Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Twilight Zone


Let's be honest.
 
Hospitals are the WORST place to get any rest.
 
Not for the patient and definitely not for the Mom.

 

 
 
I've done enough hospital stuff to understand the need for the constant checks, the need to give meds, the need to make sure he is moving all his limbs etc...
 
But why oh why do residents feel the need to start their rounds at 3:30 am in the morning??? Seriously??  3:30 am???  I am NOT going to respond with a cheery hello to that resident no matter how cheerful his good morning sounds! It's not a good morning when you wake a little boy up at 3:30 am for a one minute check. 
 
Especially when the TV in your room is the TV from the Twilight Zone. Yes. We have THAT TV.  The one where the sound comes on in the middle of the night without ANYONE turning the TV on and without the TV actually being on.  THAT TV. The TV that makes you scramble as fast as you can to try to find the remote so you can shut it down... but how do you shut down a turned off TV???  THAT TV.  And it doesn't happen just once in the night.  That would be way too simple.  Try THREE TIMES in the same night.  Three times the TV from the Twilight Zone turns on without anyone turning it on and yet isn't really on.
 
And of course little boy wakes up when the TV comes on.  And of course it takes a while to calm him down. And then OF COURSE the resident decides to show up RIGHT AFTER he has drifted back off to sleep.
 
At 3:30 am.
 
And if you are having a particularly wacky night trying to rest in this place... that would be the same night that they decide to put someone in the bed next to your little boy's bed.  It would be TOO EASY to just quietly bring that someone in and settle them in their bed. NOPE.  Housekeeping must come at 5:00 am and sanitize the room.  Did you know you can't sanitize the room without the lights on?
 
Like I said.  Hospitals are the WORST places to get any rest.
 
When it has been a night of no-sleep and you are able to get little boy to take a RARE and DESPERATELY NEEDED nap - why oh why does every single worker in the hospital pick that moment to come crashing in the room.  I can maybe handle the nurse checking him and tiptoeing back out but when the nursing students pick just that time... 10 minutes after little boy has finally dropped off to sleep... to come practice their art??? And the maintenance man coming to check the wall units?? And housekeeping to change the trash liners??? 
 
And for the Mama trying to grab rest??
 
Why oh why do hospitals invest in recliners from the same Twilight Zone as the TV?? 



Yes THOSE recliners. The ones that pretend to recline but not really. Yep.  The ones that require the strength of Superman to get them to lay back. The ones that lay back UNTIL you move and then they spring back into their original uncomfortable sitting position. Those recliners.  The ones that are so short that even someone as short as me can feel tall with my feet hanging over the end.  The ones that will ONLY stay open if you take a chair and prop the foot rest on the chair. Like I said.. the recliners from the Twilight Zone.
 
Nope.
 
Hospitals are not a good resting place.
 
But I'm grateful for the nurses who care.  And the doctors who are trying to be vigilant.  I'm grateful for clean floors and emptied trash.  I'm grateful for the concern and care lavished on my little boy.
 
 
I'm grateful too for the scissors that we used early this morning to fix the shower from the Twilight Zone. The shower that I didn't get to take because it broke in my hand when I went to use it.  The shower that would NOT turn off despite my best efforts.  The shower that needed a pair of scissors pretending to be pliers to finally shut off. 
 
I'm grateful.
 
I'm grateful that today my little boy got out of bed and walked a bit down the hall. I'm grateful for the teacher who spent time with him this morning making a volcano.



I'm grateful that the physical therapists are working hard to figure out the best way to get him up and moving and independent as possible but still safe.  I'm grateful for a clean incision and pain that is under control.

 
I'm grateful that little boy's best friend hung out in the hospital with us for a while.  Oh how I've missed that best friend!!
 
 
I'm grateful.
 
Very very tired but grateful.

Here in the Twilight Zone!
 

 
 
 
 

4 comments:

  1. Are you able to unplug the TV from the wall?

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  2. Hospitals are the worst for sleep and recovery! 3 years ago when our daughter had back surgery at UVA we had your horror stories, too, including a toddler in the next bed who cried through the night and a Grandma who was with him who had the stomach flu! It wasn't until we got home that Sadie could truly heal and feel better. A week in the hospital was torture...but just a day or two at home made all the difference in her recovery. Prayers.

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  3. Oh, I can relate!!!!!!!

    The twilight zone:
    where cheery nurse enters at midnight for one minute control, manages to wake up child by trampling around, then feels inclined to have chatty conversation with child and -since said child is still a trifle unappreciative of her conversational efforts at this hour of the night-, decides to draw a smiley on child's arm with her pen to "cheer it up".

    THAT NURSE. MUST. BE.THE.SAME.

    I wonder:
    Do these nurses not receive the most basic training on what to avoid during night shifts???

    My heartfelt sympathy.
    Praying that you can get out of there REAL soon.

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  4. Praying for a speedy recovery and early hospital release!
    Do let the hospital know of your complaints, now and/or in your post-hospitalization evaluation.

    ReplyDelete

Loving words from kind people make our hearts glad!