What I did today.

My husband, Ron, was scheduled for surgery today. He has/had a blocked artery. Actually, after surgery he still has a blocked artery, they just did the bypass around it. Hmmm.

Arrive 10:30 a.m. sharp. Procedure scheduled for noon.

First.....he is doing well. No complications. Will probably be there tomorrow night as well. I left when he konked out, several pills later. Long day. Almost 10 hours at a hospital. Our daughter came and a dear friend. Good company. Our son was there as soon as he got off work.

So here is a quick walk through.

All the questions!!!!! Not really, the same questions over and over. Age, DOB, allergies, health history. And three times they asked him what he was there for.

Wierdest question: Any visitor restrictions? In other words is there somebody not allowed in to see you. Really, that is a problem? Hmmmm.

And, this is the amazing part, the Dr. was ahead of schedule! The pre-op was a circus. Double time. I had the impression the Dr. didn't care to be waiting long. Staff did an excellent job. Went in 20 minutes early. Early! Luck.

Observations:

(1) 15 minutes prior to anesthetic the Doc and his assistant came in. Said they had been stategizing, determing if they were going to do a stent or bypass. Now you are stategizing? Now? A little last minute maybe. Lol

(2) lots and lots of people involved. Lots and lots of supplies consumed and waste generated.

(3) everyone was smiling, efficient and attentive. Had a little air of automation but that is necesssry I would presume. It is a serious business.

(4) of course, technology. They have had the electronic board where you can track the patient's progress through surgery for quite some time. Today I got real time text messages. I believe they are typical progress reports and some one just selects a prompt and the correct message is sent. Sure hope they aren't paying someone to text in surgery.

(5) There is so much busy work, duplication and 'cover their butt' activity it leaves no question as to why the cost of health care is exorbitant. There was a printed card on the table assuring us his room had been professionally cleaned. The tasks performed had been checked, signed by the two employees and dated. There was a paper strap around the toilet seat indicating it had not been used. It is a hospital. Should not these things happen as automatically as the good care? I do not need this added expense to document cleaning.

(5) Nor do we need the baby grand piano, the fireplace setting or the oak furniture. Is it a nice atmosphere? Yes. But necessay? No.

And, as I said. Just observations.

All in all the day was perfect....mission accomplished....health on the mend.