chapter 11: part 5

continued from chapter 11: part 4

Hal's nurses were for the most part, young and gentle. They bantered with him and seemed caring.
And then there was the weekend staff. Most weekends were a horror; the nurses were passive to the point I thought they had all been lobotomized. They clustered about the front desk as much as possible, seemingly to keep as far away from patients as possible. They wouldn't make the simplest decision without checking with the doctor, which they were afraid to do.

For instance, there was the GOT A PASS FOR THE DAY incident I will always remember. Hal was beginning to stabilize from a painful episode; he was off the intravenous and the doctor encouraged me to take him away for a day. Wonderful. We would do this on Sunday. I planned to take him home for a few minutes to see the things he missed and then we would drive north to Mark's lakeside home, where other family members were gathering for our usual next round of birthdays for that month.

This was pretty exciting stuff. Hal was a little apprehensive because his world was becoming the hospital and I believed the outside would be good for him. I arrived early in the morning and a weekend stranger\nurse announced in a disinterested voice,

"You can't take him away until the nurse comes to take a blood specimen."

" Okay, where is she? Can you call her? "

" No, there is just one nurse and she is working her way through the floors."

We were on the top floor. She appeared at eleven o'clock, drew the blood and announced we couldn't leave until the test results were received. I explained the rush and she said she would do her best to have it checked for us so we could go. At noon I returned to the front desk for the umpteenth time and asked if the test results had come back yet. The nurse languidly glanced at his chart and said,

"Why yes, they're here. You can go now."

Did that test matter? I doubt it. Was there anyone there to interpret the meaning of the test? Not on your life. It was the weekend. The day was half gone before we left. I still feel the rage and frustration when I think of this. I couldn't find a resident to clear the logjam so I simply waited and seethed. Learn from my error. If you have a pass, use it and get the hell out of there.

Hal did see the house for a few minutes, which turned out to be the last time and I hurried him along because the family had been waiting for him since morning.

Frankly I needed this break. He didn’t. He would have been happy to remain at the house. He arrived at the lake feeling weary having passed up on lunch. We helped him into a chair and he ate one of Olga's famous breaded chicken wings. Then the pain began. Not the fault of Olga's wings. By three o'clock he was in a lot of pain and I hurriedly returned him to the hospital where he vomited violently for hours. The blockage was causing further problems and we were now reaching a critical stage in his illness. How sad thing that his last day out of there was spoiled.

Let me save you from this experience. First, when the doctor offers the pass or you request it, you tell him exactly what you have in mind and what time frame you are looking at, with an emphasis on the departure time. Then you ask him if there is any reason that there might be a delay in leaving.
If you come for your sweetie, as I did, and you hit this snag, then demand to see the doctor, the resident and if they are not forthcoming, tell them the test/treatment/ hold-up will have to wait until you return and then you leave. Vamoose. Split.


continued in chapter 11: part 6