Friday, July 10, 2009

Mary Louise got snowed (and so did we)

So Mary Louise is still on the ventilator and David is still having blood in his stool (despite his very short hiatus last night).

Mary Louise can hold my finger when I press her little palm and cries a bit every once in awhile so she appears to be trying to wake up but she is definitely having lots of trouble maintaining breathing during sleep. About every 2 hours someone walks by and looks at us and says,"she just needs a little longer and we'll pull that tube." Ha - we've been hearing that since 9pm last night - I must say that my patience is wearing very thin and as much as I'm trying to suppress my crazy nurse mom side, it's beginning to shine through once more. As if we needed confirmation that she'd been over dosed with anesthetic, the resident for the night shift came by, said the typical,"we aim to extubate her shortly," and then said, "wait, she had this surgery yesterday. Has she not woken up at all yet?" He checked the chart, noticed that she apparently extubated herself during the surgery, they re-intubated her and apparently dosed her quite nicely with sedatives. His exact words were,"oh, she got snowed." Thanks schmuck. Needless to say, I definitely drilled the anethesiologists yesterday on the oddities of our children - and their trouble with anesthesia. Their response? "She's 4 pounds! We've treated 800 gram babies before. She'll be fine - she's huge." I would like to find them and possibly their vehicles and slash their tires (would that be inappropriate - over the top perhaps? hmm - I think not).

David has continued with his intestinal issues. The blood in his stool increased this morning and in questioning why, I found out that he had had a very special time with the doctor during rounds. He got his very own rectal exam. Those morons thought that the thing to do to a 3 pounds baby with blood in his stool was a RECTAL EXAM?! REALLY?! Ok, I must ask, first of all, how much can you feel with a GIANT pinky finger in a 3 pound baby's rear? Second, as if it didn't occur to them that doing such an invasive exam would do absolutely nothing treatment wise and only worsen the symptoms he was having. Are you kidding me?! Also, I asked that they not give him any more reglan - which they for some ridiculous reason started 3 days ago. Side effects include depression and increased GI motility (uhem - diarhea) So I gently suggested that they not give it for at least a day to see if his symptoms would subside. It was then that I found out that he has a rectal fissure (another apparently "common" issue with preemies). There is so much wrong with the communication ladder in this place that it's hard to know where to begin. But I'm really getting annoyed with learning things on the fly. So I asked to speak with the resident in charge of his care (if you're wondering, the cheif neo was not there). The resident (complete with a way too cocky and over-confident attitude) agreed to stop the reglan then told me that he was fussy because "he just needs a little TLC". Again, REALLY? you're going to suggest a little snuggle time for a baby whose parents are holding him approximately 8 to 12 hours A DAY? I suggested that she stop worrying about the chart so much and actually look at her patient more than once a day. Then said, "it may not mean anything to you, but I must tell you that there is something wrong - he is not the same baby as he was 3 days ago. This is just not my son."

Frustrated and scared but keeping it together. Will update if things change.

Love, Heather

6 comments:

  1. Can I come over there & beat the crap out of someone for you? Reading this last post just pissed me off. I cant' believe that have such little regard for you all as parents. I hope you get those beautiful babies back to their home hospital as quickly as possible. Please feel free to come update us or look for support in Space City Triplets. We are eager to hear about your babies' progress.

    Hugs,
    Astrid

    ReplyDelete
  2. bless your hearts! I can't imagine the frustration you are feeling. It is so hard watching your tiny babies grow and fight for every breath without someone (dr's) completely ignoring you and giving you the run around. It's called mother's intuition for a reason....

    ReplyDelete
  3. What the FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCC________!!!!!!!!! Heather, it must be by God's own grace that those doctors and nurses and residents aren't laying horizontal on the floor! "Mama gonna knock you out!" Praying harder now...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, God, Heather. I was so hoping that ithad imporoved there. I see it hasn't. I'm sorry. Has Shelly the NNP been there? She was great for us. She really listened especially when I told her, "I know my son. This isn't normal." She respects the motherly instinct. The other bunch of A-holes, not so much. I am planning on writing a letter to the admin.of Tulane Lakeside and voice my concerns. I feel that it has been long enough now that I won't use 4 letter words on every line. I can't believe this place is an accredited hospital. I do remember telling a resident that I watch Grey's Anatomy so I can diagnose better than he could. I was trying to make him see that he didn't know everything. I know everyone has to learn at some point, it just wasn't going to be on my baby. Girl, you stand your ground and don't take no sh!t off of those idiots! I'm still praying for y'all. I'm going to E-mail you my cell if you need to talk to someone who has been in the exact same situation, and hell hole for that matter!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so sorry you guys are having such a difficult time. unfortunatley as parents you do have to be doctors at times as well. I know beleive me. You have to get in their face at time and remind them this is a human being not a chart or some textbook example. Which it seems like you are doing a great job reminding them and keeping them on their toes.
    I know it is scary that Mary Louise is still sleeping. We went through a similar situation with my sister when she was younger. They said if she woke up she might be blind. Then the doctor made a mistake and said ok I am leaving now my resident will take over. Needless to say after my dad convinced him a in a forcful way to stay, he did. They wouldn't tell us what happened or release the medical record to show what happend, not even to another doctor. Years later we finally got the chart and found out she was overdosed on anesthesia and they "accidentaly" sprayed liquid cocaine into her eye socks, thus the might be blind. Needless to say with alot of prayer she turned out ok.

    I am sure Mary Louise will do just fine. I know you and Brent are making sure they are properly cared for.

    Poor little David. Did they not think finger in rectum might cause more bleeding or a bigger tear if there was one, I pray there is not. He is to small for such an intrusion. Damn doctors.

    Prayers and positive thoughts will keep coming your way. We love all of you and are here if you need us. We all rejoyce when things are well and are pissed when things happen because some idiot doesn't know how to properly care for these little ones! Love and hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know what it's like when the doctors and nurses come across like they know everything and you have to stand up and tell them something. It isn't easy but could save your child's life. I pray God gives you the strength to continue to hold on until you see the victory of being able to bring your babies home.
    By the way, they are getting cuter and cuter.

    ReplyDelete