Making Some Progress with the VA

I just spoke with my b/f on the phone to see how things are going.

I am not really sure what he said, but I think he said he has 3 therapists working with him, and that he was busy so he couldn't talk.

However, I asked him if they had changed the bandage this morning, and he said no.

Here's the background on the whole bandage thing.

They did surgery a few weeks ago to "transposition" veins in the arm to get access to a "fistula". A fistula is needed for dialysis. They join together a vein and an artery (I think) and this site grows large, and then they can stick a needle directly into it to do dialysis. Otherwise, they must place a catheter into the body, which is what my b/f has had for the last 1 1/2 years. However, because a catheter is a foreign object in your body, you are prone to infection (which has occurred at least 4 times).

The first time my b/f went from the hospital to the nursing unit, the incision got infected and no one did anything. He complained, and the nurses offered him pain medicine.

Finally, after the 3rd day of complaining, I threw a "hissy fit" and insisted he be sent to the ER, or I would take him there myself. So, they did, and the folks at the ER said "anyone could look at this and see it is infected".

One week in the hospital, back to the nursing unit, Dr. orders to change the dressing 3 times a day, and yet, 1 1/2 weeks later we are lucky if it gets changed once a day.

I thought this was corrected a couple of days ago, but yesterday evening I realized it was not. I spoke with the charge nurse, explained the importance of changing the dressing, asked my b/f to ask that it be changed this morning, and yet apparently it was not done.

So, since the Patient Advocate was apparently successful in getting the therapy going, I thought I would give her a chance to get the "wound care" problem fixed.

I just phoned her. She said she would call the assistant director, as she thought the director was not there at the moment.

I had one encounter with the director, which was not pleasant, and I haven't seen her since. Either she took vacation, or maybe after our encounter they put her on administrative leave. I can only hope.

Probably the pulled her out to work on the "quality program".