Appendicitis

[Isa]

Hello everyone,
this week end was a very bad one for my fiance and I. Friday morning, he was having severe abdominal pain. He went to his doctor and was told to go to the ER RIGHT AWAY because it was probably a appendicitis. At 10AM I leave work to go to the ER with him. We had to wait to see the doctor. They did an echography, they did not see the appendix so after they did a scan. My fiance was going crazy with the pain so they gave him a shot of morphine. After the scan, his face was red, his pulse was really quick, the pain was huge and the fever was higher. They place him in a room while we were waiting for the results. They told us the results at around 9PM!!!!!! They did the surgery at 3AM friday night!!!! He had to stay longer at the hospital because there was a light perforation of his appendix so some bacteria went into his blood. I am sure that if they would have make the surgery earlier, it would have been ok. The health care system here is crazy. The surgeon was too busy because there was a lot of emergency cases of surgeries that night. Now my fiance is ok, I will bring him home tonight he has to take antibiotics for the bacteria.
Is it the same thing in the USA? Do you guys have to wait so many hours when there is an emergency?

 

[stells]

Sorry to hear he had such a rough time.... you should try the UK... yes the NHS is free... but you could be waiting a very long time lol

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, Isa: I'm so sorry you and your BF had to go through this. Here's something just for him:

Its no fun being sick and I hope he feels better soon.

Yvonne

 

[Isa]

Thank you Kelly and Yvonne .
Since he will have nothing to do for 10 days, I bought him some magazines and a word search book during my lunchtime today . He called me earlier, and he can't wait to get home (and to see Hermy of course )

 

[Crazy1]

Isa, sorry to hear of your and your fiance's bad experiance. I have health insurance that I pay for here in the US and yes the ER can be really bad and long, long, long waits. When I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with the big C. The bleeding started at 8 Am. I called and was told not to come to the hospital until 5 pm. Good thing I didn't listen. I wasn't admited until 1AM. My surgery was at 7pm the next night. So yep long waits here too. They take the life threatening cases that they can ID first. If you don't have a heart attack, profuse bleeding, gunshot or some such thing. You wait.

I am glad your fiance is doing so much better and is getting to come home. And I am sure he is excited to see you as well as Hermy. While he is recuperating give him the camera to take lots of candid shots of hermy if he runs out of magazines, search word boods or non fun stuff to do.

 

[Isa]

Thanks Robyn
I did not know you could wait that long for a surgery in the United States, it is so frustrating. Here, the govt pays for everything (exept the private clinic, we have to pay there but it is really quick to get an appointment) but there is a long waiting list for almost everything (exept when it is urgent).
My fiance is feeling better now I am so glad he is home. I am sure Hermy is very happy too .

 

[dmmj]

It's all about triage here in the US the most serious cases get taken first. when my brother had an appen. he was whisked right in, so I can't really complain about the US hospital service., myself.

 

[Stazz]

Aw Isa what a terrible time you went through with your fiance! I will keep him in my prayers for a speedy recovery !!! South Africa may even be worse....I went to an ER once, there was such a queue (they told me later that Friday nights are the WORST) - I waited forever there, and even saw a guy walk straight through the door with a knife in his head...yes he was walking and talking, was rather strange and I felt like I was in a twilight zone LOL. SO of course he was helped out first, naturally...but yeah, as i said, Friday's are the worst for ER's as it's wknd and people seem to go more crazy then

 

[joseph131]

I guess your boy friend got some unfortunate things that happened to him lately, so how is the surgery? is it okay or successful? I think you need to make him recover sooner right.


_________________

 

[Sudhira]

Isa, sorry to hear of your and your fiance's bad experiance. I have health insurance that I pay for here in the US and yes the ER can be really bad and long, long, long waits. When I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with the big C. The bleeding started at 8 Am. I called and was told not to come to the hospital until 5 pm. Good thing I didn't listen. I wasn't admited until 1AM. My surgery was at 7pm the next night. So yep long waits here too. They take the life threatening cases that they can ID first. If you don't have a heart attack, profuse bleeding, gunshot or some such thing. You wait.

I am glad your fiance is doing so much better and is getting to come home. And I am sure he is excited to see you as well as Hermy. While he is recuperating give him the camera to take lots of candid shots of hermy if he runs out of magazines, search word boods or non fun stuff to do.

We have a special protocol in the hospital where I have worked for 32 years. If we even slightly suspect appendicitis, a scan is done post haste. The potential for rupture can be determined rather quickly. Along with labs, IV hydration and pain meds, we get the appy done prettyquickly. Sorry he went through so much.

 

[Isa]

DMMJ, your brother was very lucky. It is the same thing here, the worst cases go first. The nurse told us it was really busy that night, that is why it took so long. Apparently, there were 3 or 4 cases of appendicitis.
Stace, Thanks for the prayers It must have been scary to see a man with a knife in his head. You have a point about fridays.
Joseph, yes the surgery was succesful.
Sudhira, I think that if the doctor would have make the scan earlier (instead of doing an echography first) it would be been better because they would have seen it was an appendicitis.

My fiance is home and I would say he is doing good. He just called me (I am at work now) and told me he was watching a movie. He also told me Hermy was looking at him in a way that says ''Daddy, please, give me some mazuri and eat a couple of pieces too, it will make you feel better'' Ahh Hermy Hermy Hermy

 

[Jacqui]

I think it all depends where you live and where you go. I see lots of ERs advertising on billboards that there is no waiting at their place. Of course, they never say what happens if you do have to wait for services.

Glad it all ended up for the best in the end and he is doing better!

 

[richalisoviejo]

Scary stuff. My brother went through this, almost it was close to bursting but they caught it just in time (emergency appendectomy). It was rough for him overall, not just the hospital stay but the emotional wallop of something so serious happening out of nowhere.

I'm glad he’s safely healing.

 

[chadk]

One of my kids had the tip of his finger cut off last fall and he was walked straight back and was seen immediately. Other cases where we had a need for possible stitches and things took maybe an hour or 2 at most. The worst case was a dog bite for my son who was 2yrs old at the time and needed to see a specialist in plastic surgery (his eye lid was nearly ripped off). It took a few hours to get the surgeon, but they saw us pretty fast and stiched him up nicely.

In the US, as I assume most places, it can really depend on the state, city, and even the specific hospital. And as noted, the day of the week and time of day\night. Here in the greater Seattle area, we have a pretty good system and lots of doctors and surgeons, so something like appendicitis would be taken care of immediately in most cases.

 

[Isa]

Thanks Jacqui, Rich and Chad.
Here we have to wait, and it is the same thing in every hospitals. The problem here is we do not have enough doctors, specialits and surgeons. and on top of that ''a lot'' are going to work in the States (because here, they make a lower salary since it is the govt that pays them).

 

[chadk]

Don't worry - soon they may need to all move back...

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Had my appendectomy at University of Washington Hospital... it is consistently ranked in the top ten hospitals in the US... it was horrible, I was left on the floor in the ER waiting room, it was packed full of interns who came in in groves to poke you and all ask you the same questions, nurses were rude and nonexistent, and my grandma had to take care of me and wheel me out because they never even came to release me! My grandma was a nurse too, and said she never had a worse experience with a hospital. When I did finally get home, my step dad, who is a doctor, ordered the surgery report and saw that they accidentally left something in me and had to take me back to surgery and open me back up (my family hadn't arrived until after I went in)! It really doesn't matter who is paying, private or public, my experience from the ER room to recovery was all horrible...

 

[jlyoncc1]

Isa, Sorry to hear he had to be subjected to so much pain. I can't even imagine. I am glad he is on the road to recovery and that he has someone so sweet to take care of him!

 

[Isa]

Thanks Dee
Doctor Cosmonaut I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience but I am glad you are ok now.

 

[terryo]

That is terrible Jordan...really.
I have never been in the hospital except to give birth and only had good experiences. My son was in and out of the hospital for many years and (here in NY) everyone was wonderful and we only had the best experiences.
Sadly....I have a feeling things are about to change here.