I spent this evening at the hospital to see my friend Kim who has been in there for about a week. When she first arrived, they put a tube down her nose to suction the bile out of her stomach. It is my understanding that this procedure is very painful. she has had this tube in there since she arrived & it is very uncomfortable. I got there today & her face was etched in pain. Apparently the tube had not been inserted right & they had to pull it out & push it back in.
Kim had been telling me how painful it was having it inserted & pulled out, & just seeing her face, It was obvious.
While I was there, she texted the pain she felt, cuz she could no longer talk, it hurt too much.
It made me upset looking at her going through that pain. I went to the nurse & asked her if they could somehow partially sedate or give her some pain meds before they messed with the tubing again. Her response "i knew it was painful, but I never thought about that".. I guess its the patient who needs to ask for pain meds before a painful procedure??? shouldnt the staff suggest it knowing its going to be painful????? I wouldnt want anyone to go through pain like that especially if its avoidable. Unfortunately, watching this unfold has made me even more weary & dreading ever having to stay in the hospital.
On the plus side, I met one of her nurses: Vanessa and she was very nice & helpful answering all my questions. she was also patient as Kim texted me her questions & i asked the nurse since kim couldn't talk.