Communication is important. Communication is (almost) everything. It's also my job and I love it. Short lines, clarity for everyone and transparency. Communication in healthcare is sometimes vital and poor communication can cause a lot of suffering.
Examination on the baby
I myself have been given some clear examples of this, not entirely to my satisfaction. When I gave birth to my middle daughter, this had to be done in the hospital because a year earlier, apart from my knee problems, a chronic condition revealed itself in me. Not a disaster, a matter of the right dose of medicine and just keep going. I did receive a medical indication to have my baby examined immediately after birth for this abnormality, which can be hereditary. For this, blood had to be drawn from the umbilical cord just after delivery, as was explained to me during checkups.
Oops When my little girl finally lay on my stomach after a long labor, I marveled at her. How small and beautiful she was! In all emotion (unhindered by a good portion of runaway hormones) I really didn't think about my umbilical cord. Unfortunately for us no one thought of it and the nurses found out too late that no blood had been checked. I overheard a conversation in which the midwife and the nurse played Black Pete to each other. Result:three days of unexpected hospital stay and with great difficulty blood was drawn from the tiny heel of my tiny daughter several times a day. No fun.
Miscommunication
A year later I was in the same regional hospital for my third knee operation. I was in the regional hospital for my third knee surgery. I stayed overnight, so we agreed. After the procedure back in the ward I got extra paracetamol, but my knee did hurt. As a 'routinier' I didn't understand that very well and the nurses reacted grumpily to my request for more pain medication. "You only had keyhole surgery, do you have a low pain tolerance or something?" The pain was severe and I began to wonder more and more what the reason was.
Grumpy
Previous keyhole surgery was considerably less painful. The nurses could not answer my questions and I asked if I could speak to the doctor. After all, I hadn't seen it at all let alone spoken. "Well, he's very busy. That will be difficult.' I persisted, after all, I would be allowed to leave the hospital an hour later, and after many five and six the grumpy orthopedic surgeon appeared at my bedside. "Yeah, you've had a microfracture* and it can hurt." A what? Never heard of it! Never discussed with me. "You're not allowed to put any strain on the knee for the next six weeks, so I hope you've got it all right at home with your young children!" I stared at the man open-mouthed, flabbergasted. I didn't understand what had happened to my knee and no one had ever told me about the next six weeks. By now I had already put weight on my knee because the nurses apparently had no idea either. If I hadn't been on a meeting with this doctor, I would have gone home and my knee would have been strained with all the consequences that entailed. After this incident I changed hospitals.
Wrong knee
Communication is everything. And that they recently accidentally threatened to mark my right knee before the operation, well, I was still awake and screamed very loudly:No, liiiinks!!!! Clear communication with short lines.
NOTE:Microfracture is also known as icepicking. It is a technique in which small holes are drilled in the bone with a kind of awl (icepick). This releases blood with stem cells that can close a cartilage defect with a scar tissue that resembles the original cartilage.
Who is Marie-Anne? Marie-Anne, 48 years old, is married and mother of three daughters. She has a serious cartilage problem. It all started after a skiing accident, but hereditary factors and factors that doctors still don't know much about also play a role. Every other week she blogs about her (patchwork) family, the care in the Netherlands and her knee, which she recently had surgery on for the ninth time.
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