Well, some of you may know that my husband was admitted into the hospital with severe cellulitis in his leg last Sunday. Being the stubborn and restless person that he is, he was fairly uncooperative up there, and refused to lay in bed any length of time with his leg elevated. The nurses REPEATEDLY had to tell him to lay down and put his leg up, and he just couldn't seem to follow simple instructions. And, they were poking him right and left, taking blood samples, putting in IV needles for antibiotics, etc...so that made him owly. And to top it off, they gave him enough narcotic pain killers that he was rarely lucid, and quite growly with everyone. He's an addict, and was REALLY pressuring the nurses and his doctor to cave into his hourly requests for more and more pain medication...UGH!!!
Fast forward to Thursday night. He called me at home, and told me that they were going to discharge him in an hour...odd, seeing as his leg looked worse on Wednesday night than ever. They apparently installed a pick-line into his arm where he was to go in every day to the hospital and receive outpatient antibiotics through an IV daily. I came home from work last night, and he was out cold in bed, and totally skipped his IV antibiotic appointment. He refused to wake up, and was incredibly groggy. I called the hospital in a panic, and asked what I should do...they told me he was being non-compliant with his treatment, and that having an empty pick-line could invite immediate infection directly to the heart. In fact, his doctor was so worried that he had not shown up for his IV bag, that they had sent the police to check on him, as something easily could have happened to him during the day with the empty pick-line. So I'm on the phone, all worried, and look down at my husband soundly sleeping, and lo' and behold, the pick-line was laying NEXT to him on the bed, completely out of his arm. UUGHGHGHGHGHHHHHH!!!! The nurse informed me that he was in a life threatening situation, and that I was to bring him to the ER now...if this cellulitis worsened (I can't see how it can get any worse than it's been), he could die, or lose his leg.
Off the ER we go. DH is sound asleep, almost in a coma. Once we get there, he was so out of it and sleepy that he was unable to answer any questions, and he could not stay awake at all. They asked me if he had been drinking, and I told them no, as that was the truth. But I knew EXACTLY what was happening, as I've been through it again and again with DH. DH was withdrawing from all of the pain meds they had given him in the hospital, which of course he HAD to have...I was completely sickened. I told each nurse explicitly that he cannot be depended on to follow an outpatient regiment, as he's not dependable in the first place, and even less so when he's having withdrawal symptoms...and they should NOT give him any narcotic pain killers. Well, sure enough, as soon as he starts coming around, he begins to BEG and PLEAD with the nurses for pain killers, immediately after I told them about him being treatment last September for CRACK, and has a long history of chemical dependence, both with prescription and street drugs. They held off on them, until this morning, when the nurses finally caved and gave him a small dose of Vicodin...bad, bad, bad!!!! Anything in any amount is enough to send DH into full relapse, so I'm feeling really frustrated. :sad: I hope they know what they may have done by giving into the pleading and whining. His addiction has put my family through a living hell, and he's been doing so well. I just don't know what to do. You would think that the nurses and doctors could see right through this begging stuff...it's total junkie behavior.
Anyway, he has another pick-line in, and will most likely come home tomorrow. Let's hope he can actually commit to his outpatient IV antibiotics this time in a responsible manner, and GO. The last thing we want to do is go through this again, or have him lose a leg, or worse, his life. It's so frustrating!!!
Fast forward to Thursday night. He called me at home, and told me that they were going to discharge him in an hour...odd, seeing as his leg looked worse on Wednesday night than ever. They apparently installed a pick-line into his arm where he was to go in every day to the hospital and receive outpatient antibiotics through an IV daily. I came home from work last night, and he was out cold in bed, and totally skipped his IV antibiotic appointment. He refused to wake up, and was incredibly groggy. I called the hospital in a panic, and asked what I should do...they told me he was being non-compliant with his treatment, and that having an empty pick-line could invite immediate infection directly to the heart. In fact, his doctor was so worried that he had not shown up for his IV bag, that they had sent the police to check on him, as something easily could have happened to him during the day with the empty pick-line. So I'm on the phone, all worried, and look down at my husband soundly sleeping, and lo' and behold, the pick-line was laying NEXT to him on the bed, completely out of his arm. UUGHGHGHGHGHHHHHH!!!! The nurse informed me that he was in a life threatening situation, and that I was to bring him to the ER now...if this cellulitis worsened (I can't see how it can get any worse than it's been), he could die, or lose his leg.
Off the ER we go. DH is sound asleep, almost in a coma. Once we get there, he was so out of it and sleepy that he was unable to answer any questions, and he could not stay awake at all. They asked me if he had been drinking, and I told them no, as that was the truth. But I knew EXACTLY what was happening, as I've been through it again and again with DH. DH was withdrawing from all of the pain meds they had given him in the hospital, which of course he HAD to have...I was completely sickened. I told each nurse explicitly that he cannot be depended on to follow an outpatient regiment, as he's not dependable in the first place, and even less so when he's having withdrawal symptoms...and they should NOT give him any narcotic pain killers. Well, sure enough, as soon as he starts coming around, he begins to BEG and PLEAD with the nurses for pain killers, immediately after I told them about him being treatment last September for CRACK, and has a long history of chemical dependence, both with prescription and street drugs. They held off on them, until this morning, when the nurses finally caved and gave him a small dose of Vicodin...bad, bad, bad!!!! Anything in any amount is enough to send DH into full relapse, so I'm feeling really frustrated. :sad: I hope they know what they may have done by giving into the pleading and whining. His addiction has put my family through a living hell, and he's been doing so well. I just don't know what to do. You would think that the nurses and doctors could see right through this begging stuff...it's total junkie behavior.
Anyway, he has another pick-line in, and will most likely come home tomorrow. Let's hope he can actually commit to his outpatient IV antibiotics this time in a responsible manner, and GO. The last thing we want to do is go through this again, or have him lose a leg, or worse, his life. It's so frustrating!!!