Heres To the Dedicated WivesGeoffrey Martyn In the course of my day at the hospital I come in to contact with a lot of people and I come into contact with a lot of loving family members. This little paragraph is about the wives... I am in awe of the real love, attention, loyalty and total dedication I see coming from these often-diminutive women... there to give it their best shot on behalf of their husband. They may not know all the nuances of health care but collectively they represent a solid base of support in rocky seas, complete with a solid portfolio of care skills, learned on the front lines of the quest to raise a good family in times when money was tight and jobs scarce. The following story is fictitious, but written to illustrate some of the issues that confront family member when a loved one is hospitalized. AGNES ... Agnes is a pleasant lady in her early eighties, her husband is also a friendly guy mid eighties, retired plumber. She is concerned because he is in the hospital and it is in general, getting to the point where he needs his wifes help to mobilize..This alone would be a challenge for all of us, but more particularly a lady of this vintage. She needs to begin to look at her options, what should she do first Lets see... 1.Review the state of her own health 2.Figure out where the other family members fit into the scene 3.Ask at the hospital about how long her husband is expected to be there Hmmm...well, lets say her husband Bill is there because he slipped and fell, its his first day in the hospital and he came in through the Emergency Room last night. In my first meeting with her I am struck with two things. She has a lively buzzing energy that keeps her in touch with all the things going on in the world immediately surrounding her and she is totally focused on her husbands well being. Lets go back to the immediate questions on hand. Good decision making is based on good information, the first thing that needs to be accomplished is for Agnes to gain insight into the process that now confronts her. Bill is now within the protective care of the hospital so his immediate welfare is in the hands of professionals. The most useful information for Agnes at this time would be a sense of time frame. Is Bill going to be undergoing surgery When How long do people usually stay after such a surgery What is the most common post surgical course of treatment for this procedure A caution here: We must take into account that people are individuals, with unique characteristics that will influence the rate of their recovery and their particular response to treatment but having said that, there are general guidelines that a physician is aware of and able to apply to each of his patients. The key question here is how can Agnes best find out what she needs to know In the hospital setting the course of treatment is coordinated by the Attending Physician. This doctor may not be the same one that takes care of Bill in the community, the community Doctor is usually called the Primary Care Physician and is the doctor i |
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