If you have a stroke in Hobart this is the path you may travel.
Start at the emergency department of Royal Hobart Hospital.
Transfer to ICU. You won’t remember this. Doesn’t mean it
didn’t happen or that the staff weren’t aware of you or discussing you.
Transfer to the stroke unit. Lying in bed you realize the
word stroke is not a good word to use. Visions of someone lovingly stroking
their cat. And there are two completely different types of stroke. One involves
thrombosis. One involves bleeding. They have different causes and need different
treatment. The similarity is that they
can both occur in the same area. More accurate to say Acquired Brain Injury.
Transfer to the Rehabilitation Ward. This ward will contain a variety of patients
with a variety of problems. You are more
likely to be sharing a room with someone else. You will have no say in how many
people in your room, who they are and who their visitors are. And another way to look at it is "they will
have no say about anything you do".
You then get discharged and are treated by the Rehabilitation
section of Tasmanian Health Service as an out-patient. You will be given random
appointments to see various people such as an occupational therapist, speech
therapist or physiotherapist. You will hear phrases such as “Set yourself
goals.” “You are improving.” “You are getting better.” “These are your new
goals.” “This is what you will achieve for the next visit.” “I want you to do
this for me.” You will then turn up very dutifully to all your appointments to meet
these staff and you will notice one thing. All these people (as well as the
nurses) are incredible nice, polite, well-mannered and caring. And you can’t
help but like them and you begin to wonder why you like these people so much.
Is it because they are only interested in talking about one
thing? That thing would be me. I love that topic of conversation. Or is it because, for some strange reason, they
really care about me? Or is it because I am really happy to be alive, happy to
see them and they are happy to see someone who is happy. Is it because they are all good staff who
enjoy their work, work in a good environment and are happy to work with anybody
and everybody. Or is it because I just imagined everything. Is it true that I became
completely dependent on these people and therefore I imagine them as being better
than what they actually were? If this is true then there must a name for the
syndrome that I acquired.
Irrespective of how good these people are I have realized that
I need to do without them. I have realized I need to take charge. Not rely on
these people. I need to manage my own life.
Not let someone else manage it for me. If I decide that I need someone
else’s help then that is the right time for me to ask for help.
I can look at my life under the following headings.
What caused the accident?
How do I prevent it happening again?
Personal Health. What exercise do I need to do in order to
keep in optimum condition? To prevent medical problems in the future? And when
can I play tennis again?
Hobbies and activities.
What things do I need to do which will enrich my life? What things will
give me satisfaction? Add joy to my life. My favorite activities are writing
and gardening. Things may change in the future.
Relationships with all the people I meet. I want optimum or
ideal relationships with all the people I meet. Some people are more important
because I see them more often. Such as children and wife.
Basically I need to look at my new body and see how it best
works physically, mentally and emotionally.
I love this post Dad. It makes me happy to be a health professional.
ReplyDeleteI love your comments. What else can I say. A lot of people did a lot of good work for a lot of other people. Regards Alan
ReplyDeleteOne of the points of the last few posts is that the relationship between the staff of the Tasmanian Health Service and the patients is critical. At times this relationship will be good. Other times bad. A good relationship leads to positive outcomes for the patient. They get better. These relationship are incredibly complicated and continually changing. These relationships are not always what they appear to be but they are always important. There are a lot of things to think about but one thing to think about is how can we make these relationships better. This is something for both the staff and the patients to both think about
ReplyDeleteYou're right Dad. The health care professional relationship is critical to a positive patient experience/journey. Both health provider to patient and vice versa. When there are problems with this relationship the patient experience may not be as good/positive and it could be. But it takes both parties to ensure this relationship works :-).
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that the relationship between the carer and the patient is critical. One thing I can say is that I was incredibly lucky that members of my family worked in or had experience of the Health System. They helped me considerable. They guided me through the system. They told me what was happening to me. They told the carers what was the matter with me. They saved the day. I feel sorry for the people who did not have the benefits that I had. I do feel sorry for the people who missed out on the help I was given but I do not know what can be done about this.
ReplyDeleteAlan i have just read your enthused posts. I'm impressed thst you communicated so much and to share those personal details. I'm glad you are on the road to revovery and that you have a loving supportive family.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing i have enjoyed your journey thus far. You are an impressive person
Ivan Cunningham Sydney