It was a good day at work. I had my ward round finished by 12 pm. I made all my referrals, and wrote my letters. I managed to sit down for lunch! And I spent the afternoon trying to catch up with a few patients' family members.
Pretty chillaxing, isnt?
Until...I met the niece of one of my patients.
Boy, can she talk, and moan, and groan!
She kept yakking non stop....and she just didn't seem to get what I was trying to get across to her.
Her uncle was actually just discharged from the hospital one week ago. He was admitted because an irregular heart rhythm. Unfortunately, he was readmitted yesterday. This was, it was because his blood sugar level was too high. We screened him for any source of infection, and he was clear. So, it was felt that his high sugar level was purely because he needed an increased dose of insulin. There was no immediate issues with his heart. He was reviewed today, and his blood sugar levels were alot better! And, both the consultant and I discharged him.
The niece was an unhappy lady when she found out about this. She was dissatisfied with his SHORT hospital admission. She was unhappy that "nothing" was done for him.
Now, who in the world would be unhappy over a SHORT hospital admission??? Isn't good to discharge patient as soon as we can?? Why keep a patient in the hospital longer than they should?? And, what is this whole issue about us doing "nothing" for him. He was investigated for any infeciton, we increased his insulin....and you claimed that we did nothing??! Gimme a break!
Then, she asked me this question, "His blood sugar levels have been ok most of the time. Why suddenly it became erratic?? Why did he think he had a hypo, when his meter showed that his BM was high?? It must be his heart that is causing this."
I was like....whoooaaa.....hang on, hang on, too many questions at a time. The moment I tried to explain my thoughts about his problem...she just cut me short and was not listening. At the end, she became frustrated and just stormed out of the room. I gave my explanation as best as I could....I explained to her that his high sugar level is likely because his body is so used to his usual insulin, and therefore, needed more. A high sugar level can you feel quite unwell, and his heart has got nothing to his high BM.
It was such an exhausting conversation. I was trying to reassure her that nothing sinister was going on behind her uncle's back, and we can not guarantee whether or not he will have another episode of hyperglycaemia. I mean, how is that possible? How could you tell the patient or family member that, "yeap, I am 100 % sure that he will never have a hypo or hyperglycaemia again!"
Anyway, I just wished she kept her ears open and listened to what I have explained to her, rather than just storming out of the room. OR, maybe I was simply rubbish at giving her the explanation?
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