imPORTant Things!

Get it??  Scott got his PORT put in on Friday...and I titled this post "ImPORTant Things??"  :)  You don't get this kind of witty writing just anywhere.  

Okay...let me redirect my frustration from a horrible Friday into some helpful tips for someone else.  I'll title this post "5 Things You Want to Avoid When Having Your Next Out-Patient Surgery".  And in no particular order.....

• If at all possible, avoid having your procedure scheduled on a Friday afternoon.  Lots (maybe the majority?) of surgeons take off or don't schedule anything for Friday afternoons and the outpatient facility very possibly has less-than-their-normal amount of staffing.  This could result in longer wait times and (just possibly) the staff that is left behind to work might give off a vibe that says 'I'm irritated that the surgeons regularly add on patients without checking with nursing staff and I really wish that I had gotten off four hours ago when I was supposed to".  Understandable....jus sayin...four other perfectly good days. :)

• If at all humanly possible, even if it's a 'minor procedure', bring along a loved one or friend for the whoole shabang -- yes, even if it’s just local and not general anesthesia.  This may seems like a no-brainer...but we've experienced it both ways.  I’m ashamed to admit that I actually let my sweet, nervous hubby be by himself for his first round of surgery.  SOB!  Here’s what I learned:   there is no possible way that the patient can have the same eyes, ears, and extra set of needed hands that the accompanying person can have.  With absolutely no horn-tooting intended, I was able to pick up on things that Scott never would have (and didn’t,  for his 'alone' surgery) that were to his benefit -- help he either wouldn’t have thought to ask, didn’t wanna look like a needy baby by asking for help, or he was asleep and didn’t know he needed anything. :)  Nope, not trying to imply that sub-standard care happens when the patient is alone; but I know my husband well enough that I can tell by his expression, etc. if he’s hurting, mad, nervous, you know what I mean. (All the spouses in da house say ‘hollah’!)  These were things that the staff very likely wouldn’t have minded doing; they just can’t always read minds. :) Oh, and speaking from experience, the patient may not remember all the post-op instructions if he’s alone!

• Be aware that, because of a growing abuse of narcotic pain medicines, you may not be actually and technically offered the narcotic pain medicines unless you specifically ask for it.  Again, not the fault of a “lazy” nurse who doesn’t think you need anything stronger....but the fault of the system that narcotics abuse has left us with.  A patient may have no  idea that his surgeon/anesthesiologist considers it common practice to make him comfortable with something in the IV or by mouth, both before and after surgery.  Don't interpret the absence of an offer for add'l pain med as an assumption that no one thinks you need it or it's not common procedure.  Be honest with your pain level...they’ll ask you to ‘rate it’ on a scale of 1-10, and there you go.  Furthermore, try not to blindly assume that the nice lack of pain you feel at the hospital doesn’t have a tendency to start rearing its ugly head around midnight, when that local is worn off.  ...and that’s not pretty for any of us.  Take the piece of paper...you don’t ever have to fill it!

*Disclaimer: if patient has a history of any kind of addiction issues with narcotic meds, I’m not so much telling you that for this special day at the hospital, you have every right to just     get loaded to the gills.  Nor do I believe that a narcotic problem in the past means that you     can’t ever receive anything more than an aspirin for pain -- you just get to be much more         purposeful, accountable, and transparent with your doctor and staff.  

• Ever had a...shall we say..bit of a ‘personality change’ after anesthesia?  If your answer was ‘heck no!’....just double-check with your spouse before going on. ;)  There might very well be a drug that you could do just fine without, if your anesthesiologist agrees. Certain perameters are no doubt involved...like a shorter amnt of time that you’re ‘out’ is my undoctorly guess.  A drug named Versed (2 syllables)...or one very similar in its ‘family’ is very routinely given either right before surgery or in the OR; it’s used for drowsiness, help with anxiety, and so that the patient will not remember the details of surgery. Have you ever noticed that a loved one might remember more than you’d think on the day of surgery, but as days go by, he remembers less and less...til they pretty much don’t remember much about the day at all?  Many patients also live their lives fearing a surgical procudure, simply for the fact that they’ve been told they turn into swearing sailors or flirt with all the nurses.  (Irks the wives.)  Anesthesia Scott didn’t do these...he just had a bit of an ‘attitude’ and might want to argue with anything and everything.  Bless his heart, he looked at me forlornly when they wheeled him to surgery and said “I apologize now if I’m a jerk afterwards. :)  However, from the moment that I locked eyes with Scott in post-op, I knew that we weren’t going to have a visit from “Anesthesia Scott”.  :)  He awoke much less groggy than ever before, and without the edgy feeling. And after asking a few times if the nurse could peek at the meds Scott was given in OR, which one was missing??  Yep...Versed! But don’t take my word for it in your own cases...visit with your anesthesiologist.

• On a lighter note:  If it's not offered, ask if the facility as a patient-warming (or -cooling if you're my husband) system called "Bair Paws".  You may have seen a youtube video I posted after Scott's 2nd surgery.... but I was ticked to discover, moments before we were to leave for home, that it was available the whole time!  Scott told me that I  seemed to be much more smitten with the system than he was...maybe I just have a thing for gadgets, but for patients who tend to freeze at the hospital, it's worth asking for.

• This one applies to patients as well as spouses, who often have job of communicating with nursing staff:  Treat your nursing staff with an appropriate spirit of humility and appreciation.   This  should be a given principle of how you treat others, but if that's not the way you treat people by default, know that any rudeness, condescension, ugliness (yes, even when you don't feel good) is only shooting yourself in the foot.  No, I'm not insinuating that your nurse is going to spit in your IV if you're rude to her, but when your nurse or nursing assistant knows that you truly appreciate his or her work, skills, and just 'help'....you might be blessed by the natural outpouring of his/her appreciation for being appreciated.  Nurses have to put up with a lot....way too many patients and family who take any frustration out on the ‘messenger’ a nd this is a biggie 'v: I’ve had many a u known many nurses who felt they could do very little about treatment from the very doctors they have to work for.  Of course I know there are plenty of gut I've had many nurse friends who felt they had to put up with insults, profane and sexually-laden comments and even behavior.  Those of us not in that field (and surgery can be the worst, for some reason) would just assume that no one has to deal with this anymore, but it happens.  So if the golden rule fails to motivate you, understand that rudeness towards your nursing staff, simply because he or she is available for you to vent frustrations upon, is just foolish.  

Be well and may you stay out of the hospital for a good, long time! :)