Many many moons ago, I worked for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Starwood is known for it’s famous brands such as: The Westin, W, Four Points, and the Sheraton. As a way to recognize their customers, they came up with a program called “Starwoord Preferred Guest”.
This program was very similiar to a frequent flyer type program except for it was very specific to guest’s preferences during their stay. Some of the “luxury collection” hotels even kept notes about specific client’s likes/dislikes including: favorite cocktail, snacks, magazine preference, etc. Guests could even earn points for free stays in the future.
Well, I can assure you that my “Ritz” definitely does not incorporate a program like this. I have found myself having to repeat several times my issues, medications, etc. You would think that the hospital would have this information on file from the last time(s) I have been admitted. The information that they did appear to have was allergies, but I couldn’t tell if they had any information beyond that. The funny thing is that the ER and the regular hospital wings do not have the same computer system, so blood work and other information isn’t necessarily always transferred.
Yesterday afternoon I came back to the ER for stomach issues. I had assumed it was the pancreatitis again and when I was admitted, they would have me on no food/liquid for a period of time. I could do this to myself at home, although I would probably have complications from dehydration. When I was finally taken into the ER room, they found that my lipese levels were increased…not as high as the last time, but still high. This meant that the pancreatitis was still prevalent and could get worse or better. They hooked me up to an IV drop of potassium and saline and we started the circus act that typically goes on in the ER. This consists of me constantly pushing the nurse’s on call button because I am waiting for more pain medication, the nurses basically ignoring me and telling me that they have to wait to get docs orders, and meanwhile my IV machines are beeping nonstop.
Fast forward. It is now 1:30pm on Tuesday. I checked into the ER on Monday at 4:30pm. I am supposedly going to get admitted to a room upstairs soon. I just found out now that I am not supposed to drink water! Damn! I am soooo thirsty. I just threw up and they don’t have me hooked up to an IV anymore because I am supposedly going to be moved soon.
Also, I talked to the doc again this morning about the blood clot and he basically said the same thing. He said that the clot doesn’t just go away and the only thing we can do is take the blood thinners and my body will naturally get rid of the clot over time. This clot seems to be getting more swollen each day, and now the pain is spreading to the back of my knee area when I walk. If this is getting worse on my leg, then what is happening to the clot in my lung??? During my last stay in the hospital, one of the nurses did mention that she had a patient die from a blood clot in the lung!
My oldest friend Tina is in town for her caregiver shift. She just arrived late this morning. It is great to see her. She has had many health issues since we were teenagers so she has seen alot of what I am going through now with docs, etc. I am hoping that this stay will be a short one and I can actually enjoy my last week before I go into Chemo next week.