And we still can't find any doctor who can help my grandma. She took a bad fall this morning on an icy patch outside of a carwash and broke both of her wrists and smashed her face up pretty bad. This happened back home, so my Dad ran her into our local "Health Center" and they took a look at her and said that they don't feel comfortable working on her and that Dad shoud drive her to nearest city hospital. So into Dad's car they go, and they drive 45 mintutes to Prince Albert to the emergency room there. After waiting for over three hours, the receptionist told Dad that they are very backlogged and that their radiologist just finished up for the day. They then tell Dad he should take her to Saskatoon, which is in the other direction and another 2 and half hours away. So they are just on their way into town here now, and Dad says Grandma is in so much pain she is almost ready to pass out. None of the hospitals would even give her any sort of pain killers as there were no doctors available to prescribe anything during their wait at either hospital.

I just talked to Dad and he is about an hour and a half out of town here. I am heading down to the hospital now and am going to talk to the receptionist in advance and tell her of what has happened and see if there is any way they can get her in with as little wait as possible. I'll tell you, our healthcare may be free up here, but it is the biggest god damn joke when it actually comes time for you to need it. I have nothing but respect for our fine physicians, but our hospitals are so understaffed that it seems that situtations like this have become the norm. Words can't described how pissed I am right now at our health system. A ninety two year old woman in dire need of medical assistance and not one person willing or available to take a look at her. But hey, its free.

Please keep my grams in your thoughts. I'll post more when I get back from the hospital.

[This message has been edited by loafer87gt (edited 02-13-2007).]

I wish the best for your grandmother and your family. Honestly I don't know what else to say. I'll keep her in my prayers for recovery.

That's terrible. I hope it works out much better at this hospital.

Not to turn this too political, but I always worry when politicians here in the states pitch their mandatory health insurance, free health care campaigns. What you end up with, when government gets involved in running nearly anything, is the type of run around your family is dealing with.

Such a tragedy, I feel for your family. I can't imagine having to deal with that situation with my own grandmother, here's hoping my family never has to.

That's terrible. Whatever happened to the hypocratic oath? Hope see finds the help she needs.

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Whade' "The Duck Formerly Known As Wade" Duck
'87 GT Auto
'88 Ferrario
'84 Indy (8/26/06)

Relax! You've managed to suck all of the fun out of the room.

I'll keep her in my prayers.
I'd almost suggest taking her to the U.S. If illegal immigrants with no insurance can get emergency care here, there's no reason she can't too.

I just can't believe what I'm reading! Ever see the movie John Q.? That would probably be me... except I don't own a gun... guess I'd have to improvise.

She is in my thoughts, I just cannot beleive that anyone with a heart could not at least try to diagnose and stabilize her condition before sending her to another facility.

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Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive.

It is really horrible that is happening to your grandma/family.

I wonder if you called the local newspapers/radio stations maybe you could get some attention and have somebody do something to help.

I really want to rant about how "compassionate" socialized medicine/"universal health care" is supposed to be, but I won't.



ed

Call 911 and get an ambulance. Then they will get you in.

Your gramma is in my thoughts.

So what happened to Canada's health care system?

Joe

Have you tried taking her in by ambulance?

Perhaps complaining of chest pains as well?

Not saying its right, but it usually works. We waited in an emergency for 6 hours once, went home, called an ambulance and she was in surgery within the hour, too late to save her nerves, but the surgery was badly needed.

Brad

quote Originally posted by twofatguys: Have you tried taking her in by ambulance? Perhaps complaining of chest pains as well? Brad

Good ideas, wish I'd have thought of it. I'm not a big fan of lawyers, but I could make an exception in this situation.

Just got back from the hospital. The staff at the emergency room in Saskatoon were excellent, and did their best to get her in as soon as possible. What a relief. Her X-Rays showed that she fractured both her wrists, but it doesn't look like she did any damage to her lower arm or elbows. Her face is pretty bruised up as she landed face first on the ice, but besides bruising and some small cuts and scrapes, it looks like she didn't fracture anything. The doctors decided against doing surgery on her wrists, and instead used local freezing and tried to set her bones. Everything went smoothly with her right arm, but the skin tore when they tried to set the left one and they had to leave it partially set. Apparently she had broken this wrist before when she was younger, making this difficult for the doctors as the bones were already somewhat deformed.

Anyways, her spirits are really good, and even though you could tell she was in a lot of pain, she never passed up an opportunity to joke around with the staff while at the hospital. Apparently she has only had Tylonol once or twice in her life, so the extra strength tablets they gave her seem to be helping to manage the pain quite well. Her main concern right now is when she will be able to bake bread again, and when she can join back up with her band and play back with them at the nursing home.

Grandma never ceases to amaze me. Thanks for everyones good vibes.

She sounds like a tough and grand lady. My best wishes to her for a speedy recovery.

Wow, just wow.
How could any caring health provider let her leave in that condition. It is very important to set broken bones before swelling sets in. At the very least the should have cleaned her up and splinted her wrists. You should share your story with a local news paper, things wont get better unless people hear stories like this.
I hope your Grandma heals up and can resume baking bread soon.

Loafer,
I am glad to hear your grandma is going to be ok. I understand fully the horror of trying to get medical help in Canada. For those who do not live in Canada, The healthcare system up here may be free, but it is not effective. We do not have enough Dr.'s because they all move to the states for better pay. On a regular basis, nearly daily, on the radio I hear of a hospital that will be closed for x number of days due to a shortage of Dr.'s. I have spent 6 years trying to get my wife a Dr. Still no real luck.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: The healthcare system up here may be free, .

Loafer! Glad everything is ok now.

But to comment 8Ball. It isn't free! Nothing is free. You still pay for it.

you are very correct. It is not FREE so much. We are taxed dearly for it. and then it still does not cover prescriptions and several procedures.

Talked to Grandma and she said has had non stop stream of flowers and get well cards as well as offers of help from her neighbours this morning. Aren't small towns great.

Anyhow, back to the whole hospital thing. It would have been great for them to be able give her some painkillers, or set the bones before the swelling kicked in, but as Randy said, it is not like the hospitals were trying to be cruel , there just isn't any doctors available to do so. That is the problem with our health care system. Even urgent procedures can often take years of waiting time. My mom, for example, waited nearly three years to have a simple MRI scan done.

Another problem that was already mentioned is that it is very difficult to find a family doctor. Many doctors are refusing to take any new patients, so we must sign up on a waiting list for a physician if we need any attention. This wait just to be put on a physicians list can take upward of a year. The last time I saw a physician to get a physical done the whole process took roughly 16 months to find a doctor and get an appointment.

Some cities such as Calgary are now just medevacing patients to the states for urgent operations such as child birthing, a practive I think we will see become more common as our population continues to rise and our hospitals become even more overworked.

quote Originally posted by loafer87gt: Talked to Grandma and she said has had non stop stream of flowers and get well cards as well as offers of help from her neighbours this morning. Aren't small towns great. Anyhow, back to the whole hospital thing. It would have been great for them to be able give her some painkillers, or set the bones before the swelling kicked in, but as Randy said, it is not like the hospitals were trying to be cruel , there just isn't any doctors available to do so. That is the problem with our health care system. Even urgent procedures can often take years of waiting time. My mom, for example, waited nearly three years to have a simple MRI scan done. Another problem that was already mentioned is that it is very difficult to find a family doctor. Many doctors are refusing to take any new patients, so we must sign up on a waiting list for a physician if we need any attention. This wait just to be put on a physicians list can take upward of a year. The last time I saw a physician to get a physical done the whole process took roughly 16 months to find a doctor and get an appointment. Some cities such as Calgary are now just medevacing patients to the states for urgent operations such as child birthing, a practice I think we will see become more common as our population continues to rise and our hospitals become even more overworked.

Wow, my wife has had around 3 MRI's a month for the last 6 years, not to mention the weekly doctor visits, there was talk awhile ago about free medical care, but as stated nothing is free, it comes out in more taxes, and the waiting. Glad Grandma is going to be O.K.
Brad

quote Originally posted by whadeduck: That's terrible. Whatever happened to the hypocratic oath? Hope see finds the help she needs.

It got CRUSHED by bureacracy and mistreatment.

Did you know that underneath the white coat and behind the stethoscope there resides a HUMAN? A human that largely wants to follow the hypocratic oath. So take that kind of a person and put them into the bureacratic, frustrating system that gets in the way of being that kind of person long enough, and guess what you get? A broken-willed person who doesn't have the mental determination to keep fighting that system that is constantly in the way. No matter how principled a person is, they have a breaking point. A rare individual may NEVER hit it. Most will.

Don't think elements of the U.S. government lack the capacity to develop a system that will do that to the majority of U.S. physicians. Keep that in mind next time you hear we need a national health plan. What you want in your health care is the speed, efficiency, and compassion of the post office?

VERY sorry, loafer87gt, about what happened to your grandma and your family. Unfortunately, that is not going to be an isolated event with a system of that sort.