What a worrisome year this has been for all three of our nieces. Jessica’s bottomless grief following Shawn’s sudden death has just begun. Beth underwent surgery for kidney cancer, early in the year. (Thank goodness, she’s doing well.)
And Deb (Howie’s wife), who having battled a ruthless breast cancer for more than a year, recently underwent a double mastectomy followed by rounds of chemo before undergoing a reconstruction, which saw serious complications based in her IV having infiltrated for hours, pumping more than a liter of meds and fluids—not into a vein—but into her left arm, causing Deb to need three emergency surgeries (the scalpel of hand surgeon [called in] starting at the inner side of her elbow and continuing to slice into her dangerously swollen flesh beyond her wrist and into her palm) with immediacy while two additional surgeries followed. all within one week’s time, and as Deb’s arm remained too swollen with fluids, each surgery has been left open with a gap of six inches which cannot be stitched closed for a matter of months, though, hopefully, during this indeterminate period of time, a series of skin grafts will eventually cover her open wounds—and all of this misery proved unnecessary as Deb, who has medical training, told the nurse anesthetist that she could feel her IV infiltrating, right before my niece was sedated by this same nurse who’d said she’d check the iv, though, evidently, the needle in question had NOT been in the vessel for the next several hours. Once Deb’s series of skin grafts covers each oozing wound, an intensive regimen of physical therapy will be necessary to rehabilitate the muscles, slit by the surgeon’s scalpel in her arm and hand.
Deb and I fully agree that had a board certified anesthesiologist been told that the iv was infiltrating, he or she would have checked the placement of the offending needle before putting the patient to sleep.
More about my frustrations concerning hospitals (owned by big business) reducing their costs by decreasing the number of board certified anesthesiologists on their staff in favor of hiring nurse anesthetists, whose medical training can not compare with four years of medical school followed by several years of residency and stiff exams before board certification is conferred.
Greed, the green-eyed giant, is amassing dollars by eating away at patient care in dangerous ways that had remained invisible to most of us for years. PA’s have not attended medical school. They have not dedicated four or five years of their lives to residencies as is required of board certified medical specialists. PA’s are assistants. Not doctors. Nurses are fired as lower paid aides are hired to attend to much more of in-patient care while executives with no medical training whatsoever fill their bank accounts with fistfuls of dollars while keeping their masters’ unsatiated greed well fed or—off with their heads says the CEO, whose coffers skim millions more off the top than most of us care to count such an obscene amount in unison, aloud.
I had no clue that nurse anesthetists had attended to my well being during my most recent life saving surgeries (while a board certified anesthesiologist floated amongst operating rooms) until Will clarified that fact while we were discussing the unnecessary disastrous aspects leading up to Deb’s deeply painful, distressing ordeal. I remember how meticulously Will had always chosen his anesthesiologists for their thoroughness, which matched his own meticulous surgical skills..
And while on the subject of thoroughness, I’m thoroughly furious with the fact that BIG business lords over our entire health system, caring little for the well being of any of us—unless a US congressman happens to be a member of your immediate family.
When did the Republican Party become a cult, handing out cups filled with Koolaide that addles voters’ brains into believing politicians know more about modern medicine than men and women who’ve chosen to dedicate many years of their lives to the study of healing the human body of ailments, which left to themselves, are cold blooded killers.
Though I’m too angry to end today’s post on an up note, an up note, concerning the future of medicine does exist, and with time, I’ll relate the little I’ve learned concerning change for the better that lies ahead of our current generation; however, that’s all for today, because my mind feels thoroughly spent.
👩🏻Annie
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