THR Terrible reaction to anesthesia and/or morphine

[Daughter]

Thank you for all of the responses. Some members of my family want to move him, but we are worried that the care won't be any better anywhere else around here. One rehab place we investigated wouldn't take him because he had had hallucinations after the surgery. The only facility that might offer the sort of care we need is not covered by insurance, and I fear that that could bankrupt my parents very quickly. Also, the transition from the hospital to the rehab place was very difficult for him. I want him to be at home, but he's really not ready for that yet. However infrequently, at least a doctor visits him on occasion in the rehab place. He is still really struggling. As Josephine had suggested, perhaps he had a stroke. We don't really know. He is still not himself. He meets all of the diagnostic criteria for postoperative delirium, so he could still be experiencing the after-effects of the anesthesia and/or drugs.

I spoke with the rehab administrator for half an hour yesterday. I asked her to put him on 1:1 observation, but she said that the best she could do was 15-minute checks. She said that the rehab place expects the family to provide the constant observation. The calm, blase manner in which she said this makes me suspect that this is the policy of other rehab places around here. (We are in Florida.) I asked her if the doctor could do a neurological assessment of him to see if he had had a stroke. She told me I would have to ask him myself. She gave me his number, but he never answers and you can't leave a message. It is really frustrating. My goal is just to keep my dad alive until he can be transitioned to home. We are arranging to have the whole family return to Florida so that we can work in shifts to keep an eye on him.

Thank you so much for all of the responses, support, and suggestions. We have been feeling so alone, so it is a blessing to have this warm and supportive group of people

 

[Jaycey]

Just catching up with your thread Daughter. This is such a difficult situation! Keep banging on the bosses there to get your father the attention he needs. This surgery is rough and the first days are (for some) quite difficult.

Please don't feel alone in this. You are now part of our worldwide family here at BoneSmart. We are always here to help!

 

[Daughter]

Thank you so much. I greatly need and appreciate the support. My game plan for today is to call all of the rehab places in the area to see if any of them provide "constant observation." My brothers and I also will continue to leave messages with his PCP and surgeon, letting them know how dire his situation is.

 

[Poppet]

Hi Daughter, stay with us, you have the support and encouragement from all of us here at BoneSmart.

I do hope you are successful in trying to find a new rehab place soon.

It must be so distressing for the whole family.. I hope that you will be able to get the answers you need regarding your Father's condition.

We are here for you xx

 

[Jaycey]

Please do keep us updated! Hope you can get some rest as well.

 

[Mad Rocker]

If I can recall one of your brothers is a lawyer. Can he not request an audience with the doctor but via legal avenues? If your dad is in difficulty he must be able to do something to protect your dad. There must be something legal to protect your dad from the shoddy care. I just am dumbstruck with this. I am so sorry.

 

[Daughter]

Thank you all for your concern and support. The story is getting even more bizarre. The doctor was in the facility today, but he refused to see my father! My father has pneumonia and is now running a temperature of 101. His blood pressure is dangerously low. He has fallen twice and was never assessed after the second fall. He has some sort of delirium going on. He remains at very high risk for falls. Yet the doctor told my mother that he could not see my father because he just comes once a week and we want someone who will come more often?!! Another doctor supposedly is assigned to my father's care, but he never showed up. I am beside myself.

We are now desperate to get my father into the one facility in the area that sounds half-way decent. They wouldn't accept him before, but we are trying again.

They have been putting my father in diapers when no family is there because they don't want to take him to the bathroom. He is continent. He just needs help getting to the bathroom or the commode.

Thank God for all of you here in this forum. Thank you so much for being here for us. We are so sad. I feel as though my heart is breaking.

 

[Daughter]

p.s. Mad Rocker, the rest of us feel that we should file a formal complaint against the facility or take some sort of legal action, but my brother the lawyer hasn't said anything about that yet. I don't know what his views are on that.

 

[dianemarie]

My heart goes out to you. Someone (meaning in the health care field) needs to be responsible. Have you been able to contact his surgeon who did his hip? With pnemonia he may need to be in the hospital so he can be monitored closely. You are in my prayers for some sort of relief from this situation and good care for your dad. Also, not aware of your family's financial situation but what about a private nurse to monitor him?

 

[Mad Rocker]

p.s. Mad Rocker, the rest of us feel that we should file a formal complaint against the facility or take some sort of legal action, but my brother the lawyer hasn't said anything about that yet. I don't know what his views are on that.

Daughter

Ask your brother...it's time his expertise (as a lawyer) came to help his family. If he cannot help he will know someone who can. To me this sounds like a life or serious injury situation. It's time daughter......Good luck.

 

[welshjane]

Daughter, I haven't posted before because I felt I couldn't offer any practical assistance to you in your awful situation. I am utterly appalled that your father should have been treated in this way. It seems to me that the most important thing is to get him proper medical care, and fast, and leave legal redress for afterwards. I don't often pray, but I am praying constantly that you can get him into hospital, now. If he's got pneumonia, that's where he should be. Do please let us know what is happening as soon as you can.

 

[Poppet]

Hi Daughter

Your Father must be moved to a regular hospital out of the rehab facility, it sounds very much like he is in a serious situation now.

Can you demand that the rehab management call an ambulance and get him to hospital?

Very worried for you all Sandy

 

[Daughter]

Thank you all for your continuing support. I just wanted to provide an update. My father's insurance would not cover the good rehab place, but we decided to try to get him in as a private pay patient. They told us they still might not accept him because they have rigid criteria (they are a hospital/rehab facility and had rejected him before because he wasn't sick enough...now, he is sick enough).

Anyway, because no transfer could occur over the weekend, in the meantime we were stuck at the hellish rehab place and my father's condition continued to deteriorate. He was hallucinating and his respiratory symptoms were worsening. The leg that had been operated on was swollen and warm in the calf, but the nurses in the rehab place told us that it was nothing to worry about. It was obvious to all of us that he was in bad condition. No doctor would see him, although we begged. His family doctor and surgeon still would not see him. The rehab nurses had claimed that they did labwork on him on Friday, but all weekend long they made up excuses as to why they didn't have the results. We kept asking them to do the labwork again. The nurses actually told us to go away ("I have 30 patients. You need to leave me alone.") Finally, around 7pm Sunday night they re-did the labs. Then it was another 2 hour delay as they told us the results had never arrived. I eventually just stood at the nurses' station and refused to leave until they got me the results. They then discovered that their fax machine was clogged and that's why the original lab results and the second lab results had never arrived. Beyond infuriating! They fixed the clog and my dad's labs came in. They were so bad that the nurse had to call 911 and my dad was taken by ambulance to the emergency room.

In the ER, they did a CT scan, EKG, ultrasound of the leg (to check for clots because it was so swollen), and chest x-ray. Thankfully, everything was negative except for the chest x-ray, which showed that his pneumonia is quite severe now. His hemoglobin and hematocrit are down (probably due to surgical blood loss), his sodium is way down (they now think he has SIADH), and his liver enzymes are up. He was admitted to the hospital and is on a cardiac unit because he requires close monitoring. Thankfully, the staff on this unit seems to be good.

His family doctor, the one who refused to rescue him from the rehab facility, is now his doctor in the hospital. I told her that we feel that she and everyone else abandoned him and left him there to die. She made up excuses, but said that she is now determined to help him. She ordered a huge battery of tests. His pneumonia is so bad now that he needs suctioning and he's going to have a CT scan of his chest. They are going to check his ammonia levels and other thing.

I don't think he is ever really sleeping. Even when he is snoring, he is moving all around and appears to be hallucinating.

Thank you for listening. I am grateful for your replies.

 

[dianemarie]

Daughter,

I have sent up prayers for your dad, you, your family and the entire situation. I cannot believe the treatment you all have received and my heart breaks for your dad. Thank goodness he is now in the hospital and getting good care.
You must be exhausted, so please try and take care of yourself so you can be there for him. He is so lucky to have you. Please continue to update us so prayers can be specific. Wishing you and your dad all the best.

 

[Poppet]

Oh my goodness, I am so pleased that your Father is in a proper hospital and should now get the care he needs. Tha must be a relief at least. I do hope you consider exploring litigation because clearly this rehab place needs to have their licence revoked and closed down with severe penalties. My thoughts and prayers are with your Father and you and the family.

Thank you for taking the time out to update us.

Please know that we are here for you any time 24/7. Lots of love and take care of yourself. Sandy

 

[navyvet92]

Daughter - You're an amazing young lady,so strong willed and protective of your dad,i hope now your dad can get the proper and well deserved care he so rightfully needs, i hope you continue to let us know how he's doing, its a shame however he had to go through so much before things started to go his way,sincerly i hope nothing is wrong after his falls therefore after he is moving forward with his recovery you seriously consider filing legal charges against the facility because clearly they're incompanant and neglegant, no one deserves to be treated like that not the least of which left alone on the floor after a fall for 2 hours,how awful. i would sincerly like to know how your dad is doing, he is definitely a fighter thats for sure, you should be proud of yourself for being such a GREAT DAUGHTER ! ! Rich

 

[Poppet]

Hi Rich

What a wonderfully supportive and encouraging post from you.....

You are a man who wants to make a difference.... Big hugs xx Sandy

 

[jancat]

Daughter, STAY ON TOP OF HIS CASE- even in the hospital! I am sure you know that pneumonia is very serious!
PLEASE file legal action against that other rehab facility- so much incompetent negligence! They should be investigated and fined!
Please keep us posted!
((HUGS))) to you and your family!

 

[Josephine]

Oh I agree, I agree 110%. Negligence, incompetence, bad management and criminal negligence to name but a few. Perhaps your brother is in some other type of law but he certainly should have been more proactive in this, his father deserves better.

Do you have other siblings? Perhaps it's time for a collective action.

 

[Daughter]

I am so grateful to all of you for the encouraging words. It means so much to us. This morning was really sad. I arrived at the hospital at 8am and Dad was not in his room. The nurse told me that they had taken him downstairs for an echo cardiogram, but he had become combative (due to the delirium) and the procedure could not be completed. When he returned to the testing unit, he was nonresponsive and soaking wet. He didn't seem to recognize me.

His pneumonia was so bad this morning that he made gurgling noises. It sounded as though he was drowning. I was told that he now has pleural effusion. I went into his room and there was a lot of blood in the suction cup. That was upsetting. Yesterday, he could cough up the phlegm on his own, but today he was too weak. Usually, he is somewhat lucid in the mornings, but today he only seemed aware for a few seconds at a time. I went with him to several procedures -- EEG, another brain CT, carotid ultrasound, and a second echo cardiogram -- and everyone kept asking me if he had a stroke. That was depressing. I was like, "No, he was fine before the hip replacement surgery. He was working as an electrical engineeering consultant."

Around 3pm, while we were in the carotid ultrasound testing room, he started to seem a little more with it. He smiled at me, kissed me, and put his arm around me. He asked me when my return flight was. He asked me where my Mom was (waiting for him in the room). He cracked a little joke. A couple hours later, we went back to his new room (he has been transferred to the Heart Center because they think he might have congestive heart failure). My brother, Mom, and I were with him and suddenly he became REALLY clear. It was amazing. It was as though somebody flipped a light switch. He seemed like himself. He said that he had no memory of recent days. He wanted to eat a lot (he hadn't eaten anything all day). He was cracking jokes and smiling. He started doing therapy leg lifts! It happened very quickly. We were ecstatic. I think that all of the prayers have been heard. I don't want to get too excited, but this was a HUGE change. If he can just escape this terrible delirium, I know that he will be able to recover because he has an amazing constitution and is determined to get better.

Thank you so much for all of the prayers, kind words, and support. I feel so much more hopeful. He still seemed to be hallucinating a little later in the evening, but he is MUCH IMPROVED.