Student needing medical procedure - Page 2

wis75 · 07-03-2009, 09:17 PM

Physician here. Make sure he has someone to be sure he gets home safely. Do NOT do as my own father did- not allowed to drive home so his D-in-law "picked him up" and took him to his car in the parking lot- he then drove home after a cystoscopy. Sigh. I'm sure there must be a professor or someone he can call on that day. Remind him to be safe even if he thinks he is inconveniencing someone- get an aquaintance to do the home escort honors, waiting several hours is a good idea, nothing wrong with waiting for someone to be available. Written results are a ggod idea as the memory goes with sedation. Too bad he can't be one of us oldsters having that- the prep is horrible (but knowing there's no potential cancer like my grandpa had was worth it).

sueinphilly · 07-03-2009, 09:20 PM

when I had a colonoscopy done they required a HUMAN to drive me home, no cab or bus would do..

I wish your son well, as colonoscopies are generally done on people much other than a college student unless they think there is a problem

marite · 07-03-2009, 09:20 PM

I believe that after a colonoscopy, the medical staff will insist on someone accompanying the patient whether he was awake or totally sedated during the procedure. The staff is not supposed to allow patients to leave in a taxi, pretending that the driver is the escort.
When I have one, I go by myself in a taxi. H gets contacted to pick me up when the time comes.

Is summer school on? He could ask the Dean of students to put out a call for someone to accompany him back (the person need not stay for the whole time but would be contacted once he comes out of surgery). If the clinic is not far, the student would need only spend an hour or so going to the clinic and escorting him back, presumably in a taxi, and your son would not be unduly out of pocket. The graduate student coordinator in his department could also be helpful in lining up someone.

oldfort · 07-03-2009, 09:45 PM

Marian:
Maybe your son could contact the hospital where he is going to get the procedure done and they have a service to pickup and drop off patient after a procedure. I was able to find this for a specific hospital:
Transportation Services

As far as getting the result, maybe your son could speak with the doctor another day. If your son doesn't know the person that well, he may not want the person to get know his medical condition.

I could imagine you must be frantic.

patsmom · 07-03-2009, 09:51 PM

Marian,

The CC community is very generous and almost like family in some cases. Why not browse through this thread "In loco parentis"....Do you live near a college? and see if there is someone near your son's school who might be willing to do him the favor? I wish I could help but I live in Florida!

hope4freeride · 07-03-2009, 10:00 PM

If he can get his doctor to schedule him as the first patient in the morning, if he can get a ride to the student health office perhaps they can observe him until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. By that time he should have been able to drink and eat enough to recover from the dehydration caused by the "prep" and also be alert enough to stay by himself. If any biopsy or polyp removal is done, they may not let him be alone in case he has any serious bleeding.

dmd77 · 07-03-2009, 10:03 PM

Hire a visiting nurse.

marite · 07-03-2009, 10:10 PM

I usually get my results orally right after the procedure--complete with picture! and a written confirmation a few days later.

Dmd's suggestion is a good one!

Marian · 07-03-2009, 10:28 PM

Lots of good ideas there. Thank you everyone. Your collective creativity is very helpful. (Now if we could only apply it to the current economic situation...)

No way would my son do this procedure when awake. He is not the sort who would be able to cooperate. I think most people aren't. (Katie Couric is a rare exception.) He needs the test to determine whether some fairly severe gastrointestinal symptoms he has been having in recent months might be due to inflammatory bowel disease. He's being treated for something else now, but the doctors are mostly guessing at what the problem is. There's little point in treating someone for the wrong problem. Thus, the test is important. But I suspect that the symptoms he has been having would make the procedure more painful than it would be on an average middle-aged person who's simply being screened for polyps.

The medical transportation service idea seems like a good one. Certainly, before my son's appointment with the gastroenterologist, I will suggest that he bring up that idea at the doctor's office. He would probably prefer it to imposing on a near-stranger during a time when his closest friends are out of town. It would be different if a close friend were readily available, but his closest friends are older graduate students who are doing summer internships elsewhere.

Another option has occurred to me in the course of the evening. We actually do have a relative in California, living a 2 1/2 hour drive away from my son. But she has medical problems of her own, which greatly limit her ability to drive. However, I have been wondering whether it might be possible for her to come to my son's community by train, using taxis for local transportation at both ends of the train trip -- although it would probably require at least one night's stay in a motel (at my expense, of course). She has time (she is currently out of work on disability because of her medical issues), and she would want to help if she can. But it might not be possible because of her health. I have left messages for her, and we'll see whether this option is workable. The nice thing about this, if it could work, is that she is also a single person living on her own, just like my son, and I'm sure that occasions would arise when my son could help her out in similar ways. That sort of cooperation is how stuff gets done in this world.

Quote:

when I had a colonoscopy done they required a HUMAN to drive me home, no cab or bus would do..

At most facilities that I know of, it's considered OK to take a cab as long as your human escort goes with you in the cab. For people who don't have cars, this may be the only option. But you can't take a cab alone. Taking a bus, even with a human escort, would be difficult even if permitted. Sometimes people are let go while they're still really goofy.

Marian · 07-03-2009, 10:44 PM

It just occurred to me that all of you nice people are helping me with not one problem, but two.

Last month, I was the driver for my husband when he had a cardiac catheterization -- a situation that will happen again because he's being monitored periodically after a stent procedure last year. He was discharged quite soon after the test, and the drugs apparently removed the normal inhibitions on his behavior. He spent the whole hour's ride home not just criticizing my driving, but grabbing my arm and the steering wheel on repeated occasions to try to get me to change lanes or make turns when I didn't plan to make those maneuvers. Several times, he threatened me with violence if I did not pull over and let him drive, and on one occasion he attempted to get out of the car while we were traveling on a multilane highway, presumably with the intention of hitchhiking home.

Yes, I'm a poor driver by his standards (he is an excellent driver), but he would never have acted like this without the drugs. The guy is normally quite sane, but he's also normally quite sober. I never want to deal with a situation like this again.

Some of the ideas you people have been suggesting -- especially the one about using a medical-related transportation service recommended by the doctor -- might work for my husband's next heart test, too. I had thought of asking a male colleague from his office to be his driver the next time because a man would be more capable of fighting him off than I am, but paying for some sort of professional service would be more dignified, I think. No way am I ever driving that man home again when he's under the influence of drugs, but I would like to find a good alternative.

Incidentally, my husband remembers nothing at all of his unsafe behavior in the car. The drugs are like that sometimes.

khsstitches · 07-03-2009, 11:03 PM

Yes, the drugs are meant to help with no memories....usually just with the procedure, though. You've gotten many great suggestions but the one to hire a private duty nurse is a good one....might be your last resort as it is a stranger but I did this type of work and you can usually meet the person ahead of time. Pricey but might do in the situation. Good luck to you and your son.

PackMom · 07-03-2009, 11:08 PM

Most hospitals have Patient Advocates. Maybe it would be possible for you to contact a Patient Advocate at the facility where the procedure will be done to get some info/advice on the best way to handle your S's situation.

Fred's Mom · 07-03-2009, 11:50 PM

I'm a mommy in the Los Angeles area, and my days are free, if that would be helpful. I recently took my kid for a gastro procedure...he really does need a driver!

ginab591 · 07-03-2009, 11:56 PM

@Marian--reguarding your husband, similar things have happened to me. I was knocked out for a colonoscopy about a year and a half ago. Both my parents were present, which is rare because of my father's schedule, but basically when I woke up, I started screaming at my dad, and telling him all the things I'd been mad at him for for several years--it was the first time my mother heard about a few of the things too-- and a few minutes later I had very little memory of what I'd said to him exactly, (I was pretty sure because I'd been wanting to say the same thing to him for a while) but basically all of my judgement was gone and there was no filter between what I thought and what I did. It's a lack of control which I could see as terrifying, especaily if you were in what you percieves as a vunerable position at the moment. (Maybe he wouldn't think anything of your driving normally, but then, the thought popped in and he acted on it)
I didn't harm anybody, but I can see where it would be possible for your husband to have in that situation.
The solution to that might be as simple as having him sit in the back seat if possible, or escorting him home in a cab. (Probably with you in the front and him in the back) Or have someone (probably a larger male) accompany you.

As for your son, I'll echo what everyone else is saying, call the school, see if they have any procedure for such a situation.

Good luck to your son, I went through the same thing last year.
Is the potential diagnosis IBS or IBD? (My brother has the former, I have the latter)

great lakes mom · 07-03-2009, 11:58 PM

Call the Student Health Center for his school, and see what or who they might suggest. Surely any school has dealt with issues of this sort before, and there might be a staff person, or volunteer who could accompany him.

Had my first procedure of that sort recently, and was rather amazed at how out of it I was for a good number of hours afterwards. I'd planned to go home, rest a bit and carry on with normal tasks for a day off. No way! A driver and someone to be with him for at least part of the day is recommended.