i meant to put this in the aml support group sorry

My husband had stem cell transplant. One night the nurses doubled his Hydromorphone. He became very paranoid and afraid and was going to leave the hospital. It was in the middle of the night and winter. When the student nurse came in to check him he was acting strangely and she never bothered to report it. He actually made it outside and then came to himself a little and went back to his room and no harm had come to him. The next day when hubby told me what happened I raised a real ruckus. Yes, mistakes can sure happen. I am so sad that this happened to you. It is so wrong. What a horrible nightmare. Again, I am so sorry. Big hug.

It is alright if you post this here. Many of us have gone through hell and back because of some form of cancer or another. We understand what you have gone through.

My husband complained of a bladder infection on a Sunday. The only place we could find a doctor was at a teaching clinic. All the records were on their computers. I drove him there, the student doctor didn't take the time to look at his chart, he had frequent bladder infections before and was a diabetic. She gave him a prescription, he was unable to lift his head or feet, I had to assist him, and I went to get his prescription. I watched as he went downhill. Both my girls are RN's. I reached my youngest girl on her way home from work, she called the ambulance, by the time they got to the hospital he was septic. He passed away in a few days, the infection went throughout his body. The family dr appoligized to us, she said the student did not handle this right. Also the resident at the hospital didn't do his job properly either. My daughter was able to get he dad admitted where she works. He died on her unit, she knew that he was going, she spent the nights with him, and he co-worker friends were his RN's. I know the system believe me, I worked in the cancer clinic, both girls are nurses and many errors are made, short staff, cutbacks, medication errors, daughter stopped one nurse who was going to give him a blood thinner that would of killed him. I do not work anymore but I know how the medical field is these days, I am so lucky to have my youngest girl, I have many health problems, she always says, don't worry mom I have got you back. I also went to the lawyer and had her as the one to make my decisions if I were to get in a bad way.

Every patient needs a medical advocate, whether it be spouse, family member, or friend. Even if the patient is coherent, he/she often needs that second set of ears and eyes.

I stayed on top of everything when my hubby was being treated. Sometimes our oncologist became annoyed, but I really didn't care. This was my life he was treating and I wanted to make sure we had all the information we needed, plus fully understanding not only his condition, but how we were going to tackle it.

On one occasion, there was a miscommunication between the medical and kitchen staff that jeopardized my husband's availability to have a much needed test performed. His nurse turns the blame on my husband and chastises him like he was a child.

I submitted the complaint, which filtered from the hospital administrative staff down to the nurse manager of the floor.

Unfortunately, there are people in this world that only put in their time for a paycheck. Their thinking is extremely detrimental when it comes to the medical field.

Yes, you sure don't want the medical staff making mistakes, but everyone else does, so they are bound to make a few too.

A nurse caring for my wife explained it "that's why that call it a practice".

You're absoulutely right. I've even been told never to go into the hospitals during certain months becaust that's when the new doctors start. Also, nurses are highly overworked. They're no longer there to check on their patients and catch mistakes.