…if you find yourself or loved one in this kind of situation…find your caseworker and make him or her your friend!

Skip and by association, me…. have had a crazy couple of weeks, but before I get to the grousing part of this post let me say that Skip is doing great!  It really is just short of miraculous about how well he has recovered from a Pons or Pontine stroke! The doctors and rehab therapists are all amazed and we are so incredibly grateful!

The grousing portion is not about the quality of care, or food, or the room, although this is an older hospital all of those things could use some sprucing up and of course, the Adventist Hospital system has a long-running notorious horrible food reputation.  My principal complaint, although perhaps I should wait until the bill arrives, is about something that truly would cost them nothing, it is nothing more than just coordinated communication.  Entering a hospital through the ER with this kind of situation is already scary, but it seems to grow exponentially more frightening for everyone when the communication is so disjointed. I understand that diagnosis and immediate treatment is the primary ER objective, but I feel some amount of communication would be so helpful, if for no other reason…. blood pressure!   We were challenged in comprehending the what, when, why, how bad, test results, possible treatments, etc., etc, about a medical condition that we were not familiar with.  After diagnosis and admission, the stroke team…. Neurologist, PT, OT Speech therapy, then a hospitalist, case manager and all of the nurses were communicating with one another, but their ability to communicate in a linear coherent way with us about Skip’s condition and course of treatment was truly lacking. Each of these professionals came into the room daily (of course the nurses more often) performing cognitive, coordination and speech tests, but not explaining or sharing the results with us. I did find some solace in our frantic but always full of information caseworker.  She was overworked, awesome, helpful, always understanding and a great advocate.  If I did not understand something or treatment plans changed without us knowing about them I would track her down.  I was concerned that I might soon be known as the caseworker stalker!  She was always happily willing to explain any question we had and when possible, she answered in non-medical person speak!  So, the lesson I would like to share is…if you find yourself or loved one in this kind of situation…find your caseworker and make him or her your friend!

"I'll be There for You"  The Rembrandts