Healthcare 65 Plus

Once I had rehabbed myself and conquered all the so-called diagnoses simply by losing weight and eating healthy while paying attention to the other points in the cycle of life, I made it back and now needed cataract surgery myself. 

I visited an eye surgeon and was scheduled for surgery at an eye surgical center in another town. The day arrived, and I was psyched to get this over. I entered the building, and there was an enormous waiting room! There had to be over seventy (70) people in that waiting room! I checked in, paid my copay( they get that up front), then took a seat. I watched as people were taken to the back without much conversation.

 It seemed very remote. It reminded me of a conveyor belt. Patients were taken back on one side and 27 minutes later led out on the other side, Very systematically. I could count the 3 thousand dollars from Medicare with each patient coming out the other side. Before I knew it, I was called, we stopped at a desk, I was handed paper shoe covers to put on, and then directed to a long hall with a door. Once inside that door, I went down another hall to a bay area with several gurneys and blue curtains separating them. I was directed to one, which had a piece of foam like a wedge that came to a point to fit against the back of your head, while there was another one for under your knees.  Once I lay on this gurney, the nurse? started putting all kinds of eye drops in my eye while my head was in this upside-down position, and she slipped a cuff on my arm and just started barking orders. Considering what my husband had experienced in cataract surgery, all kinds of red flags were now going up! My trust level in this surgery was at minus 5! I suddenly felt like a hog being taken to slaughter. Then, somewhere, a voice said your B/P is too high! I thought, Gee, I wonder why? She was putting that cuff on the other arm and getting a high reading, and it seems that you must have a low reading within so many minutes, or you are done! The next thing I knew the Anesthesiologist was there and he at least was a voice of reasoning, He explained my B/P was going higher instead of lower so they had to let me go to the E.R . The nurse had me off the gurney and down the hall and I had to find my husband and she told him to take me to the E.R. and left. Now, being a retired health professional, I thought, if I was so much at risk, why didn’t they call an ambulance? If my blood pressure were way over 200, that would be dangerous. My husband asked if we needed to go to a hospital. I said no, reached into my purse, and took my blood pressure medicine, which the surgery center had told me not to take that morning. By the time we arrived home, I checked my B/P, and it was nearly normal.  

After thinking about this for a few days, I knew I had to file a complaint with Medicare and my insurance company. I felt sure that the nurse got her license from Walmart because she had no inclination of nursing professionalism or Nursing protocol.. Once I reached the eye surgeon’s office, I was informed by the bookkeeper that I was out of network and that they wouldn’t perform my surgery.\ Now, that would have been a beautiful case for Non-continuance of care! However, I could not see suing this doctor’s practice simply because Patty was ignorant. It was bad enough he had her working in his practice. She will get them burned sooner ot later. I had respect for this surgeon, and I chose not to take advantage of this situation. A complaint about the eye surgery center would trigger inspections, scrutinize their procedures, and hopefully lead to changes.

 My next eye surgeon was quite different/?  and a much more unusual experience. The first exam resulted in her referring me to a Retina Specialist because she felt I had some macular swelling. 

I went to the Specialist and on the very first visit, he told me I needed injections in my eye for the swelling. He never told me how many, what the diagnosis was, how it would help, or the success rate. He just said these injections could really help. Therefore, I got one before I left the office. I also had an appointment for the following month! Finally, my fourth monthly injection made my eye red and inflamed. The specialist was not there the next day, and his partner was. The girls at the front told me I had to make an appointment as a new patient, and I could see him in a few weeks.  That is when I recognized what a setup this was. I found another specialist out of the area, who told me to stop the shots, and I got drops for my eyes. What a scam! Believe me, this one is not going under my radar.  Next, I went to the hospital for my surgery, and the Nurse there was using a plastic disposable cuff that was put on too tightly, and when it was blown up, it cut my arm, and I was bleeding. She was a nurse?? They told me my blood pressure was too high. no surgery. I left. When I went back to my eye surgeon, she told me an injury that was bleeding would NOT cause your B/P to elevate!  Now I am scared for her to do the surgery! Where did she go to medical school?   At Diplomas-R-us????

What has happened to patient concern and empathy?

 Where is the self-discipline in Nursing? 

I remember when we had to wear freshly starched white uniforms daily with white stockings and freshly polished white shoes!

 Your cap was carried in a plastic cap bag to and from your shift. Patients looked at you and they knew that the black stripe on your cap meant you were a registered Nurse who graduated from a nursing school or college. When they saw you and they had confidence you were going to care for them. This gave you pride on so many levels!

 In clinicals, you were taught that half the battle of recovery from any illness was being able to trust your Nurse. 

It  gave patients confidence they were in good hands, that was when Nurses were helping people, you kept an air of professionalism while staying empathetic. 

You or the image you projected was the magic pill in so many cases!  That gave you pride in what you did and how your patients progressed. That was a time when you hid in the utility room for a quick cry because you lost a patient on your floor and you needed a few moments to pull yourself together, because Nurses put their hearts and souls into what they did.

 In clinics, you were made to feel you were doing God’s work!! You continued his work almost religiously!

That was a time when Doctors could count on Nurses to catch their hurried mistakes on the floor. Yet you never lost respect for them and were happy you could be their right arm when needed.  That was a time when self-respecting Nurses helped overworked Doctors keep their self-respect. 

Back in the day  Nursing was a profession, today it is a high paying job, no more. I only wish the standards were as high as their salaries.

What happened?? The world has changed so fast and replaced dignity with dollars! Is it worth it? We will never know because “the dead don’t complain.”

I only knew for sure I would not be one of the victims.