Still has blood clots, still at home! Update post#16

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Oh Kat! What a nightmare! I wish I had answers for you or at least some kind of comfort to offer you and your DH. Just know that you two will be in my thoughts and prayers for the healing and resolution you both need. BIG, BIG

from Iowa!!!

 

[redhen]

So sorry, Gritty!

 

[gordonburrito]

It is unlikely you could prove in a court of law that the blood clots were caused from wrapping his leg to tightly. His original injury, the fact that he wasn't moving around after the injury, and possible other predisposing factors could have caused the clots. I am a RN. When I'm assessing my patients I'm always on the look out for venous/arterial thrombus because they can happen to anybody at any time. If your already have a compromised limb, I would be even more attentive. I get a lot of....why do you keep checking my legs when I'm fine. The answer is A) To establish a baseline B) to look for suspicious symptoms that would indicate some sort of problem. When suspicious symptoms present themselves it is important to act quickly. A doppler of the affected leg would take minutes and could initiate anti-coagulation therapy before a clot has the chance to grow or move to another place such as the lungs. It is a fast and cheap intervention.

Two things bother me though about your story. One: Given that he would have been immobilized by his injuries they should have had him on some sort of prophylactic blood thinning regime. For example, daily self administered Lovenox injections. The second is when a patient comes into the hospital with the kind of injury your husband had they should have ruled out DVT and/or pulmonary embolism right off the bat. It would take a doppler of the leg to test for a DVT and CT scan with PE protocol to rule out a PE, since you would most likely already have a positive Ddimer test from the injuries. The fact that the blood clots originally happened to your husband may be nobody's fault. Blank happens. But, that they took an unnecessary amount of time to diagnosis something that should have been pretty obvious to look for added to the severity of your husbands injuries. You should also consider that the kinds of injury your husband has sustained will require him to be on warfarin therapy for life most likely and predispose him to more DVTs and such in the future. Now I'm not a proponent of suing per say. Medical lawsuits are a poison in our health care system and I hate them. Being right all the time is very difficult. Doctors are human and make honest mistakes/lapses in judgment. But, I have to wonder if they should be giving you free medical care or something.

I hope he has an uneventful recovery and gets back to his life soon.

 

[gritsar]

Thanks y'all. DH goes for his monthly doctor's appt. next Monday. It will be his last appointment with our internist who is closing his practice to take a position at the hospital.
It will be a battle. Work says DH can come back and they will give him an office position. DH wouldn't like that at all, because he says he couldn't stand being stuck in the office with the chief all day

The WC nurse and the doctor don't want him anywhere near work while he's still on blood thinners.
Hoping to get it all resolved before our doctor closes his practice on October 1st.

gordonburrito If you knew the whole story you'd understand how we can definitely tie it to the hospital's care (or lack thereof). This hospital has been reduced to a small ER, a 20 bed ward and an X-ray lab because of their ineptness and malpractice. Most folks prefer to drive an hour north or south to a better hospital; even us. Unfortunately the accident happened on city time, forcing DH to go to a hospital that I wouldn't take a dying dog to.

 

[cassie]

My husband, a very active man was confined to bed in the hospital because of a back injury. He just about went nuts and did a pretty good job of driving the staff and me crazy. My mother got him started on macrame. The nurses got him an IV pole to hang his project on while he worked on it. I got some nice planters and being kept busy helped save his and everyone else's sanity.

 

[gritsar]

DH saw the doctor today. It was his last visit with our internist, who is closing his practice, so we were really hoping to get a resolution before he leaves.

Doc says DH can go back to work, but only if 1) it's desk work, not on the streets at all 2) he gets over the bad case of bronchitis he has - doc gave him a shots of antibiotics & steroids in the office and 3) the pulmonary function test he will have later on this week doesn't show serious damage.
We are super glad that the doctor finally decided to do the pulmonary function test. It will hopefully give us a definitive answer as to whether the pulmonary embolisms did permanent damage or not.

So, those three things have to happen before he can go back to work. We are going to talk some more about whether he should go ahead and retire or not.

Just wanted to update for those that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks

 

[redhen]

Thanks for the update Gritty...
Keeping my fingers crossed that the pulmonary test shows no damage...

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Thanks Miz Red. Love ya!

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Still thinking and praying for you and your DH- hope the test comes back ok

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Thanks IRM