Ticked off doesn't even begin to explain it…

[Guest guest]

Good morning everyone, I'm off to take my kids to a birthday party for their young friend but before doing so, I wanted to paste the letter I wrote early this morning regarding a situation which just happened.

What a great way to celebrate my own birthday (sic).

Tuesday, April 12 2011 

First of all, let me iterate the obvious. I am the patient. The people that I encounter on this unit are the nursing staff and as such, it is their responsibility to follow the orders given to them by the doctors as well as ensure proper care and safety of the patients.

On the evening of April 11, contrary to my usual routine, I requested that I be put back in my chair so that I can maintain longer endurance in the seated position. At 9 PM, the LPN in charge came in with my suppository asking if I wanted to have it now.  Since I had only recently been put in my chair, she suggested that we do it at ten thirty. I agreed and continued reading my book.

Ten thirty came and went with nobody coming to offer to place me into bed and give me my suppository. I was caught up in my book so I continued reading. After the 11 PM staff changeover, rounds were made and despite the nursing attendants and various nurses passing by my door at least 10 times, not a single one bothered to ask me if I wanted to return to bed or if anything else was needed.

By this time it was almost midnight, and by then I was rather annoyed. I was now more interested in seeing how long it would take them to clue in to their mistake.  Why do I constantly have to be running after the nursing staff – especially when they never bothered to give me a call bell with which to get their attention?

Around 1215 I finally caught the attention of the charge nurse who was walking by, told her I was waiting to get into bed and asked why the people from the previous shift have not done what they said they would do – which was get me at 1030 for my suppository.

Furthermore, (as an aside) the LPN was supposed to put Polysporin on my toe but couldn't find it in my room despite it having been used on me in the morning. She never came back to put any on or to explain why she couldn't. What's the point of having doctors orders if 50% of the time (yes 50% that is two times out of four possible applications in the last two days) dinner not followed?

If the nurse says that we will do something at a certain time, why am I the one who has to track her down? She knew I was expecting to get into bed by that so that the suppository could be inserted… At the very least the nurse should have asked if I wanted to do it now or wait till later – she did not as much as come by my room.

Going back to the request to get into bed… The charge nurse came by and I questioned why nobody came to my help. She grumbled that they have been by on rounds and questioned why I hadn't asked them to get me into bed then. Not being able to easily express myself verbally, I mumbled something about being too absorbed in my book. She said I'd have to wait till they finished their rounds.

When they finally came back at about a 12:45, I verbally confronted them asking why nobody had bothered to come until now. The LPN told me that she had come by at 1030 but I was sleeping. First of all, I was not sleeping; I was reading and there was no possible appearance of being asleep anyway. Secondly, if any decent nurse saw a patient at that time of night sleeping in their wheelchair, it would obviously be time to put them in bed.

Further into the discussion, she changed her story to say that since I didn't seek her out, she didn't come. So was I sleeping? Or was she waiting for me to call on her? It can't be both. And again, (reiterating the whole nurse versus patient role) I'm the patient… Why do I have to babysit the nurses?

By this time they were getting ready to lift me out of my chair and put me in bed. Fay, the Indian nursing attendant, was being verbally forceful and insisting that I was at fault. By that point I did not want to deal with them so asked him to leave me alone in my chair and I would be fine.

Fay refused to comply. She began putting the sling straps on the lift in the very dangerous and unsafe way. I told her she was doing it wrong and her response was why didn't I show her how. I told her that she was the attendant and I was the patient – it's her job to know how to do it. She answered that because she worked nights she didn't have to do it therefore didn't know how.

With all due respect, how can someone who works in the hospital use equipment that they do not know how to use? Either they should know how to use it competently or find someone who knows. I would have literally slid out the top part of the sling if I had not said anything.

At this point I told her to let me go and that she did NOT have my consent to lift me. Told her that if she touched me it was against my will and consider physical assault. Despite this she forcefully continued to strap on the sling leads. I continued to tell her to let me go and needs may be in my chair. I tried to fight her off but being perpetual quad, I was unable to do much in my defense.  By this time she (Fay) was calling the proverbial shots and everyone else was just following her lead. There were four people in the room: Fay, my LPN, LaVerne (the charge nurse) and a larger lady wearing makeup with Asian features.

I kept insisting that she was assaulting me and she said that if I resisted she would call security. If I was a person that was able bodied and able to walk and wanted to sit in a chair in my room as opposed to sitting in bed, there would be no problem. Now since I'm in a wheelchair and physically unable to defend myself, I consider this to be a physical act of aggression against me. I also threatened to throw myself out of bed if they do not respect my wishes – and I would have were it not physically impossible for me at the moment.

I was hoisted into bed against my will and when they undid the sling and wanted to turn me over to remove it, I told them that if they try to touch me I would hit them back – though I was more specifically referring to Fay. You may consider this as an act of aggression on my part, but I consider this to be self-defence. My sense of dignity and freedom was violated… I was being physically moved and handled against my will and against my expressly telling him that I did not consent to these actions. By then I was demanding that they give me my cell phone and computer – I wanted to document this incident.

This is not the first time I've had a problem with Fay. Shortly after being admitted to this unit (unit 18), I had had a BM after being given a suppository and rang the bell so that I could be cleaned up. Fay and the nurse came in (a Hispanic man who usually works on units 41 or 51) to clean me up. I was on a pad when Fay came in and asked why I wasn't using bedpan… That she had me on unit 41 and I was using a bedpan at the time, so why wasn't using one now.

I was brand-new to the unit and still mentally overwhelmed – the thought hadn't even occurred to me to ask for a bed pan and I had simply gone along with what the nurse was doing. As they started cleaning up, I had apparently not said thank you fast enough for her liking, so she started mocking me as she chatted with the nurse. Every time she asked him for something she would exaggerate her please in and exaggerating and mocking tone, then again after she received it she would mockingly say thank you as loud and exaggerate it is possible. I am a very polite person but don't expect me to smile and accept disrespect – as I doubt that you would either.

I am already on the edge mentally… I might be smiling but in reality I'm barely hanging on – I don't need to be treated like someone with advanced dementia who doesn't know who or  where they are.

On another two occasions when Fay was on duty I was left the entire night without being turned. The first time, I woke up at five or six in the morning being in the exact same position as I was the night before at 9 PM. My computer was on top of me, my empty dish and spoon (from my snack) were still on my lap, my splints were still on and of course I hadn't moved. I need to be turned several times in the night to avoid pain and pressure sores – that should go without saying. If I'm not awake I need to be awakened and turned – again something that I should not have to spell out. How is it that the nursing attendants can go about their rounds believe someone sleeping in such a way doesn't that defy its purpose? Especially when my dishes are on my lap and I had obviously nodded off with everything turned on and nothing moved away from me?

After all this happened, and I was able to get someone to my room by yelling (since it could reach the call bell), I requested to speak to the charge nurse… This was at 1:30 AM. I was told she was on break they would send her when she came. By 2:30 AM she has still not come so I called the unit on my cell phone and asked to speak to her by name, and was told that she was still on break and would not be back to three. Since winter break last 1.5 hours?? Anyway I didn't realize who she was until she came and noticed that she was one of the ladies that was in the room – LaVerne. I told her to nevermind.

As of the time of this writing the previous incidences have been reported to charge nurses the social worker and/or the unit manager and things have obviously not changed. Originally, after the first time, I have requested that Fay not be allowed in contact with me because she raised my stress levels and made me feel like pure trash – I don't need this. The minute I see her my feelings go from being reasonably calm and emotionally control to being upset, angry and beginning a panic attack.

If you were to ask the staff, I'm pretty sure they would tell you that I'm easy-going and not difficult to get along with. I never complete without reason and always take other patients into consideration when making requests. These incidences ONLY happened when Fay is on duty. When the other team is working, there is never any issue and we get along well. If I was the one causing all these difficulties, wouldn't it be happening all the time as opposed to only with that single group of nurses and attendants?

1.       I would like a good reason as to why I should not go to the police to have assault charges placed upon Fay for forcibly moving me against my will (assault).

2.       I would like to know why I should not go to the CPA (Canadian paraplegic Association) and MS society to file grievances regarding forceful treatment of disabled patients.

3.       I want this lady to stay away from me – I'm afraid of her and her presence incites anxiety attacks and suicidal thoughts. if she bothers me again I will lash out in any way I can in my own defense.

4.       I want the staff to take responsibility for their actions and to do their jobs. I'm starting to regret having shown any signs of human intelligence since it seems it's at that point that they expect you to do their jobs.

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