Today It's Three Weeks!

It really feels like it's been forever since my Mom was admitted to hospital but it's really only been three weeks albeit the longest three weeks of my life.

Here's what I've learned so far, not all hospitals are created equal, not all nurses are caring, when you are elderly, doctors appear to think you have lived your life, and oh well, maybe it's time to go. And then there are the room mates! That's a whole other post.

We really had no choice of hospital that day but it is one of the worst, in fact it's to bad that my own GP has warned me about going there for anything major. It is not a teaching hospital and the doctors don't really work as a team. So far we have had a Neurologist, Psychiatrist, Geriatrician, and two Cardiologists and trying to get any information from any of them has been like pulling teeth. They fob things off on each other. If I didn't insist daily on information I wouldn't be getting any.

This is not a problem for me, I can be pretty determined when it comes to those I love, but I really wonder how others who are not as determined as I am, or don't have a grasp of the language or access to Internet information can cope.

Now as much as I adore my mom's GP, who is a very gentle man with elderly and makes house calls, I am very angry with him. Why, well just over a year ago when he had an echo gram of my Mom's heart done I specifically asked about a pacemaker and was told, no it wouldn't help. Just drugs and exercise. He did not arrange a cardio exam but he said he had consulted with one and the feeling was mutual.

So for the last year I have been giving my Mom her pills and pushing her to exercise and walk even though she was getting weaker all the time,her heart actually stops for up to five seconds. I thought that pushing her was the right thing to do because that's what the doc said, she's de-conditioned he said, keep her moving. Wrong, all it did was stress her heart more unbekenownst to me. Should she have had a heart monitor, yes. Do I feel guilty, you betcha. Did the doctors mess up, damm right they did.

Now she has been waiting more than a week for a pacemaker and is getting weaker by the day. If her INR levels are good she will get it tomorrow, if not it will be next week. They don't operate on Fridays?

That's the thing with this socialized one size fits all health care system we have in Canada, we all join the wait list equally, can't purchase private care, but may all die waiting equally. I really hope that Mom can hang on, after all I promised her a cruise to Alaska in August. Wouldn't want to break a promise...