indiana territory

A WAKE UP FALL

I knew that people were staying shorter periods of time in hospitals and not being admitted from ER's to the degree that they had been a generation or so ago. I did not realize that all at once an untrained person could be expected to care for someone with a serious condition. The "all at once" phrase is important here, because it mean just what it says; it doesn' t mean all at once after some training or instruction.

Robert's leg is extremely bad according to Dr. Karr in at Fort Wayne Orthopaedics. He will not be able to bear weight on it for at least three months after the surgery - which is a week from tomorrow. And in the meantime, without stabilizing screws and a cast, he is in severe pain with any movement.

This is the situation we had on our hands Tuesday night. Getting him out of the car and into a wheelchair was awful, then getting him into the house, onto a sofa, positioning the leg, then moving him the next day to go to Parkview North.

We have no education on how to do these things. He weighs 275 pounds.

I think there is a need for the medical community to be educating the public on what may be expected of them in the era of shorter stays and more care at home situations. Maybe we should learn how to use crutches before we need them, take basic wheelchair operation lessons, learn how to do things without causing unnecessary pain to the patient.

I have interviewed Dave Hunter of Parkview Noble a couple of times about the hospital and the care it offers, maybe I need to talk to him about the care people are now expected to provide at home and an educational plan to that purpose.

posted by Jody @ 12:51 PM