# Where's davidm? In the hospital recovering from a medical screwup. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049 "2017-11-29T12:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/61 "2017-11-30T00:03:28Z")
You mean you let a little medical induced coma keep you from posting?!? And you call yourself a Doper! :smack: (In all seriousness, sorry to hear your news and glad to hear that you’re on the mend!) 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/62 "2017-11-30T00:10:30Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > :eek: I’m so glad you’re improving. Please do keep us updated. I’ve never been a resident of a rehab facility, but I know a number of people who have and it’s been my observation that if you can advocate for yourself you’ll be fine. > > I’m “at high risk” for obstructions due to extensive abdominal surgery and the resulting adhesions, and was hospitalized in June for an obstruction that resolved itself. Evidently, coconut isn’t digestible. :rolleyes: Do they know what caused yours? Don’t eat coconut, btw. :rolleyes: > > Do you have one of the MFing NG tubes? OMG. I hope not. No the tube goes through a hole in my abdomen and into my stomach. I know what an NG tube is and I hate them. And I do avoid coconut. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/63 "2017-11-30T01:17:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > AFAIK, Medicare only pays for the dialysis itself and not transportation, other medications used by people who are on it, treatment of complications, etc. > > Nowadays, most dialysis patients are over 65 anyway; this wasn’t the case back in the 1960s because most people who had conditions predisposing them to kidney failure (diabetes, genetic disorders, etc.) didn’t live that long. If you talk to the social worker at the dialysis clinic, s/he can probably identify state or county programs that will help with extra costs. There is also the National Kidney Foundation. My late husband had dialysis from 1991-1992 when he was 52. He had a kidney transplant in 1992. Then he had lots of other bad shit happen. Thank God he stayed on Medicare due to ESRD as he died at age 69, five years before he was eligible for Medicare for real. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/64 "2017-11-30T02:07:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > If you talk to the social worker at the dialysis clinic, s/he can probably identify state or county programs that will help with extra costs. There is also the National Kidney Foundation. > > My late husband had dialysis from 1991-1992 when he was 52. He had a kidney transplant in 1992. Then he had lots of other bad shit happen. Thank God he stayed on Medicare due to ESRD as he died at age 69, five years before he was eligible for Medicare for real. The dialysis was done here at the hospital, so there are no transportation costs. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/65 "2017-11-30T03:45:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > If you talk to the social worker at the dialysis clinic, s/he can probably identify state or county programs that will help with extra costs. There is also the National Kidney Foundation. > > My late husband had dialysis from 1991-1992 when he was 52. He had a kidney transplant in 1992. Then he had lots of other bad shit happen. Thank God he stayed on Medicare due to ESRD as he died at age 69, five years before he was eligible for Medicare for real. Did you mean he died at 59, not 69? Davidm, you were probably on a form of dialysis called CRRT, and that’s only done in intensive care wards in hospitals that have 24-hour pharmacy coverage. The one time I saw someone come off that and leave the hospital alive, they were readmitted within a few days and died on that admission. :eek: It’s only done when people are very, very sick. > **[Hospital Care](https://www.baxter.com/healthcare-professionals/hospital-care)** > > Across the hospital, from the emergency room to the pharmacy, from the intensive care unit (ICU) to your inpatient’s room, we are here to help you deliver the highest standard of care to your patients. ETA: I have heard that it was actually designed to treat critically ill children, who are not big enough to be hemodialyzed. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/66 "2017-11-30T04:18:23Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Did you mean he died at 59, not 69? > > Davidm, you were probably on a form of dialysis called CRRT, and that’s only done in intensive care wards in hospitals that have 24-hour pharmacy coverage. The one time I saw someone come off that and leave the hospital alive, they were readmitted within a few days and died on that admission. :eek: It’s only done when people are very, very sick. > > [Hospital Care](https://www.baxter.com/products-expertise/renal-failure-treatments/expertise/crrt.page) > > ETA: I have heard that it was actually designed to treat critically ill children, who are not big enough to be hemodialyzed. That makes sense. I’ll say this. When they took out the line that had been used for dialysis, they took me to the short procedure unit, didn’t even use a local, snipped a couple of stiches, I felt a slight tug, and the doctor showed me a short tube about 2 or 3 inches long that had been in my upper right chest, near my collar bone. That was about a week ago and the dialysis treatments had ended about a week before that. I obviously haven’t died since then. Instead my health has been improving steadily. Does that description (the short tube in the chest) help you identify the type of dialysis? It’s a mystery to me how one short tube can do the job. I would have thought that there had to be an input and an output, but that just shows that this is completely outside of my field so of course it makes no sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/67 "2017-11-30T04:34:35Z")
That sounds like a central line, and the CRRT would have been done through that in addition to all your other IVs being run through it, so your veins wouldn’t be ruined. Glad you’re on the mend! The CRRT was done by a designated machine which was attached to that tube, and the effluent run into an attached bag. It looks just like urine, because that’s pretty much what it is except it’s being produced by a machine. Do you still have an IV line? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/68 "2017-11-30T05:01:48Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That sounds like a central line, and the CRRT would have been done through that in addition to all your other IVs being run through it, so your veins wouldn’t be ruined. > > Glad you’re on the mend! > > The CRRT was done by a designated machine which was attached to that tube, and the effluent run into an attached bag. It looks just like urine, because that’s pretty much what it is except it’s being produced by a machine. > > Do you still have an IV line? I have a regular IV line in my arm, like you usually do when you’re in the hospital, but it’s not dialysis related. My kidneys have recovered. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/69 "2017-11-30T05:40:21Z")
Wow. Glad to hear you survived. Doesn’t take much to change your life does it? A “routine” medical procedure and now you have to cover your trach hole to talk. Good luck in rehab. May your time there be very short. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/70 "2017-11-30T13:55:32Z")
I’m currently eating a big breakfast (I hope I don’t get fat) and I’m probably being moved to a rehab facility today. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/71 "2017-11-30T14:53:50Z")
That is good news. Glad to hear things are moving along. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/72 "2017-11-30T14:55:44Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m currently eating a big breakfast (I hope I don’t get fat) and I’m probably being moved to a rehab facility today. That’s great news! Not sure if I missed this or not, but are they letting you walk yet? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/73 "2017-11-30T14:57:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That’s great news! Not sure if I missed this or not, but are they letting you walk yet? Walking is my next big goal. My legs currently won’t even support me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/74 "2017-11-30T15:27:09Z")
Welcome back!! Yes, you were missed. Gah, what a mess. The good news is you used up most of a lifetimes worth of bad luck already with this fiasco, so the future ought to be pretty bright. Or at least that’s one way to think about it. Best of luck from here on out. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/75 "2017-11-30T15:33:51Z")
I’m being moved to a rehab facility at 4:00 today. Some of you have expressed a desire to visit in PMs. I will post the info (address, room number, any visiting rules, etc.) when I’m settled in. Visitors will be more than welcome! Anyone with industrial strength fingernail clippers will be greeted effusively! ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/76 "2017-11-30T15:34:43Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Walking is my next big goal. My legs currently won’t even support me. yes, but you are sitting up, right? in a chair like a regular person? and eating! and posting on the internet! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/77 "2017-11-30T15:50:04Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > yes, but you are sitting up, right? in a chair like a regular person? and eating! and posting on the internet! > > 🙂 Yes, but I had to be lifted in a sling to get from the bed to the chair and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/78 "2017-11-30T15:51:05Z")
Curious about the sequence of events. Were you unconscious for the botched procedure, or just lightly sedated? Did they tell you they were putting you in a medically-induced coma, or were you out even before the doctor/technician said “oops”? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/79 "2017-11-30T15:53:13Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Curious about the sequence of events. Were you unconscious for the botched procedure, or just lightly sedated? Did they tell you they were putting you in a medically-induced coma, or were you out even before the doctor/technician said “oops”? I honestly don’t remember. My brother knows and of course there must be records, which will be reviewed by mumble mumble. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049/80 "2017-11-30T16:44:54Z")
Any chance you are in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania? I have a friend or two there… ETA: in ObGyn, so I doubt if you have had contact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-davidm-in-the-hospital-recovering-from-a-medical-screwup/803049.md?page=5)