Spending time in the Hospital....

Recently I have had to spend a lot of time in hospitals. I read an interesting book on patient advocacy and being a smart patient. When you see loved ones in the hospital, you want them to have the best care. The book gave great advice and what to do when you are at the hospital. Since many are a bit overwhelmed, it is always a great idea to have a loved one or close friend not to be alone but with someone they trust to be around them.

The bit of time while I was with my family member, I realized you are helpful with their needs and expressing for them what they are feeling. Being patient and waiting is not fun as you are whiling away alot of time. Trying to keep your energy and spirits up can be hard. But I have learned to be using my time wisely doing errands and reading up on newspapers and magazines as well as library books. Waiting in the patient waiting room gets me a bit stir crazy.
The worst feeling you can have, or I felt at least is the feeling of hopelessness. All you can do is put your faith in the higher beings above and expect the best. Trust the doctors and nurses who are just doing their jobs--saving lives.

One thing the book (YOU the patient) mentioned was talk to the nurses. They can give you the ins and outs of the doctors. I have to say the surgeon I dealt with is awesome. The nurse agreed with us and said that for doctors to maintain her level of patient advocacy and empathy for someone her level is not the norm unfortunately. She has excellent bed side manner, willing to answer questions, very thorough and smart. She is a teacher at Harvard Medical School and did her residency in the local Longwood Area hospitals. We are lucky to have many great hospitals in the Boston area.

Any loved one having a family member have procedures or medical surgeries does not want to hear many things and one of them is "abnormality". This stemming from a rare condition and causing the procedure to be longer and harder due to this "abnoramility". Follow up tests and the ton of tests prior to the procedure occurred as the surgeon wanted to be sure and confident.

I just talked to some friends. Some advice, don't always take the doctor's word as gold---have healthy skepticism, get a second opinion (especially for big procedures) and always be prepared and with questions. An informed patient is a good patient. Detecting illnesses early is a good preventative measure and health is your wealth!