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• I offer TeleAdvocacy Service
• I am insured
• My geographical area of practice is National

Three years ago my husband, who was healthy and a fit runner at the time, went in the hospital for an overnight surgical procedure. I stayed with him and as soon as I saw him in the recovery room I questioned why he was receiving so much IV fluid & yet had almost no urine output. I was told all was fine. When we got to his room he went to sit up and passed out. I told the staff he was bleeding & they told me he was fine. Within hours he developed massive bruising from his abdomen to his knees. I was told these were “skin bleeders”. The surgeon who did not visit until day 3 told me to “stop thinking and just be a wife”. He was angry that I was “complaining”, and told me he was a very busy man. A day later I told the staff I believed my husband was developing an infection in his abdomen. Again, I was told I was wrong and he would be home in a day or two. At this point I demanded he be transferred to the surgical intensive care unit (the senior resident told me this was a mistake as visiting hours would be restricted there). I still proceeded with the transfer, and as soon as he arrived in the ICU they realized he was in septic shock! He suffered multiple complications & I was told if we had waited even an hour more he would have died. He spent a month in the ICU, and another month at home on IV antibiotics with dressing changes, drains and a catheter. I was able to provide this care due to many years as a Homecare RN.
Had I not been there, and had the clinical knowledge and courage to stand up for him, he would have died. It made me acutely aware of how vital it is to have an advocate with strong clinical knowledge and the ability to stand firm for the patient.