that when my son woke up they were not to touch him, they had to call me on my cell and I would cuddle him and put him back down.
My son woke up twice during the night, screaming. I was called, I calmed him down and got him back to sleep quickly, quietly and with no further trauma to him.
It amazes that in this day and age that they do not let mothers stay with their children, it is very old system, what are they trying to hide?
I heard babies crying for their parents all night, it was as far as I am concerned very cruel.
The “reason” that were given to me as to why I could not stay the night was ridiculous. Basically they said that the parents disturb the children - I think I actually laughed when they said this. No dear nurse you don't want the parents there to monitor you....I watched you lot all night eating, laughing, bumping and bashing things, taking countless smoke breaks. I heard the children crying for their parents.....!
My son only sleeps on his tummy, he does not like a dummy, he has a security blanket that he rubs or sucks when he sleeps, he will not just lie down and go to sleep he needs to be rocked.....the nurses did not at ANY point ask any of these important questions regarding my child.
He is a little person who has his very own likes and dislikes and should be treated as such. Instead he was treated as the child of the over emotional mother and was literally a number!
I was even told that I was insane and that they could not believe that I was actually sleeping in the foya. I told them that THOSE parents that I watch leave their crying babies were insane and that protecting my child was my only concern so they can think whatever they want about me.
Again I was not introduced to any of the night nurses ...would you drop your child off at creche not knowing who is looking after your child? It is crazy that no one takes the time to tell you who is looking after your child and what their titles are?
I also noticed that anyone and everyone was just allowed into the ward there was NO security what so ever during the day or night. What if someone walked in and just took my baby?
I could go on and on....it took 7 days of vomiting, diarrhea, extreme nappy rash but my son got better. I think my nerves will take a bit longer to heal.
I don't want my experience to scare you but if you are a like me unwilling to compromise with anyone when it come to what if right for your baby then before admitting your child to a hospital investigate their rules and regulations, go with your gut and protect your child.
At the end of the day no -one will love, protect or look after your child like you do.
Much Love M x
Much Love M
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