Having a Parent in the Hospital, Undergoing surgery

Recently, my Father went in for minor surgery. If my parents had not paid close attention to details before the surgery and after, my Father might not have made it out of surgery. Being prepared for hospital stays and surgery are something that we must all prepare for sometime in our lives. Before entering the hospital, there are certain steps that you should take to reduce the possibility for hospital error.

My Father was nervous when he was checking himself in for his surgery. The nurse asked him what medications he was taking, and he got nervous. My Mother went into her purse, and pulled out a 3X5 note card with all of his information. The note card listed his Doctors, allergies, prescriptions, dosages, and medical conditions. When I saw this, I realized that this was something that we should all have in case of a hospital stay.

My Father has a AAA stint. Eight years ago, he had an aortic abdominal aneurysm. The Doctors put a stint in to bypass the aneurysm. Whenever he has any major work done, he is supposed to be given antibiotics to make sure that he does not get an infection.

As he was being taken out of the room for surgery, my Mother asked about the antibiotics. The nurse explained that he had not been administered any. The surgeon had never put this stipulation on my Father's chart. Surgery was postponed for an hour as he was administered the antibiotic.

At this point, I noticed my Mother with another 3X5 card in her hand. I took a look at it and it had all of the preparations that were supposed to be taken for the surgery. My Mother had explained that when they had met with the surgeon previously, she had taken notes of all of the stipulations and requirements for the surgery.

After my Father's surgery, the surgeon came out to explain the results to my Mother. As he was talking, she took notes about what he was saying. There were a few instances where she asked him to please repeat, so that she could catch up in her notes.

When my Father was sent up to the room, he was given oxygen. My Mother looked at her trusty note card and noticed that he was being administered more oxygen then what the surgeon had originally suggested. They were giving him over two hundred percent more oxygen then he needed.

My Mother pointed this out, and the nurse adjusted it to the recommended amount. Come to find out that the nurse had turned the dial too much, and did not notice it. My Father could have received brain damage for this error.

My Mother then inquired about a further administering of antibiotics. She showed the nurse her note card that stated that he was to receive antibiotics after the surgery. The nurse looked on his chart, and the surgeon had not noted this. Once the surgeon had been contacted, he realized his further error, and had corrected this.

The series of events brought me a few realizations. First off, when preparing for surgery, you should have a listing of notes to make sure that the doctors, surgeons, and nurses are correctly doing their jobs.

Also, it is good to have someone with you who also knows what you need for your surgery. In the last moments of surgery, your head become cloudy by not only stress, but also medication. You will not be able to answer any questions, or make any inquiries to the best of your ability.

Everyday, hundreds if not thousands of people sustain some kind of bodily damage because of errors and oversights in hospitals. It is not necessarily because of poor hospital management. It can be prevented if you take simple steps to protect your own well being.