it didn't happen on my shift

It had been less than a week that Marie was in the hospital, but it had already been a lifetime. She had been diagnosed with an infection in her spinal fluid, which wasn't clearing up. Her vitals were so inconsistent the first night we didn't think she was going to make it. She had been transferred from a chemotherapy floor to a neurological one. A spinal fluid leak was discovered and surgical repair was performed.

Marie had four doctors by this time. The oncologist that admitted her to the hospital, an infectious disease doctor, a surgeon and an internist. She also had nurses, technicians and other helpers. Even with all these medicals involved with Marie I felt that I had the least amount of communication than any time in her entire brain tumor saga. It was difficult to see any of the doctors because I had to work during the day. The nurses did not offer much information at all. And if you asked them a question it seemed like the answer would be things like, I don't know, it didn't happen on my shift, or I wasn't here yesterday and I won't be here tomorrow.

surgery

On September 16, 2009 Marie had surgery to re close her scar from the brain surgery that happened in August. That's where the leak of the was coming from. After Marie's nurses discovered the leak, Maries surgeon in Omaha, decided to re-suture the incision. Obviously that incision did not heal properly. I was glad that Marie was getting help ,but it still didn't seem to make sense to me. Spinal fluid must be coming from inside the skull. At least that's was I was thinking. If the medicals re-sewed the scalp, wouldn't the fluid still be coming out of the skull?   

guess what

It was only a day or two on the neurological floor when the nursing staff saw a large amount of fluid on Marie's pillow. They suspected a spinal fluid leak. The nurses reported their findings to the doctor. I'm not sure if they told Maries surgeon or her oncologist, but both of them were well aware of the suspected leak, since neither could fine the leak a week earlier.

When the nurse informed me of their discovery I was relieved that a medical actually found the occurrence. I was told the surgeon was coming in to inspect Maries' scalp for a possible place that fluid could be coming from.

Sweating, yeah right.

helping Marie

It was obvious that Marie did not know where she was or what the date was. I starting writing the day and date on the blackboard each day to help Marie. I made sure that she saw my cell phone number on the board and told her to call me anytime while I was at work. Unfortunately, Marie's short term memory was so bad  she didn't remember to look at the blackboard. When she did none of it made sense to her.

Things would happen such as I would get to the hospital after work and Marie would tell me she was starved because she didn't have any diner. When I would check with the nurse they would tell me things like she just finished dinner. Or she said she didn't want any. Marie's memory was so bad she couldn't remember if she had eaten or not. I asked the nurses to help me by writing on the blackboard simple things like Marie had diner or a doctor came to visit.

I could never get the nurses to comply. I don't think they intended to be difficult. But the staff changed so often.

adapting to the new floor

I found it difficult adapting to the new floor. The nurses had two 12 hour shifts. They went from 7:00-7:00. I would work during he day so I got to the hospital about 6:00 each night. After Marie would fall asleep for the night I would go home to take care of the laundry, bill, and other chores. On the days I was off from work I would spent the entire day at the hospital.

Everyday that I worked, I would call the day nurse and ask her if there was any report from during the night. I also made sure she had my cell phone number, and made sure the nurse knew she could call me at anytime, for anything. Before I went home each evening I made sure the night nurse also knew to call me anytime for anything. I also put my name and cell phone number on the blackboard in Maries' room, and made sure every nurse knew where it was.

I never received a call from any of the nurses.

change floors

After a couple of days on the chemotherapy floor, Marie was moved to the neurological floor. It's virtually a brand new floor with an outstanding waiting area for visitors. But you know what they say. You can't tell a book by it's cover.

Marie has a private room with the latest technology. What's noticeable right away is how young the nursing staff is. Youth isn't the issue, it was the experience. On the chemotherapy floor the nursing staff appeared to be a mix of newer and more experienced nurses who were quite comforting to the patient and family members. But on the neurological floor things were more by the book. Following procedure was the important thing. I'm sure medical needs were given, but emotional needs didn't seem to be considered. Fortunately Marie didn't notice because of her confusion, but I was uncomfortable from the beginning. It was like being in a different hospital. 

clear the infection

The next few days were somewhat uneventful. Marie was on the chemotherapy floor but she was no longer receiving chemo. She was getting antibiotics for the infection and she was started on steroids. Marie was in a state of confusion not knowing where she was, the city or the year. None of that was important at then, just needed to clear up the spinal fluid infection.