#ku med

[coldspellwizard]

I guess KU Med called my mom for some reason? No idea how they even got her number, but I've got an appointment with a GI specialist on may 20th

[moonbuffalo]

Hospital Stay: Days 3 and 4

Day 3 was by far the worst day. 

Even though I qualified for the extended sleep thing, I did not get all that much rest during the night. I was up around 5:30 and was anxious to be seen by the three teams so that I could leave ICU. I was feeling pretty good so I asked to sit in a chair instead of laying in bed. Jason said that was a really good sign and that sitting up is a big step in recovery.

Of course after about an hour of sitting up I was ready to go back to bed. But I wanted the neurosurgery team to see me sitting up so they could clear me to go home! I waited another two hours (napping a little, but still sitting up) and finally neurosurgery came through.

They cleared me to move to the progression ward and said I would probably be okay to go home the next day! 

Now I just had to wait for a room to be made available in the progression ward. I didn’t know how long that would take but I was anxious to get out. Jason ended his shift and turned me over to Lisa who said that I was now in an in-between stage where I didn’t have to be hooked up to machines and I could walk around freely but I wasn’t yet out of ICU. 

The physical therapist came by and wanted to see me walk around a bit so we did a lap around ICU and practiced on the stairs. I was feeling confident and ready to leave by the time we finished our lap. 

BUT they still didn’t have a room for me. We waited probably another two hours and finally got to move to the progression ward...which is where the trouble began. 

My nurse in the progression ward was AWFUL! I was immediately regretting leaving the ICU. I missed the warm and caring nurses who seemed genuinely concerned with my recovery, my surprisingly comfortable bed, and the never-ending supply of chocolate pudding! What had I done to deserve this nurse who seemed pre-occupied, a bed that was louder than all the machines in the ICU combined, and a 45 minute wait for a cup of pudding?!

First, let me address the bed situation. The beds in the progression ward have air mattresses on them which are constantly moving to prevent bed sores. This seems like a great idea except that they are RIDICULOUSLY LOUD! The fan blowing air into the mattress makes a constant whirring sound that probably becomes like white noise to patients eventually, but my dad and I couldn’t stop focusing on it. There was no way I was going to fall asleep with that sound right by my head. It was so loud we were practically shouting at each other in order to be heard. 

I thought maybe if I turn the bed off then the sound would go away. It did. But then the bed deflated, too! Which meant that I was sleeping on a deflated air mattress on top of a plastic frame. Not. Comfortable. At first we thought that maybe it was just our bed, I mean there was no way the beds could be that loud in every room, right? So we asked for someone to come look at it. After a couple guys came by and looked at it they said they would bring a new one. After about 5 hours we asked the nurse if a new bed was coming and she had to go and get one ordered. Guess they had forgotten us. The new one, by the way, was equally as loud as the old one. So I guess hospital beds are just loud.

But my real complaint about the progression ward was my nurse. Renee. Evil woman. Okay, probably not evil, but not helpful either! (Renee was, by the way, the only nurse I had who wasn’t young and gorgeous) In the ICU the nurses checked on me at the top of every hour and gave me meds every four hours (I think). Here, I was lucky to see the nurse every four hours. And when she did show up she never even asked me how I was. It was ridiculous. 

I hadn’t realized it, but I was on vicodin every 4 hours for pain. My nurses in ICU were checking on my pain every hour and were staying ahead of the pain instead of waiting until I was in severe pain to give me meds. Not here. I didn’t realize it but I missed two doses of pain meds because Renee never asked how I was or offered them to me. She just came in gave me my other medicine and took my blood and left.

Actually, even THAT wasn’t so simple. In the ICU they had been using my IV to draw blood but Renee said they weren’t supposed to do that in the progression ward (another nurse later told me that wasn’t true) and that they had to take blood. I have really deep veins and drawing blood can be difficult for me. Well, Renee couldn’t find a vein (even after poking me with the needle and slapping my arm for about fifteen minutes) so she asked another nurse to come and try. They couldn’t find a vein either (poked me a couple times trying, though) and had to send for someone from the lab. The person from the lab finally found a vein but I was pretty bruised up from all the pokes at that point. 

Speaking of bruises, at one point Renee came in and said that I needed to have a preventative blood-clot shot. All patients get them and I would be getting one every eight hours. What she didn’t tell me was that they hurt like hell! Even after the needle was out it felt like it was still in there and hurt every time I moved. It was still stinging a good fifteen minutes after she had given me the shot. Her response? “Yeah, some patients say it hurts. I didn’t want to give you any ideas.” Thanks, Renee. 

Around 6 o’clock that night I had a complete melt down. I was freaking out about having to get another painful shot in the stomach, I didn’t want to be poked a million times when they tried to take blood, I couldn’t breathe out of my nose and my throat was really hurting, the bed was loud and uncomfortable and I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to get any sleep. I started crying and couldn’t breathe very well. Once again, my mom was there to rescue me. She talked me down a little bit and then went to get a nurse. 

Luckily, it was time to switch to my night nurse, Sarah. Sarah was a God-send. An angel. The perfect solution to my freak-out. I was embarrassed to have the nurse see me in such a state but Sarah came in and sat next to me and listened to why I was upset. She seemed to genuinely care and made me feel so much better. She said that I was way past due on my pain meds (good job, Renee) and that was the first place we should start. She also reassured my that I was probably very tired from three days in the hospital and that it was okay to feel this way. Most importantly, she told me I didn’t need to have the shot in the stomach if I really didn’t want it. When she came to draw my blood she patiently did it herself and waited to poke until she was absolutely sure she had found a vein. Yes, it took her 30 minutes, but I much preferred that to being poked by 3 different nurses multiple times each. 

After I got pain meds I calmed down considerably. Sarah finally had another bed brought in but it was just as loud as the other ones. I ended up turning the bed off and sleeping on the hard mattress that night. It may not have been comfortable but the important part was that I was able to sleep, thanks to the pain meds. 

The next morning the neurosurgery team was a little later than usual (8:30) since it was a Saturday. The team (which consisted of just one really hot resident) said that I looked good and could go home as soon as he put the order in. 

Of course I thought that meant I would be gone in an hour so naturally I got dressed and packed up all my belongings. After four hours and not hearing from anyone, my mom finally went and asked the nurse who said it would be probably another hour. The ENT team came in around noon to ask how I was and give me some last minute recovery tips before going home.

Finally, around 1 o’ clock, I was released! The nurse wheeled me out, Dad came to pick me and mom up and we were on our way back home! I cannot begin to explain how good it felt to walk in the house. To be able to sleep when I want, pee when I want, and not worry about getting poked by a million different needles. 

Four days in the hospital was a long time. I cannot imagine having to spend more time there and I give serious props to anyone who has to spend extended periods of time in hospitals. I was so lucky to have someone with me at all times (mom or dad) and can’t imagine doing it without them. Despite having one horrible nurse, my stay at KU Med was, overall, not terrible. No one likes to be at the hospital, but if I had to be in any hospital, I’m happy it was KU Med. 

[thedotte]

KCKFD Partners with KU Hospital to Launch CPR Initiative

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve seen someone suddenly collapse and didn’t know what to do? Remember, the difference between doing something and doing nothing could be the difference in saving someone’s life.

This is why the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department is partnering with the University of Kansas Hospital to launch a new program that provides Hands- Only CPR training to citizens in Wyandotte County.

“Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest dramatically increases a victim’s chances of survival,” says KCK Fire Chief, John Paul Jones. “The HeartSafe Community mission is to empower our citizens to know what to do and the ability to act immediately. The life they save could be a member of the community, a loved one or a friend.”

The HeartSafe Community program will be announced during a news conference in the lobby of City Hall on Thursday, January 17th at 3:00 p.m. with a proclamation by Unified Government Mayor Joe Reardon to promote the community-wide initiative. The HeartSafe Community program will officially be launched at 5:00 p.m. with a Hands-only CPR video presentation and training provided to the Mayor and Board of Commissioners in the Commission Chambers. The day will also consist of CPR training to UG staff in the Lobby of City Hall immediately following the news conference. Media is welcome to participate in the training.

“We are honored to support the Kansas City Fire Department in their efforts to improve collapse-to-CPR and collapse-to-defibrillation times in Wyandotte County,” said Richard Price, President of the PulsePoint Foundation and retired Fire Chief for San Ramon Valley Fire. “We commend Chief Jones and the members of the KCKFD along with the staff of the University of Kansas Hospital for their innovative efforts to improve cardiac arrest survival rates through improved bystander CPR.”

The HeartSafe Community partnership is one of the first of its kind in the nation and the Unified Government, led by its fire department, wants to take the program to a totally different level by educating as many people throughout the community as possible about the importance of knowing these simple CPR techniques that save lives.

Take a look at these sobering statistics.

·         Cardiac arrests are more common than you may think, and it can happen to anyone at any time.

·         Nearly 383,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually, and 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home.

·         Many victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors.

·         Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become rapid or chaotic, which causes the heart to suddenly stop beating.

·         A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle is blocked. A heart attack may cause cardiac arrest.

According to HeartSafe Kansas, strengthening the four links in the Chain of Survival can increase survival rates for cardiac arrest victims. The four links of the chain of survival are:

1.   Early access to emergency

2.   Early Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

3.   Early defibrillation

4.   Early advanced care

Hands-only CPR is highly effective and is a simple and easy process for untrained bystanders.  The hands only technique consists of uninterrupted chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing. CPR helps oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until paramedics arrive or additional medical treatment is available to restore a normal heart rhythm.

Heart Safe Kansas Community was developed by the Heart and Stroke Alliance of Kansas (HSAK) which is facilitated through the Kansas Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program (KHDSP), housed within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

KCKFD and KU Hospital submitted a letter of intent in December of last year. A minimum of 250 untrained bystanders are required to be trained the hands-only CPR technique within a year’s time as part of the application process. The KCKFD expects to train far more than the minimum requirement. A sign entering the city that reads, “You are Now Entering a Heart Safe Community,” is a goal the KCKFD is determined to achieve, which comes along with the official designation of being named a “HeartSafe Community” through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.