Got a call last week that my chest port was infected and it was IMPERATIVE that I check into the hospital RIGHT AWAY to receive intravenous (vancomycin) antibiotics. Needless to say, I rushed in immediately only to have to wait 7 hours to get a room-and then an additional 2 to get the antibiotic started (after 2 nurses fumbling SIX TIMES to get an IV started in these HUGE never-a-problem-before veins!) @!$#@!$#!$@!$#@~!****
Got infusions for 4 days and finally talked the doctor into letting me get home care nurses to do it so I can actually HAVE A LIFE at the same time as treatment! Turned out that home care wouldn't TOUCH me as I'd had an itching reaction the first (actually second (!!??) dose and they just WON'T DO IT. PERIOD.
Found this out on Tues evening. Called doctor IMMEDIATELY and REPEATEDLY to get them to either re-admit me or administer it at the infusion center and have gotten ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE! My medical oncologist is out of town and the attending doc's office simply is not returning calls in a timely manner-to me or to my doc's staff. Been speaking with the team nurse who is just about as frustrated as I am!
WHAT the hell????????
WHY would a doctor who KNEW I was getting benadryl to counter an adverse reaction not know that home-care companies will not even CONSIDER giving a known reaction-causing drug???
HOW can a doctor's office who won't return calls remain medically viable? (Much less feel proud of the good they are "doing for society")?????????????
WHO the hell would stay with a hospital that allows a patient to fall through the cracks like this?????????
And now, after sleeping for the past 3 days-I'm hoping that my body is using the antibiotics I DID get and is finishing up the job of clearing it up-I don't know which end is up! I'm FURIOUS, but at who? And for what? I'm UPSET that basically I was just written off by a bunch of self-important officious people MUCH too busy to bother with minor problems like a terminal cancer patient's staph infection of his port; his LIFE LINE and ONLY possibility to live out a somewhat comfortable final portion of his life in reasonable safety; and finally, I'm SCARED. As hell. That the damn staph is still festering in that port that leads DIRECTLY to my heart.
Actually I feel great right now and my inclination is to chill out for the weekend, get some other things done, and get it checked out ASAP on Mon.
Thoughts? Similar experiences? Unwarranted advice? ;-p
Thanks for letting me bend your "ear" for a moment-I really had to get all this out
Gordon