Another "twist…"

Another hiatus…medical, once again. Fir the third time in 2013, I was in ER and then admitted to hospital for four days. This time, it was a suspected bowel blockage. It began with lots of heavy pain, and continued with a liquid diet, which unkinked the bowel, to make the story short and sweet,

You may wonder what this has to do with recovery from a stroke. There may be no connection, except that, for me, the ominous raising of yet anther system problem reminds me that my body appears to be collapsing one system at a time. Collapsing is likely too dramatic. Failing, faltering, may be more accurate. In any case, it is a timely reminder of mortality and fragility.

As the early stages of the hospital stay went on, and I was in the chaotic world of ER holding beds, I kept checking out my BP every time they took it, to see if it was rising dangerously. It wasn’t, which surprised me. The holding beds in ER are a godsend to people who require hospitalization, but who have to wait a few hours for a bed to come free. However, given the state of our health care system, the wait turned out to be over 24 hours.

This much time in holding beds is too long. There are five beds in a small space. The situation is much more cramped than an old fashioned ward with 10 beds laid out side by side. Apart a curtain between beds, there is scarcely room to get out of bed, virtually no auditory privacy. The place is frantically busy, as all the patients are in semi-emergent situations. The one nurse is constantly on the move, and has no time to talk to anyone, or listen to him or her. Valiant souls they are, doing 12 hour shifts. It takes a special kind of person to do that sort of nursing. They need to be technically very sharp, energetic and patient. The night nurse was lacking in the latter. She was prone to of the cuff rants about patients, the system, etc. that did little to induce a sense of care and peace in me. I was relieved to leave her behind.

I was transferred upstairs at 1 AM, wakened out of a sound sleep by the above mentioned nurse who packed me off non-to graciously to bed in…wait for it…Obstetrics! They were dead empty, and took the risk of taking an ER patient in the middle of the night. The transition could not have been more shocking. From the pit of hell to the gates of heaven! Obstetrics was peaceful, quiet; the ambiance was lovely, and the nursing warm and caring. When I arrived, they swaddled me in warmed blankets and literally tucked me in for the remainder of the night!

At this point, reflecting on stroke recovery becomes relevant. Before I drifted off to sleep, I reflected on the impact of the ER beds versus the Obs. Beds. In a holding bed, the chaos of a busy ER is just outside the open door, 15 feet away. Shouts, laughter, screaming children, and no let-up. Arriving in Obstetrics allowed me to feel like my BP dropped a few points. I rested there, had lovely conversations with nurses in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. Granted, they were being under-utilized at the time, but I learned that the pattern there could go from no patients to six or even ten women in labour in just over an hour! I was grateful for change, and I came home tonight in much better shape that I would have had I remained in ER for much longer.

Let me be clear: the ER I attended is terrific. Competent, quick, friendly and helpful in the healing process. I would go back there in a crisis at the drop of a hat. But the use of holding beds is skewed by the way the way the system is managed. Not the fault of the ER staff, but with a huge impact on patients.

My BP tonight was higher than usual at the end of the day. I’m sure it will have settled down by morning. I will think fondly of the overwork folks in ER, and the angels upstairs, as they wait for their moms and babies to arrive.