My Cast is Split!

This started as my adventures of my split cast – and it’s turned into a bit of a venting on our Healthcare – Sorry for the long Post!

Well it’s been 7 days and I'm thinking - I can do this.  There’s only one more week until I see the Surgeon at the fracture clinic.

It’s a very warm day so I sit outside for a breath of fresh air – keep my foot on an ottoman.  I also enjoyed dinner at the table with the family – again keeping my foot on the ottoman.

I felt my foot swelling so I decided to go lie down.  Swelling isn't going down. I keep the foot elevated over the heart. Uncomfortable. I squirmed again and felt my cast shift. HORROR!

I felt the cast and its split in 2 pieces down the middle. Its 10:30 what should I do?

Called the E.R. (like it said to do in my generic post op pamphlet) and explain what happened. The nurse tells me to come to the ER.  Great - just great!

Poor Bruno had just finished cleaning the house and was about to sit and relax – not so fast dear .... We're going on an adventure.

11:15 – Arrive at hospital - register at Triage 1.   We were told to go to waiting room and wait for the Triage 2 nurse.

12:30 – The nurse reviews my information, checks BP and pulse - surprisingly BP is good.  We are sent back outside to wait for registration.

12:45 – Called in to Triage 3 where I'm seen by a frazzled nurse. She tells me to prepare for a very long wait.  There are only 4 doctors on call. Is this because of poor staff scheduling or no money to pay for enough Drs and nurses?  I receive my bracelet and I'm told to go through the double doors and follow the blue feet.

Arrive to second waiting room and there's no chairs left in the room. We wait in the hall with the rest of the people.

The woman next to me tells me there are 50 people waiting - and only 1 has been called in the last hour.  And – there’s only one Doctor in this section!  OMG - seriously!

2:00 – Sitting in a wheelchair now for 3 hours. My leg is more swollen then when I arrived - even with elevation. And worst of all - my butt is killing me sitting in this chair!  I'm starting to think I would have been better off at home and wait until 8:00 am when the fracture clinic opened.

2:40 – There's a Mom here with an infant - maybe 10 months - you can tell she obviously not feeling well. Heard her say the nurse could not tell her how much longer. No one has been called for 2 hours. She decides to take her baby home. She's been here since 9:30 pm.

Seriously - what is wrong with our Healthcare System - especially the Emergency Room.  The frazzled nurse had told us that half the people in the waiting room should be at home sleeping.  But if this is the case, and if patients are seen based on necessity - then why wasn't the baby seen?  Why was there a young boy in the first waiting room - crying for an hour and telling his Mom he wanted to go home - as he's throwing up in a container?  I was told to come to the E.R. - why am I waiting now 4 hrs and no end in sight?

Vote Conservative or NDP?  I seriously don't believe any Government would make a difference. They've all had their chance and no one improved the Healthcare system. I don't believe that there is any level of government that really makes decisions based on the best interests of their citizens. Decisions are based on what is going to get them re-elected and line their pockets - disillusioned, bitter, fed up - all of the above.

OK I've vented - on with my events of the night.

3:45 – I think the nurse is right. How can all these people in the waiting room be in need of 'emergency' assistance when they've been asleep (and snoring) for hours?  Just sayin'...

4:30 – Hallway is now empty.  We're still waiting - 5 1/2 hours and counting ...

5:00 - So tell me why they can't put the TV on a station that changes its program?  I've watched the same CTV news 4 times in a row.

5:30 – Another waiting room!  Seriously!

So the poor guy in the soccer outfit was just examined by the nurse – in the hallway. She took off his sock and commented – “Oh the bone popped right out”.  Poor guy has been in excruciating pain for more than 6 hours - now he still has to go to x-rays and has yet to be seen by a Doctor.

6:00 – Finally the ER Dr comes in. What's the problem?  He doesn't seem very concerned that the cast is cracked. So he tells us to be patient he wants me to see someone in the Fracture Clinic - it opens at 8:00 am!  Are you f*** kidding me.

Now a bigger problem - how do I stop Bruno's head from exploding or killing someone.

8:00 – Nursing shift change.  Bruno asks the nurse what is the next step.  She tells us that she’s waiting for my blood test results.  Really?  I Never had any blood tests.  So she tells us that I need to go for blood tests.  Again –  Really???  We tell her that I’m supposed to go the Fracture Clinic. She leaves and goes to speak to the ER Doctor – surprise – no blood tests needed.  The Doctor will be right over.  ER Doctor tells me that he’s spoken to the tech at the Fracture Clinic and she is waiting for us.

Arrive at the Fracture Clinic and Jen is waiting for us.  What a breath of fresh air.  I explained what happened and that the cast is split.  Wait for it ….  She tells me that it’s supposed to be split to allow for swelling.  I thought I was going to break down – 9 hrs in the ER sitting in a wheelchair – and it was for nothing?  How could I not know that it was already split?

I explained that the cast just did not feel right – it was putting pressure on my ankle.  Jen tells me that over time the cast stretches and becomes too big.  I asked if this is OK.  She tells me no – that is why she is going to change the cast.  Phew Thank God – it wasn’t for nothing.

She had the cast replaced in less than 15 minutes (she even brought me a juice – wow how nice) tells me not to be surprised it might stretch again, but not to worry just wait for my appointment with the Surgeon next week.  She mentioned removing the stitches next week – never thought about that.  Crap now I have that to worry about.

Home at 9:00 am – and I thought my days were going to be boring!