Adding insult to injury

When we arrived to see Dad tonight he was extremely animated. I had heard good things about physical therapy and his reaction to my sister last night, so I was excited to see so his enthusiasm at my arrival. It appears, however, that I'm not a very perceptive person. What I perceived at enthusiasm at my appearance was actually a heightened sense of agitation.

It took a little while to figure out what was on his mind. He was making gestures in the direction of the sink, and I was only able to make out a few words from time to time. But he was clearly angry. I understood enough to discover that one of the staff from the center had upset him. I called in the nurse to discuss who had been in the room but this only seemed to make things worse. I requested a full list of who had been in to see Dad, and she could only plead ignorance with no real answer as to whom had been in to see him.

At this point, I bumped up the ladder a bit and asked for the charge nurse. I took her up on the suggestion to go to the desk, at which point I was face to face with the lady running the floor for the night. She had taken care of Dad previously, and followed me back to his room along with his nurse for the evening. And, this is when it became apparent that it was his nurse that had angered him.

Awkward.

She was obviously more stunned than the rest of us as he gestured angrily in her direction. I asked her to leave the room while we continued to discuss the situation with the charge nurse and Dad. I asked him if she had been physically abusive and he thankfully replied "no." I asked if she had been disrespectful or rude and he replied emphatically "yes."

At this point, I'll admit that it doesn't really surprise me. She has been his nurse for several days of his stay at the center and I've never been terribly impressed with her apparent lack of empathy with her patients or their families. This is the same nurse that was somewhat unmoved as Dad fought that horrible headache this past weekend. She was busily chatting away on a cell phone when I interrupted her to ask if it were time for more medication, or if we should be concerned. The same nurse that referred to hospital policy as a reason for not allowing a TV closer to his bed. Close enough that he could actually see it.

So in hindsight, I probably should have seen this coming. I'm just such a blasted pessimist all the time, assuming the worst in people, that I try not to go down that road. I'm trying to be a 'kinder, gentler' me as I race through my 40's.

Back to Dad.

The charge nurse put me on the phone with her supervisor. He apologized for not being at the center, and then went on to apologize more profusely for the poor care that Dad was receiving. He's going to look into things tomorrow and provide me with more information. If nothing else, I would imagine that everyone was put on notice as it relates to Dad. Hopefully, he'll get the care he deserves, and expects until which time that he leaves the center and we enter into the next stage of his recovery.

Speaking of which, I'm told that he stood up yesterday. Not having seen it, I am instantly filled with images of him before the stroke. Tall and proud, sure of step, full of confidence. I'm sure that it wasn't quite like that, but it's a good sign. So, I'll take it for now, along with his determination to be treated with the dignity and respect that he deserves.