Oh my! Man, I don't even have the words. Thank goodness things worked out the way they did, as far as at least coming through the ordeal with her still alive! Glad you feel comfortable enough with us all here to vent. Thank God (literally, I'm praying and thanking God for this) for the "almost" part of your post.
Thank-you for that–48 hours later, she seems to be doing 'okay.' The biggest issue that remains is the emotional toll this has all taken. Now that the initial shock has worn off, I think it's beginning to hit us both.
Even our one-year old seems to sense what's happened. He's usually incredibly independent, but since I brought her home, he's been glued to her hip.
Holy shit!
Glad she's doing much better. We've been talking about how fucked up ER's have been lately. They're called Emergency Rooms for a reason. Yet they're being clogged by non emergencies.
Count your blessings, man.
It's good advice, and while I'm a pretty grateful person, I've been counting them way more closely this week.
Oh man, so sorry to hear this. Dealing with that kind of stress is overwhelming. Hope family and friends are nearby for support.
Appreciated.
Glad everything is alright.
Morals of the story? Go with your gut, and don’t trust a doctor who doesn’t seem to have interest in helping you. I should have demanded to have her transferred, and I am kicking myself for leaving when we should have stayed.
Absolutely. We've been conditioned to think that Dr's know what they're doing and we're not qualified to doubt them. We also tend to believe what we want to believe, and when we hear "yeah, it's not a big deal, everything will be fine" from a person in a position of presumed authority we run like hell with it. Doctors might know more about anatomy, but we all know more about ourselves than they ever will. Ask questions and judge how they respond.
While I agree with every word you wrote, in the heat of the moment, I still struggled to wrap my head around acting on my gut. Still kicking myself for it.
I'm glad your wife is ok. I can imagine the panic you were going through. Both of you get some rest.
Rest is definitely all we will be doing next week!
Good Lord......so relieved to hear your wife is doing well now and expecting a full recovery. I cannot imagine the emotion(s) that transpired during all of this. Such a crazy string of events. I hope you're able to get some rest soon as it sounds like you need a little breather.
You know, after COVID, I really thought I was ready for anything. I have a handful of horror stories from the past few years, but nothing hit as close to home as this.
What Barto said. I'd like to think the Canadian healthcare system cares just a bit more about the patient, but I'm not so sure. They're just too scattered, and care too little. Glad it didn't turn out differently.
Every country has it's share of issues. Even the best hospital's crew of doctors and nurses exist on spectrum. I'm sure the ER we went to has a handful of genius doctors on staff.....I think we just got the resident dead weight that every workforce seems to carry.
Holy crap!
Glad everything is finally turning out OK. I would visit the ER again, to have a conversation with that doctor to let him know what he missed. That way, maybe he won't miss it with the next patient in those circumstances. Just a thought.
Yeah, man. I'm with you, and there is probably a nasty review in that guy's future. But right now, I am way to focused on the present to grind any axes. That said, there will definitely be a time for it.
Damn, man. Glad to hear everything seems to be okay now. My gosh.
Get some rest, both of you, and be well.
Thank you–appreciated.
My goodness. My heart is with you both. I hope she heals quickly.
You've had your fair share of heartbreak during these past few months, so I appreciate that you keep finding the time to be there for others. It means a lot.
Wow, glad she is okay mate. The health care system in general certainly seems to be going into freefall. I can't imagine what you must have felt seeing and experiencing your soul mate going through all of that.
She is DEFINITELY my soul mate. I was sitting there in the waiting room running through how I was going to take care of my one-year old when I got home, and I had a fleeting thought of what the next ten years might look like without my wife. I can tell you this–there is absolutely no space in my heart for anyone else. From here on out, we are either doing this together, or I will be alone.
Holy f*ck that story is horrifying on so many levels. I'm so glad to hear you are both recovering from your ordeal and I'm so sorry for your troubles. My thoughts are with you and your wife.
I can't help but make a small suggestion. If your wife has access to her electronic medical records (she may not but she may be able to get that set up fairly easily) it would be good look over the reports and spot any discrepancies before memory does its thing and makes things harder to recall. Obviously healing is the paramount issue here. But undoubtedly that doctor treats many women the way he treated your wife (I'm taking your word "misogynistic" to go off of) and it could be worthwhile reporting your experience to hospital patient services at the very least. And if you find something that looks like malpractice then you'll have your reports to show to someone who may be giving you legal advice.
Healthcare providers like that have no business working with patients.
Please let us know how you both are doing once you've had a chance to catch your breath.
I really appreciate this post–I am already one step ahead of you
Made a records request this morning so that I could get everything centralized in MyChart.
So sorry, man. So thankful she finally got the help she needed and is doing better. I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been.
Wow, that's quite a terrible situation for your wife. But I'm glad things, in the end, have had a happy ending here. Sounds really scary though. Hope she recovers quickly.
Appreciate you both–yes, 'terrifying' is a good word for it.
That all said, the guy in charge of the first responders did me a massive solid.
When the paramedics were pulling my wife out of the shower, I was shouting questions, trying in vain to formulate a plan, and the guy in charge took my arm, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, "Do not worry, I will take care of her. She's not going anywhere on my watch."
Then, she was in the ambulance and gone.
Whether or not the guy believed what he said, I can't say. But he said it with conviction, and it steeled my resolve and gave me the moment I needed to get my head right, pack a bag, make some calls, and drive to the ER.
I don't know the guy's name, but I owe him a beer.
Honestly, I kinda think I owe all of you a beer.