Heartbreaking Pain for 5 Hours / Eureka, We Have Admission

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SAVE SHEILA'S LIFE CAUSE

Note: During my blogs, you will see that I'll be talking about 3 different government medical facilities; their names will be changed to prevent me from being sued, and prevent interference with a possible future court case.

I will be calling them:  Local Hospital 1, Clinic 1 and Clinic 2.

Summary

For those who have not read my previous blog, on Saturday 20 July 2024, we rushed Mom to the hospital because of the extreme pain she had after wound care. The emergency doctor made an appointment with the wound surgeon for her to be considered for admission for surgical debridement her appointment was set for Tuesday 23 July 2024 (today). I am now reporting about Tuesday's events.

What Went Down

I must say, I woke up on Tuesday with quite an overwhelming feeling of heaviness and depression.
This would be around the ninth time we had tried to get Mom admitted for surgical debridement so that her wounds could heal quickly. 

However, I remembered the doctor looking at me with compassion on Saturday, intently saying, "The days are different. Try your best to take your mom on Tuesday." 

So, with that tiny hope, clinging to my faith in God and trusting in my heavenly Father's promises that all would be well, I pushed that feeling of heaviness to one side, prayed for the day, and prepared to take Mom in today.  And the quiet, calm strength of Jesus started to fill my spirit once again.

The trepidation I felt was not just about the pain she would be in from wound care and the uncomfortable treatment at the government clinic; it was also because she only had two free ambulance trips available to her. 

The ambulance would take her to the clinic, and if she was not admitted, the last ambulance trip would be used to bring her home. It would be too expensive for us to take her anywhere else for wound care after that; we just do not have the money for private ambulance costs.

On Tuesday morning, Mom woke up in an excellent mood. She ate well, exercised well, and we got ourselves ready for the day. 

The ambulance picked us up at around 10:00 a.m., and it took another hour and a half for us to get her file from the admin so that she could be seen. 

It took another two hours of waiting for Mom to be seen in the queue; during that time
Mom was resting on a narrow stretcher with a hard mattress, uncomfortable but patient.

I had come prepared with pillows and blankets, food and medicine, and did my best to keep Mom as comfy as possible.

The first sliver of encouragement I had that day was seeing that the surgeon on duty was the same one who had admitted Allan (my husband) a year and a half ago for his hernia operation. This was a big deal at the time as there was a year-and-a-half waiting list.  But Allan was admitted by this surgeon.

So when I saw the same surgeon who happened to be on duty that day, my heart lifted. He is a very proficient, efficient, and confidence-inspiring surgeon. 

Two hours later, two nurses came into the little side room where Mom's emergency stretcher was and opened her bandages to display her wounds, getting Mom ready for the surgeon's inspection. Mom started crying in pain in such a dreadful way; it was horrible to listen to. The surgeon took one look at her wounds and said she must be admitted today. He walked off to do the paperwork.

In the meantime, the two nurses attended to Mom's wound change, and Mom started crying and screaming; (she did not stop for about four hours).  

All the patients in the entire clinic waiting room heard her, and everyone was looking around with horrified looks on their faces - trying to see who was screaming in pain. 

Another doctor came to see me and said, "I'm the doctor who is facilitating the admission. We are going to find her a bed in the hospital. It might not be in the correct ward, but we will find a bed so that she will at least be in the queue, even if it's in the wrong ward."

While this conversation was going on, Mom continued to weep in pain. My heart and chest were so sore; I was so stressed because I felt so helpless. 

While we were waiting for another hour and a half for a bed to be available, I begged the nurses and the doctors to please give her something for the pain. 

Eventually, about an hour after Mom started crying in pain, they gave her a Voltaren injection, but she was in so much pain that it had no effect.

About an hour or so later, the porters eventually came to wheel her stretcher to her ward, Mom was still crying in pain. 

They rolled the stretcher out of the clinic along the pavement (as you know, it's two separate buildings). They pushed it along the rough pavement, and they walked straight into a hole in the pavement. Mom screamed in pain when they hit it. 

I almost had ten kittens on the spot. 

Then, they took her off to the ward. I went to look for the admission counter, crying my eyes out.

But God is so good. Remember, the doctor said she would be placed in any bed in any ward so that she would at least be in the queue. But the actual ward she was supposed to be in is the surgical ward. It turns out they found a bed right away in the surgical ward - Ward No 2, in room 222, on the 2nd floor.  (Note: 22222!)

After I finished with the admission counter, I rushed up to the ward with Mom's file. When I found her, She was still crying in pain. She had been in pain for just over 3 hours now. 

I looked around for the sister and begged her to give Mom something for pain. She nodded and said the doctor would do it soon and went back to what she was doing. 

Frantic, about ten minutes later I spotted the doctor who had admitted Mom and begged her to give
Mom something for the pain. She said she had to take blood first.

I watched anxiously as the doctor did her thing.  Eventually, after another 45 minutes, I noticed Mom was quiet and zoned out. The doctor had - at last - given her an injection for pain—the kind of stuff you give someone just before surgery. 

Mom seemed so zoned out she was almost drooling.

I tried to talk to Mom but I could see Mom was completely out of it, but at least she was out of pain. I kissed her goodbye and made her as comfortable as I could.

I caught a mini-taxi home - that took an hour and a half to get home. Once I got home, I just sat on the couch, looking at Allan (my hubby) and Susanna (my friend and helper). I felt totally numb from the events.  I had nothing to say.  

The only thing going through my head was "Trust God."

PRAYER REQUEST

Let's just pray to the Lord that Mom will be admitted swiftly for surgery very soon and that everything will go well and she will have complete healing, in Jesus' name.

1 Peter 2:24 NLT

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds, you are healed.

Please stand in agreement with me that Mom's surgery will be done swiftly and she will heal supernaturally fast, in Jesus name!

Thanks!
Christine Livingstone

We need help - if you wish to give a love gift large or small, please contact Liz or Caz for our bank details, Or click the How To Help link to find other ways to help.

How To Help / Contact Info / What Happened that Forced me to Start this Cause. 

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The author, Christine Livingstone is a businesswoman and ministry leader based in South Africa, known for her talents in teaching, content creation, graphic design, and business acumen. No part of the content on this blog may be reproduced without written permission from Christine and full accreditation. For permissions and accreditation, please contact Christine via the contact link on this blog or any of her websites. Copyright (C) 2024 christinelivingstone.com. All Rights Reserved.