Hi Talon, nice to hear from you. I know dr.s do not allways tell you everything and with something as important as your health, you have to be PROACTIVE or hope you are lucky.I began more than 30 years ago and am glad I did. If it were not for my own records, there would have been some costly mistakes in my medical care.
I have found many errors in my medical records, everything from the wrong dates of procedures, to my birthday being listed in March instead of May, to saying I had an ankle surgery when it was a fractured foot. Some records say I had back surgery when I never have!
Then there are the things dr.s just do not tell you...perhaps they do not want to worry you or family members, but I think you are entitled to know about what goes on when it is your body and often your life at stake!
I have some pretty dramatic medical records over the years and one of the scariest was a few years ago when I went into the hospital for a "routine" hysterectomy that had really bad complications. I was at the hospital at 6:00 a.m ,dropped off by my hubby, who went back home as he hates hospitals. Shortly after7:00 a.m. I was given a prophylactic antibiotic injection, into the IV bag before I went into surgery which was set for 8:00 a.m. Well within 20 seconds or so of that injection...things changed...... :(I got an itching feeling in the palms of my hands, then it progresses to :oburning pain and pain in my chest and palpatations where I could not breathe. I rang the bedside buzzer for the nurse.
I had a reaction to the antibiotic and was in antaphylactic shock!They rushed me down to the E.R, (about 7:30 a'.m) and began working on me. I was a red all over with grey fingers and toes and around my lips. I was restrained at my wrists and ankles cause I was trying to get off the gurney.(pain of course and panic when you can not breathe) I was also in tachacardia (excellerated heart rhythem and other abnormalities) and just in critical condition . I do not remember everything which is a blessing, but I do remember I kept asking them to please call my husband! Did they? NO! Not a single person anywhere in a big hospital took the time to call my husband...not a word. My hubby is very good at knowing and sensing when things are not right.. He told me later he went back to bed and had a dream about me, and woke up with the impression he needed to see how I was. Can you imagine the shock when he went to where I nwas supposed to be, and them telling him I was down in the emergency room?
The dr. took my husband out into the hallway to tell him what was going on and my condition..My husband told me (and the medical records say the same thing) he did not know if I would "survive" I was also in what they call POTS OR MULTIPLE ORGAN SHUTDOWN OR FAILURE. My kidneys had already shut down and even with the IV and all the fluids the were pushing into my body, I was producing no urine at all. I was also hypotensive and suffering from hypokalcemia which affects the heart as well. At my worst my blood pressure was so low it was 54/29 and the dr. was there at my bedside pumping things into my heart to try and regulate it.After they were able to somewhat stabilize me I went to ICU and things within the next 36 hrs stabilized and here I am...all because of a reaction to an antibiotic my body no longer recognized as one I had taken years ago..
To sum it up, I have a 2 inch thick pile of medical records of this one event with everything documented that happened to me from the time of checking in for surgery, the er report, the medical consultation from two dr.s, all the numerous blood tests taken over and over again, ultrasound tests of my stomach, my heart, kidneys, a brain scan, numerous EKGs, etc, etc.If I had not asked for my medical records, there is very little of this I would know or remember. When you are that sick or close to dying, you are not aware of a lot that is going on, which can be a blessing!But those medical records also help in my future care and the EKGS for example .have given a cardiologist I saw as well as my family dr. good information.
Sorry if this got longer than intended, but I am very passionate about being proactive with medical care. as for my foot history, I have had so much done to my feet, my right foot in particular, that it is about as good as it will ever get short of being bionic. It in never going to be normal and the best I can hope for is to keep it as pain free as possible. I live in a small town and have seen all the foot dr. available, short of leaving the area. The dr. who did this surgery has now treated me for fractures, dislocations, failed bunionectomies from another dr.,a joint salvage which failed, the removal of both sesmoids, a fusion of my big toe and then this current surgery.He is very polite, courteous, listens well, takes his time and has allways answered all my questions. I just think this was something unexpected and he either did not want to worry me or forgot about the fact he removed "a mass" from my foot. I would get another dr. if I felt I needed to but at this point the best I can do is make sure I have my own records so I know of my own care.
I think it is more common than we would like to admit: dr.s not telling their pt.s everything involved in their care. My right wrist which was fractured this January is a good example. I never had the proper pain sedation you should have before a dr. sets or reduces a fracture. I screamed my head off in the emergency room it hurt so bad when my bones were being reset....Then the pain I felt for all those weeks in a cast told me something was not right. Of course I was right, the ulnar bone slipped or shifted while in the cast, and after removing the cast it is vewry easy to see I now have not just a deformity, a wrist that does not function the way it should, it is a lot weaker and is stll painful. On my last dr. visit, my dr, came out fir the first time and admitted that the bones had shifted and did not set right.. %)All he could advise was to give it another 4 months or so and if still in pain, then we could set up surgery, all this for a fracture now almost 7 months old! I am going to get a second opinion another dr. to see what they say. Also the medical insurance or coverage has a lot to deal with how you are treated..
Thanks for letting me vent..now I feel better about how I feel. ( about healthcare) RWM
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Topic: Fractured Foot Tales (WARNING - graphic images) (Read 5438 times)