It was a surreal phone call this morning, as I lay in my Swedish Hospital bed for the 11th consecutive day. The cancer center wanted to schedule an appointment for tomorrow and a follow-up on Friday. Apparently, they knew more than I did.
Soon after, oncologist Florencia Benton cleared things up with the great news that I would get to go home today!
This, after a thoroughly frustrating day on Monday when we had to wait for someone to draw my blood for lab tests. Normally, technicians I like to call the vampires sneak in during the wee hours of the morning and steal away with a few milliliters of my essence. Then lab folks do their job to give the doctors information for rounds at 10 am.
Yesterday there was ONE person available to draw blood in the ENTIRE hospital. She got to me about 3pm, a little late to be making decisions about discharge.
I just have to wonder what is wrong with our country that a hospital cannot find the staff it needs to carry out its job. Do people just not want to work at 3 in the morning? Or are businesses (and hospitals are, in the end, businesses) cutting staff to improve the bottom line?
It's a mystery I can't solve, but hope that there's enough staff and resources -- in the facilities and in my own body --to continue on the journey to transplant.
2 comments:
Congratulations Kathy!!! It doesn’t sound like they’re letting you get much R&R at home what with all the appointments, but hopefully you’ll enjoy sleeping in your own bed without nurses waking you up!
Kathy, glad you were able to go home. It sounds so beautiful up there and I hope you are soaking it up.
Post a Comment