I'm so sorry, let us know.

My mom had another heart attack stronger than the last two. They believe that one of the grafts collapsed. That is what showed on the cardiogram. My mother is a tiny lady and when they did the surgery, they said that it was difficult since her veins were so small. Kind of like a childs. In fact one graft didn't take during surgery and they had to do it again. We beleive that is the one that has either collapsed, kinked or clotted. They said they will do an ultra sound tomorrow to see exactly what happened.

So where do we go from here?....Only God knows now!

You will learn more tomorrow.  Keep your chin up, my heart goes out to you

JoAnn,

I will continue to hold your Mom and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm so sorry to hear that she took a turn for the worse.  I continue to pray for her and hope that this was the end of the problems and that she will now be taking a turn for the better.

JoAnn, I'm so sorry to hear that your Mom had problems after her surgery we'll keep her in our prayers.

EVERYTHING is in God's hands!

My  mom is actually holding her own. The one by-pass did collapse but they said that she can continue to live like that. She also did have a major heart attack and it will take her quite a bit longer to get her strength back. The hospital, or should I say the insurance company wants her out of the hospital by Monday. (sadly the insurance companies run the entire show) Sunnyview will not take her anylonger due to her lack of stamina and would not be able to keep up with their rehabilitation program.

So we are now looking into a Sub-acute facility that will take her to give her the rehab that she needs to get back on her feet. Kingsway is our preference as it is close to home and has a decent reputation. The other facilities are just too far for us to travel daily especially with winter upon us.

The insurance company has allowed her 100 days of rehab with an evaluation after 20 days. The insurance company will monitor her progress and THEY will decide if she needs the entire 100 days. We are hoping that she can gain enough strength back to come home (with me). The doctors seem hopeful.

In addition to the emotional stress that comes with this, the insurance companies are by far the worst to deal with. When my mom is finally back home with us, I will definately contact SOMEONE about this entire health insurance industry that I believe is compromising the health and well being of the patient all in the name of SAVING MONEY. And if this is just a taste of universal health care, we need to collectively address this issue, since it will definately get worse. And it should be addressed at both the state and federal level.

Glad to hear your mom is holding her own.  You are right the insurance industry is horrible.  I have been an insurance agent for 25 years.  I have seen the demise of health benfits.  I haven't done anything in the health field for about 15 years.  It has become increasingly difficult to deal with the red tape and the nonsense.  You are right when you say this is just the tip of the ice berg.

I went to see my mom today. And although they (doctors,nurses and rehab) still give us hope, I see my mom slipping away little by little. She doesn't even remember where she lived. She doesn't even know where she is now. I'm afraid the move to Kingsway on Monday will just add to her mental confusion. I plan on bringing my lap top to the hospital tomorrow with all of our family pictures that I have on discs to show her and hopefully mentally stimulate her, if that is possible. This is probably one of the most gut renching experiences I've had to deal with in my life. My mind realizes that she IS 82years old and has been hit with 3 heart attacks and one failed by-pass in 2 months, BUT, my heart doesn't know the difference. All my heart knows is that she is my mom.

As far as dealing with insurance companies, I am all by disgusted! My brother and I both feel that the move to Sunnyview should have never happened. She had triple by-pass on tues, was out of ICU on Thursday and shipped off to Sunnyview 4 days later on Monday. Then the very next day, a major heart attack and a collapsed graft. Now usually a bypass patient is required to walk around the perimeter of the cardiac floor 10X's and walk up a flight of stairs BEFORE they can enter rehab. My mom could barely make it around 4X's. And stairs were never even an option. But the insurance company wanted her out of the hospital. These insurance companies pigeon hole patients and their health care plan. Well, we are not dealing with pigeons here, they are human beings who are all different. But todays health care system does not allow for personalization of health care.

And Dr. DePan, who did her surgery, was never seen again when her surgery was over. He never even came to speak to us after. I was in the elevator with him the other day and he didn't even know who I was. So after major heart surgery, my mom's health care was managed by nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians assistance all under the dictatorship of the insurance companies.

JoAnn, the insurance company is treating your Mom as if she were a 50 year old person as that's the schedule that is usually followed for younger people. My mother-in-law had to stay in the ICU after surgery for 7 days b4 even going to a room in cardiac care unit. Needless to say at age 78 she lost all her strength and rehab took almost a year but she was only allowed to stay at Sunnyview for 2 weeks the rest had to be done by my wife and I. People are not treated like individuals, as far as the insurance companies are concerned you're just a number  and they really don't care what's best for the patients. My wife's mom also had periods of confusion, and loss of memory some of which never did return and we were also told that it was from the anesthesia and from being on the heart pump. Our prayers will be with you and your Mom and hope she recovers soon.

Quoted Text

This is probably one of the most gut renching experiences I've had to deal with in my life. My mind realizes that she IS 82years old and has been hit with 3 heart attacks and one failed by-pass in 2 months, BUT, my heart doesn't know the difference. All my heart knows is that she is my mom.

I feel your pain, and while it doesn't help you at all, I know what you are going through.  I will be with you in spirit.

This entire process is an absolute health care nightmare. First my mom was scheuled to leave Ellis tomorrow (monday) and go into Kingsway's sub-acute rehab facility. Dr. Guspeto (not sure of the spelling) was the cardiolagist on call this weekend.

Now let me say that my mom was doing "ok". She was eating and her blood pressure was fine. She was still just very very weak. Dr. Guspeto comes in this morning (sunday)and changes all of her meds. At 10am she was fine, but by noon her blood pressure took such a plunge that the nurses and PA's were scrambling to keep her alive. IV's were started, blood tests and ekg's. She was almost comatose. They said we had to just ride it out and hope for the best. Did you notice I said NURSES AND PA'S? Not one REAL doctor. The nurses and the PA were not happy with the med changes that Dr. Guspeto prescribed and they suggested I talk with him. Which is next to impossible to talk with any of them.

By about 5pm she started to come around and they were still monitoring her, but also cut back her meds. They also told me that she "would not" be going to Kingsway tomorrow. I was going to stay the night but since she was doing much better and the fact that I am exhausted beyond exhausted, I decided to come home and go back up 8am to talk to the doctors. And she has seen many, with none of them ever talking to us, the family.

There are many other incidents, but not as bad as this, that I have documented. I have documented "everything". I am going to ask for her medical records and a list of all the meds she is on tomorrow. I'm her health care proxy.(just for future reference if needed)

I have got to get her out of there before they kill her! I am so pi**ed and upset, you have no idea.

I guess doctors do have an alter ego after all!

I wish there were words that could make this better for you.  It is disgusting the way you and your mother are being treated.  It goes to accountability and it doesn't seem that there is a single profession or person who is accountable anymore.  The doctor should have atleast spoken with you on the phone.  Keep up the documentation.  Report back when you can and get some rest.

JoAnn, check every one of her medications as when my mother-in law came home from the hospital some of her meds were actually working against each other and her cardiac doctor didn't even know it because the hospital had set up the drugs she was to take. The lack of attending doctors on weekends and holidays has been going on for a long time and that's something that should be changed. All the responsibility falls on the cardiac care nurses and PA's instead of the doctors who were the real cause of the problem. Get her out of there as soon as you can so she can get the real care that she needs.