Recently myself, mom and Robert (BIL) were out having a late breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and as we were getting ready to leave I stood up from the table and said, “Oh mom, look at my leg now.” Then just as I raise my leg the scab from the Mercury stick the doctor used to fuse the site closed came off and a stream of blood came shooting about 12″-15″ out from my left ankle area. I quickly grabbed some napkins (clean ones of course) off the table and shoved them over the site and sat down. We were able to get the attention of a staff member and asked if it would be possible to get a bandaid out of their first aid kit. She was quick to say she didn’t think they had any, yet would check for me. When she returned she was holding a fingertip bandage which was about the size of a dime or less and they only had one available. Since I knew that was not going to work, I asked if they might have an ace bandage that I could use and would happily purchase a new one and bring it in to replace it. I was shocked when she said that they had nothing like that in their first aid kit, just then one of the bus boys commented, “I can get you a cleaning towel from the back to use, if that will work.” Really?
Here I am bent over holding 4-5 napkins on my ankle trying to get the flowing blood to stop and nothing is working. I hated to even ask my mom due to my own issues with her driving abilities. Next to the IHOP is another fast food location a street and then a Target shopping center. I ask mom if she could possibly drive over to Target and grab a box of 2″x4″ or 3″x5″ gauze pads and an ace bandage or a stretch wrap. Which she was more than happy to do. Now the thing with my mom is, with needing oxygen, having COPD, two false knees, needing to use a walker and pretty decent stability issues, she’s not the fastest snail in the race, for lack of a better way of putting it. With that said, I spent the next 40 minutes bent over holding my ankle with people staring at me and for that time not one person asked if they could help me, not even the staff. When mom made it back I quickly gauzed my ankle which was still spewing blood, and wrapped it with the stretch wrap mom bought. We made it out to the car, said our goodbyes and then I called my doctors on-call nurse to see what I should do. She quickly put me on the calendar for later that day and gave me all the normal treatments, direct pressure and keep it raised above the heart.
I have been dealing with this for two years, each time they fuse the skin and most recent appointment they referred me to Dermatology. When I arrived the first words out of the specialists mouth were, “Why are you here, this isn’t a dermatology issue.” He then fused the site and prescribed me a fast acting antibiotic saying the site was infected and due to my Adema would take awhile to heal. Did he miss the part where I said, “This started two years ago?” That appointment was only a few months before the issue mentioned above. I’ve since went to the meeting the advice nurse set up and to my surprise the doctor started with, “Why are you here? You should have went to the ER?” When I explained everything that has happened over the two years she responded with a large amount of doubt in her voice, “That’s impossible, we don’t fuse sites to stop bleeding and we would not use a Magnesium Stick either.” As she reads through my file, the words, magnesium stick and site fused did in fact come out of her mouth and not another word on the issue was said. She said that due to my Adema and varicose veins she would have to refer me to a vascular specialists but to do so “POLICY” states that I would have to first, have an ultrasound done of my leg to verify if the blood is flow is being blocked or not. Second, attend a vascular class and the earliest one she can get me into is April 13th. So until then I need to keep the site covered in case the scab comes off and the site starts pumping out blood again and wear the compression socks as much as possible.
Now out of all this I have a few questions;
- Why does IHOP’s First Aid kit not have larger band-aids or a ace bandage? What does the staff do if they cut themselves or if one of the cooks burns himself?
- Do doctors read their patients records prior to meeting with them in the exam room? “Only the good ones.”
- My legs spitting blood and the appointment scheduler can’t put a rush on getting me in to see my doctor? Or even tell me I should go to the ER, I have to wait for an advice nurse to come online to say it?
- Why do doctors doubt what their patients are telling them? We are trying to get better not worse.
- Why did I have to wait two years before someone finally referred me to the Vascular Specialists? I only pushed for it 3-4 times in the past 6-8 months.
Thank you all for reading and providing comments on my blog. It’s readers like you that keep me posting.
Richard K.
PickYourPain@att.net
Authors Bio:
Richard is a Trifecta caregiver, along with his wife, Trish he cares for himself (Chronic Back Pain). He helps care for his brother in-law, Robert who has dealt with Epilepsy his entire life and now lives with Richard and Trish. He also advocates for his mother who has various cardiac related issues, hearing loss and other medical issues. You can read about all three at www.PickYourPain.org. He also participates in several related chat site such as, Caregiving.com and InTake.me.
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