Continuing my hospital life story with circumstances forcing my family to deal with a crisis

A patient being shifted in the hospital, similar shifting happened with my mother admitted in the hospital

Waiting for unconscious mother to become conscious after hospitalisation

So, as I narrated, my hospital life began in a hard way last month, the story of which I narrated in my previous article. We managed to have my unstable and delirious mother admittedto the hospital.

She was unresponsive for 2 days, so medical doctors shifted her from the EICU to the main ICU ward with a ventilator. There was nothing much for her caretakers, me and Dad to do, other than wait to be called on, through the watchman who will call us announcing the patient’s, that is my Mom’s name.

Finally, a restful and exhausted mother at the EICU ward bed

On the first day of hospitalisation, there was no watchman to guard the entry of me to the EICU ward at night, so I walked there throughout the night and sat on the bed opposite her which was empty for the time being. The place was warm compared to the cold environment of the hospital waiting hall, so it tempted me to sit there and spend some of my time.

A caretaker waiting in the hospital throughout the night for a loved one admitted in the Emergency and Accident Unit in the hospital. I know first hand, how hard it must be for these caretakers.

She was connected to equipments which kept measuring her pulse and oxygen levels, they were all fine. The only problem with mother was she was now completely unresponsive. I remember she was lying down with her eyes open initially on the first day but emitted no response.

Finally, she closed her eyes and slept which was a relief because she required sleep, after all the torture she gave to her own brain and mind by her overdose of anti depressant medication - Clofranil 75mg Tablet SR.

Picture of mother recovering from the chemical effects of overdosed antidepressant medication

The nurse asked me details on weather mother used to respond and eat before. I replied on the affirmative. Since mother was not eating, she was put on drips. A urine tube was attached with a bag collecting her urine. A rubber sheet was spread out on the bed, to capture mother’s motion without staining the bed, in case she passed it.

Mother was dressed in a hospital gown that was like a robe but open at the back which can be covered by tieing the ribbons at the back of the gown.

A care taken of a patient admitted at the EICU ward spending the night sleeping rough in the hospital premises. Definitely cold, with the open enclosure covered with monkey proof nets. I tried sleeping on one of the seats in this area, but it was very cold, because the area is opened for the free entry of chill air. This poor guy seems totally unprepared to spend the cold night in the hospital, just like I was on the first day of my mother’s hospitalisation.

Patients totally at the care of medical staff in EICU and ICU departments

I was not able to remove her necklace jewels, as she gripped them when I tried to remove them when she was getting shifted from the Accident and Emergency department to the EICU ward.

Accident and Emergency Unit where my mother was kept till she was finally admitted to the EICU ward in the hospital

However, the nurses at the EICU ward removed her necklaces and gave them to me. At EICU and ICU, patients would be alone without a caretaker so there was a hospital rule that all valuables should not be kept with the patient when they are in there as patients.

Hard time getting used to realising that I cannot visit EICU ward to check on mother often

I had nothing to do the whole night, I was not interested in eating as I did not want to use the public toilet for motion if avoidable.

The EICU ward had the beeping noise of the equipments that kept measuring the body parameters of patients inside. I was glad that however inconvenient it was for me to wait outside, atleast mother was well catered to.

Since, I was new to this grave ICU kind of situation, I was unaware about the fact that visitors including family members of admitted patients are not allowed inside the treatment units. When morning came, the watch man prevented me from entering the area, I found this really unfair and arbitrary. Soon, I felt damn tired, with me having spent the night uselessly walking into the EICU ward last night.

Inside that is within myself, I became very cranky, and burst out at the watchman when he barred me from entering the EICU ward. EICU ward sisters(nurses) explained to me in kind terms that in general wards visitors can come and go but EICU is a kind of ICU, here whether I like it or not visitors are not allowed, unless called and there are specific visiting hours to see the patient.

Missed my opportunity to meet the doctor although I was waiting to see the doctor for a while

It was getting late in the morning, and after 9 am or 10 am I was told the doctor would come for rounds and I would be called to get the doctors opinion on mothers medical condition. It was my Dad’s turn to be the attender, but he was coming late. Finally, the watchman called me by announcing my Mom’s name. One doctor was explaining to patiently waiting caretakers about their admitted loved one’s condition. All this was happening outside the entrance of the EICU ward not inside.

Finally, an intern who comes for rounds with the doctor to obviously gain experience on field before becoming a professional doctor, told that another doctor is incharge of seeing my mother’s condition.

So, I left the place to attend nature’s call at the hospital’s common toilet. When I returned back, the watchman told me that I was called, so I again went inside to see the same doctor explaining details to some patient’s caretaker outside the entrance of the EICU. I was again told she was not the doctor overseeing my mother, and I was confused on why I was called.

I went inside the EICU ward and enquired if the doctor who is treating mother came for rounds, the sister there replied yes, a male doctor came and I was called but since I was not there, he left the place and is currently doing rounds at the general ward.

Feeling helpless to manage anything in that difficult and unclear hospital

She told me to go to the General Ward and meet the doctor. By now, I was literally in agony, it was 11 am, I was tired, my legs were aching, I was hungry, my mouth was parched and I wanted to give up!!

The General ward was just straight ahead a few feet away. In subsequent days, after my mother gets conscious, I will get acquainted with the General ward. For now, I hurried to the General ward and was stranded as I could not catch the attention of the doctor, as he was surrounded by a long tail of interns and there were too many patients he had to see, with that ward filled with patients.

One sister told me that I should see the doctor after he finishes his rounds checking the full room full of patients in the General Ward, this was out of question for me in my precarious, exhausted condition.

So, I walked back to the EICU and asked the sister there, the name of the doctor who came for rounds, so that I or my Dad can meet him at his cabin. The sister, told the doctors name, and asked me where my Dad is?, as I will not be able to be here always and handle things, I should have help.

By now, my Dad arrived and even though he was a very old man on a walking stick I declared in a obvious agonised tone that I am through with this hospital, I cannot manage all this. I told him to do something and meet the doctor, I gave him the doctors name. After this I flu home.

Final reflections on the completion of my first day stay period in the hospital

My best wishes to all those souls struggling in hospitals with a loved one in serious plight

The first day was hard for me indeed, I flu home but had to come back as I did not have the home keys, so I reached home late after collecting home keys from Dad at the hospital. It was also raining quite a bit this time with traffic.

At this juncture, I was very frustrated with the hospital and marvelled at how others dealt and coped with this. I also felt very relieved that Dad was strong enough to deal with all this confusing and tiring business of being a caretaker being pushed around in the hospital. He proved that he was a very strong, practical old man this way and his support at this juncture allowed me to go back and relax at home, to be charged and geared to bear more inconvenience that is waiting to pull me down.

To be continued…

My previous article talked about my and Dad’s hard struggle in admitting my unstable and delirious mother into the hospital here

Hard struggles of life admitting a psychic family member to the hospital