Janet, Maybe You Can Help Us Understand . . .

[pampchefsarah]

My 33 year old sister is a liver transplant recipient. She leads a pretty normal life, but, because she takes anti-rejection meds, she gets sick quite often. This morning, her DH called an ambulance because she was in pain (we thought she had gall stones), a fever, and vomiting. According to her MIL, who was called to stay with my niece, once they got her in the ambulance, it took about 15 minutes before they finally left for the hospital.

My sister's MIL thinks it took them that long to decide which hospital to take her to. My BIL had told them to take her to the hospital where the transplant team is located, but, though it's closer, it's in a different county. Does that matter? Is there politics involved, or was the supposed delay more getting her set up for the transfer to the hospital (which, by the way, was not the one requested, but the one in the same county)?

Also, Dara was diagnosed with stomachitis, but they also discovered she has pneumonia, so she has to stay in the hospital until she recovers. Please pray she is released in time to spend Christmas at home with her family.

By the way, apparently the gall bladder was removed with the liver, so, even though she had all the symptoms of gall stones, we were all wrong about that!

 

[janetupnorth]

Actually the delay in transporting is to get all the proper IVs started and airways in (if needed), and monitors on. I'm guessing in this case it was IVs and getting direction on what pain meds could be used with her condition/meds.It is really hard to do IVs while moving so if there is no urgent rush to fly out of there right away, they get everything in and stabilized in the ambulance. It makes it much easier for the patient.As far as transport, it is by pre-established protocols depending on the patient's condition. You can request another hospital within the same county sometimes but if the condition overrides it in an emergency, it is automatic to the closest hospital, then stabilize and transport to the requested one from there.Also, some hospitals specialize in different things which in an emergency may dictate where the patient goes.Without knowing your local protocols, I can only guess/assume the details of that. You can just ask the hospital/crew why they did what they did, they are usually more than kind enough to explain to family.I hope that helps!

 

[pampchefsarah]

Thanks, Janet, it does help. It was pretty much what I figured, but BIL and his mom can be hyper-critical sometimes (as can most of us), and they were, naturally, very concerned about Dara.

 

[gailz2]

And usually the ambulance crew contacts the hospital before leaving -- that hospital may not have been taking patients, or recommended they take her elsewhere.

 

[janetupnorth]

Actually, in small town such as hers, the ambulance crew runs out of a specific hospital usually, not as an outside service. So, they should have protocols in place for transporting. The hospital would not refuse a patient like you see in larger cities with multiple area hospitals. In small towns, your only contact is to get medical control authorization for meds and to dispatch to say how many you are transporting and whether you are going emergent or not.How is your sister doing today Sarah?

 

[Karen]

Hi Sarah,

I just wanted to let you know that I understand what your family is going through. My mom is a liver transplant recipient as well (5 years ago). We've had many ups and downs and challenges to get through since her surgery. Right now we are on the up-side. If you ever want to talk about it or ask any specific questions and we can compare notes, feel free to PM me.

Her gall bladder was removed as well during the transplant. Her surgeon best described it as removing a window from a house; you remove the window pane and the glass. (The liver would be the window pane and the gall bladder would be the glass, you can't take one without the other.) I'll never forget that analogy....

Your family will be in my prayers!

Karen

 

[pampchefsarah]

Dara's doing better, though she's still in pain, especially when the pain killers wear off. The doctor's think she'll be released Christmas Eve at the latest.

Karen, Dara's surgery was August 2000 (2000 was very much not a good year for our family - Dad died, I broke my ankle, we were forced to move out of house we loved, and then Dara's emergency liver transplant). Yeah, it was funny, because Dara, Aaron (her DH), and her MIL were positive she had gall stones, but my DH was saying he's surprised she still has a gall bladder, because wouldn't they have taken it out at the same time? I had gall stones, and my gall bladder removed, and I had no idea it was connected to the liver!! Well, when they took her for the CT scan to check her gall bladder, they thought it was funny to tell her she had no gall bladder! However, that's how they discovered the pneumonia, so God once again used a completely unrelated ailment to shed light on something more serious. 8.5 years ago Dara went to the hospital with excruciating stomach pain, and they never did figure out what was causing it. However, that's when they found she was having acute liver failure. Liver failure doesn't cause pain!! But, if she hadn't gone to the hospital right then, she'd be dead now. God is truly amazing.