I'm HOME!!!!

[many houseapes]

On the upside, the RAI wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. I didn't get sick, didn't lose any hair & I was released the next evening. The only thing that I need to get through now is staying away from everyone until next week. Doc said that I could go outside & water my garden & dh can keep the kids inside, but then I have to go back into isolation.
I swear, I felt like "Magneto" in the hospital w/ all of the plastic covering everything. The staff during the day were great, always checking on me...even if they had to stay a distance of 3 ft, they still came in & gave me the things that I needed...but at night the hospital turned into the hospital from hell....total neglect, mismanagement of my low iodine/no soy diet (gave me stuff I couldn't eat),I had to call them several times for my meds, some equipment in the room didn't work,I had insomnia b/c of the stress...out of 52 hrs, I had 4 hrs of interrupted sleep...Halo flights were extremely loud, motorcycles were drag racing on the street below at 2am and there was some woman that kept yelling in pain b/c the staff had been ignoring her too (I was in the cancer ward). If I could have, I would have at least tried to offer what comfort I could. By 9am the next morning, I got so fed up with all of this nonsense that I felt like calling the nurses station to tell them that if they continued to treat me this way, I was going to walk out of my isolation & "nuke" the staff.I know...not very nice. I understand that the nursing staff can be extremely busy at times, but to the point at how they were treating the patients was totally unacceptable. When I arrived home, I was ravenous & exhausted & sick of crossword puzzles. I am thankful that this is so over with & I slept deeply last night...& feel so much better. Sorry to rant.

[craftypam]

Can't give you enough hugs. I am not a person who wants lots of attention in my everyday life, but when I'm in the hospital I want it and most of the time need it. The sad thing was for me; the place I was most ignored was ICU. Shame on them and shame on the people who were getting paid to take care of you. So glad you are home and getting some rest!!!

[Luv2BeFrugal]

Sending hugs!!

[onencgirl]

{HUGS} Glad to see you're home sweet home.

[starsapphire]

There's nothing worse than being in the hospital, more or less helpless/vulnerable and cannot get your needs met!

I'm glad that your medical treatment wasn't as bad as you thought and that you're home now.

[missyali]

Glad you're home. Take it easy and let your dh take care of you!

[alotofgooddeals]

been there and done that....hospital stay and its so nice to come home and be comfortable.....take care!

[MaryCarney]

PLEASE - after the emotion has passed, write a letter to the nursing manager of that unit - and give her specific examples of your situation and complaints. Trust me - she want to know, and it cannot get better for other patients unless she does.
Glad your home and better - I know how you'd been dreading it.

[Debbie-cat]

I am so glad you are home. Rest well now and be pampered by those you love.

[many houseapes]

I am so glad you are home. Rest well now and be pampered by those you love.

Thanks Dh took his vacation during this time to help me & spend some quality time w/ the houseapes...he's missed out alot b/c of the demands of his job & needs to catch up. I just wish that I could scoop the kids up & cuddle them (even the older ones.lol), but I can't do that for another week. It breaks my heart that I have to lock the bedroom door so my 4yr old doesn't get exposed to the radiation that I still carry....he doesn't understand & bangs on the door. But his birthday is on the 30th & the doc told me that I should be cleared of the radiation by that time to celebrate w/everyone I go for my body scan Monday...so hopefully by then, I will at least be able to sit at the dinner table w/everyone......Monday cannot get here soon enough.lol. Life is precious, and preserving it for your loved one's sake ...can't be measured...can't finish...sorry.*hugs*

[Ramona]

PLEASE - after the emotion has passed, write a letter to the nursing manager of that unit - and give her specific examples of your situation and complaints. Trust me - she want to know, and it cannot get better for other patients unless she does.
Glad your home and better - I know how you'd been dreading it.

May I make a suggestion? I sent a letter of complaint to the Director of Nursing about an incident and received a letter of apology and the assurance that the nurse had been spoken to. A copy to the unit manager would be good, too. I have always found that when writing a letter of complaint, aim high.

[mh3rdwheel]

You know when you are in the hospital they give you a questionaire to fill out about your stay, fill it out give names if possible of who ignored you and who was nice.

We fill these out a lot, the head of the hospital wanted to me with us. One day, it was the day before Thanksgiving 3 years ago, the charge nurse came in yelling at us, accusing me of taking off my husband's heart monitor, which I didn't, brought paperwork back saying that my dh was signing himself out, a lie.

Everything died down and I left, one of the nurses put something in dh's iv that he was allergic to and caused him to break out in hives and severe itching. He called his nurse she ignored him, he went to the nurses station, she threw her hands up in disgust at dh bothering her, he left and went to the ER, the head of the hospital, you could not go no higher came down, some heads rolled and the charge nurse was demoted. There attitudes changed some for a while.

[mauimagic]

It is so wonderful to hear your voice - and I am so glad that you are home!!

[jas]

Glad to hear that you are home and able to get some rest in your own bed! I had a horrible experience in the hospital too one time and I can understand how you feel.

[cab54]

I'm so glad it wasn't as bad as you expected. I agree with MaryCarney---tell them their night shift gives poor care. Others shouldn't go what you went through.