Tests, tests and more tests

Hello!

Sorry, for not posting much lately, just to give you an update I have been spending the last few days going back and forth between home and the hospital. DH was hospitalized for severe stomach pain Friday morning. He was diagnosed with a gall bladder stone after having many tests.

According to DH I have not had any horrible experiences with the hospital, but I still found it quite overwhelming.

First off, we went to the ER and the ER was not something I would have imagined this way (I imagined more of the US version) but it was small with a desk in the front and a few doctors just sitting there. The triage rooms were slightly bigger and only given privacy by a curtain (which was not closed). There didn't seem to be the same sense of urgency here, seeing as how the doctor was getting the symptoms and story from DH when he took a phone call in the middle. They had me fill out a form and they gave DH some medicine and then decided they would need to admit him to run some tests. I was sent to the Registration office where I filled out about 4 papers of the same information. Then I was given 2 visiting passes and was shown to where he was. Once I had seen him and visited with him until 1130. (They only allow visitors between 1030-1130am and 5-7pm) I had gone home to get the insurance papers.

I went and got the insurance papers and while I was giving them to the people at the Registration desk I was called by someone in the ward telling me I would need to come up and sign a consent form for one of DH's procedures, (being the one who admitted him I would have to sign all of these, well...the 2 that I had to sign) after signing this paper I was then informed I would have to come back between 1-130pm and be present in the hospital while they were performing the test. So I went home for an hour and ate some toast and then returned to the hospital and sat through the test and then again went home.

I returned at 5pm with my MIL and SIL for visiting hours. We stayed and while we were there he had another test.

Then again I had to sign another consent form before I went home and was to return at 830am for another procedure. I arrived and went to the front desk to ask about the test results from the previous day (since they did not have them earlier when the Dr came to visit) and was told that he had a gall bladder stone.

Then I wanted to talk to the Dr that DH was admitted under because I didn't think that this next test really needed to be performed because they already knew what was wrong. So I spoke to the Dr and he said that he had thought too that it was unnecessary but because of some of the other symptoms he still wanted to perform it.

After the procedure I was informed that the results were fine and there was nothing wrong and that DH would need surgery. DH decided he did not want the surgery at this time, as he wanted a 2nd opinion (but he didn't tell the Dr that...) and so we went back to the ward where I was allowed to stay for a few minutes outside of visiting hours and then was told to wait outside for the next 20 minutes until it was time. At this point I had to alert the Dr on staff that he did not want the surgery and therefore they should be starting the discharge papers.

Really, it was not a bad experience except for the fact that I dislike hospitals that have certain visiting hours. I am hoping that whatever hospital we choose for the surgery has more relaxed visiting hours. :-)