[OT] I hate hospitals...

[Tsyr]

Unfortunatly, as some other people have posted, I had/have no legal right to know how my own father is doing.

My father is out now...And I'm not sure what to think. Hopefully, it's good news, but... They are saying it's probably bacterial pneumonia... which is bad enough in and of itself, but it's not West Nile. However , they only are calling it that right now because my dad had been working in the garden, shoveling manure and compost... which can cause the aformentioned illness. They havn't ruled out West Nile, though... nor have they run tests, for some reason I can't fathom (Something about it not being relevent at this point in time... which is ominous to my ears, but I hope wasn't meant like it sounded.) Anyhow, they have him on a ton of drugs (which I have to go pick up as soon as stupid Walgreens calls me), and told him to get a lot of rest and stuff... and if it gets worse, to come back...

I'm glad they at least have him on something I guess, but that's still a pretty... I dunno... casual? way to treat someone...

Sadly/fortunatly, my father is one of those "I'll have time to rest when I'm laying in my coffin" type people, so he's in very good shape physicly, but tends to push himself a bit too hard... which makes him really vulnerable to things like that. He also tends to be one of those "I don't have time to bleed" people, and almost never sees a doctor about illnesses and such... which made me really scared when he said he wanted to go to emergency of all places.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Thoughts and hopes with you.

 

[Eosin the Red]

Tsyr,

I am a RN. Couple of things here.

1) Tests for WNV do not change the treatment, nor the course. If his white blood cell count is up and he has some consolidation in his lungs ~ pnumonia is a high likelyhood WNV is not.

2) The test for WNV is a lumbar puncture and carries its own risks, we also don't get the results back fast enough to be really relevant to treatment.

3) The flu is far more deadly than WNV. Flu takes out approx 20,000 people in the USA each year. The WNV has only claimed 100 ish. Both can be troublsome in the eldery or people with pre-exsisting chronic illness.

I am sorry that you are in the dark, it tends to magnify our fears. Trust that everybody who comes into contact with your father genuinely wants to see him do well and that they will do everything in their considerible power to make it so.

I just got off of a mid-shift but you can feel free to e-mail me and when I wake up I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Eosin_the_red@cox.net

 

[ArcOfCorinth]

I don't trust hospitals. I went to one back in January and the doctor stole my appendix!

Actually, my mom's an RN and I spent a lot of time in or around hospitals while growing up.

Good to here they discharged your dad. Best wishes in a speedy recovery. Keep an eye on him though.

 

[Pazu]

Tsyr:

Best of luck with your dad. I'm not fond of hospitals either, which is unfortunate since I work in one.

As an MD, I can say that the truism we learn in med school really does hold up: common things happen commonly. Although West Nile encephalitis is the current watchword, the odds are that it's not that (barring any recent mosquito bites and dead birds around); both influenza and bacterial pneumonia (as Eosin the Red astutely mentioned) would be more likely.

I would be happy to try to help with any questions you might have; please feel free to post or email me.

-- Pazu

 

[Jeph]

My mom's an MD (she's a nuerologist), but even that doesn't stop her from getting pissed at the ER foks. But, really, the ER in the hospital closest to my house isn't the best in the universe . . .

Still, you have to realize that the doctors treating your dad know what they are doing. They've done this for years and have plenty of experience. They'd never, never, never do a test, such as the WNV test, to a person that could cuase them harm without the consent of the afflicted's family, and the patient if possabloe.

My thoughts with you,
-Jeph

 

[Agback]

They are charging your dad about $2000 an hour for these type services, you have a right to know what is going on.

That sounds like a non sequitur to me. Surely it is Dad who has a right to know. His money, his medical information: why is it someone else's right to know? I don't know about the USA, but in this country doctors and nurses are not allowed to divulge my medical information, even to my relatives, without permission from me. And a good thing too, because I don't necessarily want my relatives knowing all my medical details.

As for the test for West Nile virus, my father used to have this rule: "Before I order any test, I ask 'How will I treat the patient if the result is positive? How will I treat the patient if the result is negative?' If the two answers are the same, I don't order the test." So, Tsyr, I guess that the doctors figure that whatever is wrong with your dad he is going to recover under current treatment, and that they don't need to know whether he has West Nile or not. If he ever gets to a point where knowing the answer will make a difference to his treatment, they'll do the test then. Meanwhile, be thankful that you have a medical team that seems focussed on treatment of the patient rather than on automatically performing every procedure that commands a fee.

Regards,


Agback

 

[JohnClark]

My father's and ER physician at the UW hospital and I can tell you that sometimes things do take a long time, even if it seems like it's realtively minor (although bacterial pnuemonia is not really minor). You just have to be patient and try and force yourself to remember that the staff is getting to everyone as quickly as they can, which is tough I know, especially when you're very concerned about a loved one. The person who earlier suggested bringing a book is right on, it'll help you pass the time and not worry yourself to death about things you cant control. Good luck and I hope your father does well.

P.S: The reason they didn't test for west nile is because, as has been said, it's very rare and it's an LP, which is fairly painful, can cause things like post-tap headaches. So if he's not showing symptoms they're not going to subject him to that.

 

[Tsyr]

Thanks for putting up with me, guys... I get nervous really easy where the human body is concerned.

I just hope this stuff they are giving him works... He's not in very good shape right now... chills so bad he practicly makes the bed shake one minute, the sweating the next... then fine for an hour, then it might start all over again.

And my mom is out of town and won't be back for another three days (She knows about what's going on, she just can't make it back before then), so this is really hard on me.

 

[Jarval]

Tsyr, I hope your dad gets better soon. It's awful when someone that close is ill.