Community Chat

[sophiamarie]

On 1/8/2014 kdgn said:

I had my tonsils removed as an adult, in my late 20's. My doctor told me removing them at my age was challenging for the patient especially with bleeding. Adults who remain awake during the procedure do better so that's what I chose. I was awake for their removal. Yes, I was given some huge black pill that was supposed to practically knock me out. It didn't, not until after I was in the recovery room. I still remember most of it, while not fondly it's not a terrifying memory either.

When mom had her first cataract surgery, her eye surgeon used another practice's surgical center/staff. Mom was the last patient before their lunch. I saw the doctor leave and less than 15 minutes later mom was wheeled out. She was still heavily sedated. I had seen others leave, wide awake and alert. I needed help getting her from the wheelchair into my car. I half carried, half dragged her from my car into her apartment. She slept the rest of the day.

At her follow-up appointment I let her surgeon know exactly what happened and that I was beyond unhappy. They had over dosed her on anesthesia, released her too soon because lunch had arrived. I'm not sure what all the doctor did but when her second cataract surgery too place it was at an entirely different surgical center. She was awake and alert after the surgery and left under her own power, full steam ahead with her walker.

My husband woke up when surgery was started on him. The anesthesiologist knew it immediately, stopped the surgery and got him completely under. After surgery he came out to let me know what happened and that my husband probably wouldn't remember a thing. Then the surgeon came out and spoke to me...and said the same thing about the memory. Wrong. He remembers to this day and it's something that has to be noted if he ever needs surgery again.

The operative word being "probably"......

[kdgn]

Sophiamarie: They both said he probably wouldn't remember but if he did, the memory would fade. It hasn't. He remembers it very clearly. He wasn't awake for long.

[LilacTree]

On 1/8/2014 Sushismom said:

This is basically the same information that Pit posted. Again, I would have more trust in the information coming from informed, experienced sources than from info coming from those with just computer experience but no medical record experience, myself included.

I never said medical records could be manipulated. Re-read where I said twice that my daughter has never indicated to me that they can be manipulated. She installs the systems, she instructs the nurses how to use the systems. She should know if they can be manipulated or not and, as I said, I will ask her.

My computer experience was with a CPA accounting firm, over ten years ago. Those programs could be manipulated at that time and I clearly said that. Whether they can still be tampered with, ten years later, I do not know, and I said that too.

[rondell]

Ford, I'm so happy you had a daughter who survived, because it very easily could've gone the other way. You just never know when tragedy will strike.

Medical professionals are not supposed to make mistakes. I'm of the opinion that that is an unrealistic expectation. They're people who are subject to making honest mistakes, deliberate mistakes, be lazy, have job burnout, don't really care about the patient, have off days, etc.

I guess we roll the dice and take our chances with hospitals and medical personnel. Personally, I still put a lot of trust in science and most who are in the medical field. I say most, not all. You just never really know......

[LilacTree]

On 1/8/2014 rondell said:

Ford, I'm so happy you had a daughter who survived, because it very easily could've gone the other way. You just never know when tragedy will strike.

Medical professionals are not supposed to make mistakes. I'm of the opinion that that is an unrealistic expectation. They're people who are subject to making honest mistakes, deliberate mistakes, be lazy, have job burnout, don't really care about the patient, have off days, etc.

I guess we roll the dice and take our chances with hospitals and medical personnel. Personally, I still put a lot of trust in science and most who are in the medical field. I say most, not all. You just never really know......

Yes, it could have, I'll never forget her face and how frightened she looked, blood all over her. And no one was there, no one!! She was left in a hallway that way, as though she didn't exist for them.

The worst part about it is what I didn't do. I will never stop feeling guilty over this. I think my daughter lost all confidence in me from that point on. And why not. I am her mother and I was supposed to protect her.

I hate that doctor and his cockiness in telling me "she made a fuss" when he knew what he had done. If he's dead by now, I hate his memory too.

[151949]

I agree - this is only one side of the story and I'm extremely doubtful about it. How extremely odd is it that all these aggresious mistakes all happened to this one person when millions of people have these same procedures every day uneventfully.

[rondell]

When my Dad was just hours away from death, we found him the hall of the E.R. Trust me, I used words that I had never used in my life. I felt about 3 different emotions all at once. If I allow myself to dwell on this, I can get mad all over again as though it had just happened. That's not good for a person's blood pressure.

I try not to think too much about it. It's over and I can't change it. It's like a bad movie that I would never consider to purchase on DVD, so why keep the memory of such a horrible experience alive in my mind? I try really hard to forget certain things in the past. I don't always succeed.

[LilacTree]

On 1/8/2014 kdgn said:

I had my tonsils removed as an adult, in my late 20's. My doctor told me removing them at my age was challenging for the patient especially with bleeding. Adults who remain awake during the procedure do better so that's what I chose. I was awake for their removal. Yes, I was given some huge black pill that was supposed to practically knock me out. It didn't, not until after I was in the recovery room. I still remember most of it, while not fondly it's not a terrifying memory either.

When mom had her first cataract surgery, her eye surgeon used another practice's surgical center/staff. Mom was the last patient before their lunch. I saw the doctor leave and less than 15 minutes later mom was wheeled out. She was still heavily sedated. I had seen others leave, wide awake and alert. I needed help getting her from the wheelchair into my car. I half carried, half dragged her from my car into her apartment. She slept the rest of the day.

At her follow-up appointment I let her surgeon know exactly what happened and that I was beyond unhappy. They had over dosed her on anesthesia, released her too soon because lunch had arrived. I'm not sure what all the doctor did but when her second cataract surgery too place it was at an entirely different surgical center. She was awake and alert after the surgery and left under her own power, full steam ahead with her walker.

My husband woke up when surgery was started on him. The anesthesiologist knew it immediately, stopped the surgery and got him completely under. After surgery he came out to let me know what happened and that my husband probably wouldn't remember a thing. Then the surgeon came out and spoke to me...and said the same thing about the memory. Wrong. He remembers to this day and it's something that has to be noted if he ever needs surgery again.

It's very easy to misrepresent what patients may or may not do while either wholly or partially in what amounts to a coma. You describe three mess-ups here, none of which would qualify as "malpractice," but nonetheless shouldn't have happened.

I am glad your husband remembers, because that may save him sometime in the future.

It certainly looks as though we here have all suffered from some kind of medical mishap, so it can't be as "rare" as it's purported to be.

[LilacTree]

On 1/8/2014 rondell said:

When my Dad was just hours away from death, we found him the hall of the E.R. Trust me, I used words that I had never used in my life. I felt about 3 different emotions all at once. If I allow myself to dwell on this, I can get mad all over again as though it had just happened. That's not good for a person's blood pressure.

I try not to think too much about it. It's over and I can't change it. It's like a bad movie that I would never consider to purchase on DVD, so why keep the memory of such a horrible experience alive in my mind? I try really hard to forget certain things in the past. I don't always succeed.

That's exactly how I feel, rondell. I will never get over what they did to her. In fact, that's why I haven't and won't post on that thread. I feel I came too close to that, it's too real for me.

[kdgn]

Only two medical mishaps, Ford. I figured in advance that pill wasn't going to knock me out or relax me, not with my anxiety level! I was wide awake and raring to go....anywhere but the OR! The pill did it's job after the fact.....