Jan 22, 2013
My worst fear-- surgery on Daddy Bing--a dialysis patient, with multiple vessel occlusions in the coronary arteries, diabetes, hypertensive--would be complicated. As the ER doctor calmly stated that the surgeon is on the way, I felt so helpless but at the same time I had peace in my heart. The Holy Spirit has that kind of calming quality that reassured me that God is in control.
Mom was suddenly quiet. She thought they'd just give dad some medicine and it would all be better. I explained the situation to her in the simplest terms hoping it was clear to her that this is not an easy thing. Ed decided to go home to rest as there was no point in the three of us getting sleep deprived.
At 2:00 am a gray-haired man with sleep deprived eyes came in to see Daddy Bing. Dr. G is a general surgeon on call for the night. He probably had a full day just a few hours ago.
"This is an emergency surgery, his colon has a tear and fecal matter is in his abdomen," Dr. G said bluntly. "Do you have any questions?" I actually had a lot but I knew most of the answers.
The doctor then turned to Dad, "We're going to have to open you up to fix your belly, OK?"
Dad just raised both his eyebrows. The doctor turned to me for confirmation. I said, " That means Yes". I asked Dad, "Do you understand?" He mustered a small "yes" while he grimaced in pain. The morphine was not quite enough.
When Dr. G left, dad's next concern was, "What about my oath-taking on Wednesday? Sayang,"
"Don't worry about it dad, we'll let them know." I reassured him. You see, he just passed the citizenship interview the week before. Ed and Dad were scheduled for US citizenship oath-taking that Wednesday. It was now, Tuesday when all this happened. While we waited for them to get him ready for surgery, mom and I said a prayer for dad claiming for God's promises to us and for dad. We asked for God to guide their hands and keep dad safe during the surgery.
He was then whisked off to the third floor by the OR nurse and an attendant. They both saw that I was wearing scrubs so they asked me where I worked. I said TMC. "Oh, the big Hermann!", quipped the attendant. "I work there too, on the weekends." Mom was walking slowly as her boots made click-clacking noises with every step on the quiet, sterile laminate floor in the wee hours of the morning.
In November, dad had to have surgery to remove clots from the AV fistula he has on the left arm. So it was a familiar place for us to see. Compared to this, that November trip to OR was a breeze.
It was 3:30 am when they wheeled him into the OR. We waited patiently in the deserted waiting room with a fish tank of gold fish swimming around with no actual purpose. It was as if they too were waiting for someone to come out of surgery but they couldn't talk...
At 5:30 am, Dr. G wearily ambled his way towards the waiting room. "The surgery is over. This was a life-threatening event. With Mr. Puno's heart and kidney diseases, he may not make it.", he said matter-of-factly. "There was scarring on the left colon which caused the blockage, we had to divert the right colon to make a colostomy. It was a mess in there...", he added. " We cleaned out his abdomen and he's going to the ICU." Then came the "do you have any questions? " portion where I could never come up with anything... So I just said "No".
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
God is in Control
Jan 21, 2013
This day started ordinarily. I got up at 7:30 am to have coffee with my sweet husband Ed as he helped me get ready for work as a PACU nurse in Children's Memorial Hermann at the Texas Medical Center. I left the house at around 8:20am and had a smooth day at work--kids really make me smile even if they're cranky after surgery.
At 7:30 pm Ed called me from home as I was about 2 hours away from the end of my shift. He said my dad, Daddy Bing, couldn't stand the pain in his belly. He'd been constipated for maybe 3-4 days for which he was given laxatives by his doctor. Alarmed, I called Dr. Baweja, his kidney doctor, who knew about his constipation. I wanted to take him to the ER right away, the good doctor though wanted me to try giving him an enema in the hopes of clearing the blockage.
As I rushed home, I kept praying that God's hand be upon Daddy Bing and for his discomfort to be relieved. My heart raced as I went down Hwy 288, thinking how fast can I go without the cops detecting my heart rate. Then I stopped by Walgreens to get some fleets enema supplies. I have done this before with patients, but it just dawned on me that in about 3-5 minutes that I would be doing it on my own father!
"Nah, Neng, pasyensya lang gayot komigo," he pleadingly said. I could see the pain he had endured for this last few hours -- all the while I was at work laughing and enjoying my interaction with the kids and their parents. Why did I not see this yesterday? I could have taken him to his primary doctor, I could have done more for him, I should have been more vigilant, I should have known....
The fluid from the enema would just come out with just a bit of mucousy matter. I felt his belly, and it was distended and tender to touch. It was so painful to see him try his best to get whatever is brewing inside him out of his system. Finally, at 9pm, we decided to take him to the ER. Dr. Baweja said he'd talk to the ER doctor.
As my mom, Nancy, was still at work as a jewelry specialist in JCPenney's in a nearby town center, we called to let her know what had happened and that we're picking her up on the way to the hospital. She had on a pair of leggings with sparkly sequins on the side, suede black boots, and a velvet coat over a nice purple blouse. Of course she had her accessories that would wear me down if I were wearing it all day. Deep inside, I think I chuckled that my mom looks like a teenager emerging from a night of fun at a nice bar. yeah, she looks young for a 70 year old woman!
The ER was packed, it was the peak of flu season--the worse outbreak seen by the Centers for Disease Control. Though Dr. Baweja spoke to the ER doctor, like the Christmas story, there was no room in the inn. Children and elderly women were in the waiting room with masks on, coughing, sneezing, crying, and a young woman was even vomiting. All the patient attendant could offer were blankets and stale coffee while dad tried his hardest to find a comfortable position on the recliner. He shifted from lying down to sitting and sitting sideways--all in 5 minutes. His pleading eyes looked at me for answers, while my mom tried to soothe him by rubbing his back for him.
Finally, at midnight we were ushered into an Exam room that looked like there was a code there just before we went in. It was relatively clean but I know that there was chaos here prior to our arrival. After the ER nurses poked and prodded his right arm for a decent intravenous line and blood samples, the young ER doctor talked to us about his belly pain. "When was the last time he ate, had anything to drink, had a bowel movement?" "What meds has he taken? Any allergies ? When was his last dialysis? Endless questions, repetitive answers. An abdominal x ray was done within 10 minutes ( which felt like forever to me).
"He needs surgery, we see free air in his abdomen, which means he has bowel obstruction and subsequent perforation," the kind ER Doctor slowly explained to me and my mother. My heart sank.
This day started ordinarily. I got up at 7:30 am to have coffee with my sweet husband Ed as he helped me get ready for work as a PACU nurse in Children's Memorial Hermann at the Texas Medical Center. I left the house at around 8:20am and had a smooth day at work--kids really make me smile even if they're cranky after surgery.
At 7:30 pm Ed called me from home as I was about 2 hours away from the end of my shift. He said my dad, Daddy Bing, couldn't stand the pain in his belly. He'd been constipated for maybe 3-4 days for which he was given laxatives by his doctor. Alarmed, I called Dr. Baweja, his kidney doctor, who knew about his constipation. I wanted to take him to the ER right away, the good doctor though wanted me to try giving him an enema in the hopes of clearing the blockage.
As I rushed home, I kept praying that God's hand be upon Daddy Bing and for his discomfort to be relieved. My heart raced as I went down Hwy 288, thinking how fast can I go without the cops detecting my heart rate. Then I stopped by Walgreens to get some fleets enema supplies. I have done this before with patients, but it just dawned on me that in about 3-5 minutes that I would be doing it on my own father!
"Nah, Neng, pasyensya lang gayot komigo," he pleadingly said. I could see the pain he had endured for this last few hours -- all the while I was at work laughing and enjoying my interaction with the kids and their parents. Why did I not see this yesterday? I could have taken him to his primary doctor, I could have done more for him, I should have been more vigilant, I should have known....
The fluid from the enema would just come out with just a bit of mucousy matter. I felt his belly, and it was distended and tender to touch. It was so painful to see him try his best to get whatever is brewing inside him out of his system. Finally, at 9pm, we decided to take him to the ER. Dr. Baweja said he'd talk to the ER doctor.
As my mom, Nancy, was still at work as a jewelry specialist in JCPenney's in a nearby town center, we called to let her know what had happened and that we're picking her up on the way to the hospital. She had on a pair of leggings with sparkly sequins on the side, suede black boots, and a velvet coat over a nice purple blouse. Of course she had her accessories that would wear me down if I were wearing it all day. Deep inside, I think I chuckled that my mom looks like a teenager emerging from a night of fun at a nice bar. yeah, she looks young for a 70 year old woman!
The ER was packed, it was the peak of flu season--the worse outbreak seen by the Centers for Disease Control. Though Dr. Baweja spoke to the ER doctor, like the Christmas story, there was no room in the inn. Children and elderly women were in the waiting room with masks on, coughing, sneezing, crying, and a young woman was even vomiting. All the patient attendant could offer were blankets and stale coffee while dad tried his hardest to find a comfortable position on the recliner. He shifted from lying down to sitting and sitting sideways--all in 5 minutes. His pleading eyes looked at me for answers, while my mom tried to soothe him by rubbing his back for him.
Finally, at midnight we were ushered into an Exam room that looked like there was a code there just before we went in. It was relatively clean but I know that there was chaos here prior to our arrival. After the ER nurses poked and prodded his right arm for a decent intravenous line and blood samples, the young ER doctor talked to us about his belly pain. "When was the last time he ate, had anything to drink, had a bowel movement?" "What meds has he taken? Any allergies ? When was his last dialysis? Endless questions, repetitive answers. An abdominal x ray was done within 10 minutes ( which felt like forever to me).
"He needs surgery, we see free air in his abdomen, which means he has bowel obstruction and subsequent perforation," the kind ER Doctor slowly explained to me and my mother. My heart sank.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Service Recovery-- Role Play Topic for NUR 6313
Hi there! I have selected the topic of Service Recovery for my Role Playing instructional method presentation. What is service recovery? How does it affect patient satisfaction? What are the practices of nurses now as far as putting patients first? How do we handle situations where patients or families saw a breakdown in patient care?
Too many questions, huh? Here are two videos I would like for you to view. Give me feedback on how you felt while viewing these everyday situations in the healthcare arena.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Introduction
Hi all! Thanks for following me (yes, the two of you!). This photo was taken at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe. This was our honeymoon trip last July. It's a great vacation place because you can really appreciate nature and the Hand that created all the beauty and wonders of the world.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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