Johan at the ER

If you’re my FB friend or a fellow N@wie, you would have read my post on Monday night about not being able to get some sleep because Johan is sick. I was deathly scared because his temperature that night shoot up to 38.9 degrees and he vomited thrice. I stood vigil beside his crib watching over him and I pinged hubby on yahoo messenger asking him to file for a leave the next day because we need to bring Johan to the hospital.

I was finally able to drowse off at 1:30 am when I put Johan to bed beside me but woke up at 3am to Johan’s coughing. It was this time when he vomited the fourth time and we decided to rush to the hospital.

It is just extremely unbelievable how the ER people attended to us. When we entered the door of the ER nobody came over to us, I even had to say excuse me to the resident doctor and to the two nurses who remained chatting. That’s the only time they took notice of us.

After the standard questions, the resident doctor instructed us to proceed to the bed and Johan will be given three doses of Ventolin via nebulizer. The nurse who assisted us insisted on putting an oxygen hose in Johan’s nose. Anybody ever experienced this? Is this the norm or standard procedure even if the patient is a baby? I just find it odd to put an oxygen hose to a baby’s nose, how the hell will you be able to keep it attached to the nose without the baby pulling it away? We asked for an oxygen mask but the nurse said the hose is the one that he was instructed to provide. Wth?!

The effin oxygen hose that we weren’t able to use but still had to pay 500 pesos for

We waited and waited for the nebulizer to arrive. It was more than 30 minutes after when it did and Johan already fell asleep. Another irritating nurse insisted on putting the mask on to the already sleeping baby’s face. Not surprisingly, Johan woke up and cried and all the while the nurse still kept on putting the mask on Johan. Hubby got mad already and told the nurse to stop it because it’s only doing more harm than good to Johan. His crying made his breathing more labored and he vomited again. I even asked the nurse to just let me hold the mask over Johan’s nose, he’ll still be getting the vapors from the nebulizer anyway but the nurse didn’t give it to me even saying “you do not know how”, turned around and left. To somebody who’s had asthma for years and to a mom who’s had barely two hours of sleep, that statement and attitude just got me so mad. I wanted to pull that nurse’s hair very badly.

The nebulizer which we weren’t able to use as well but had to pay 200 pesos for

Since, we feel Johan is a bit better, hubby and I decided to leave the hospital and just bring Johan home so he can rest more. We think he’s getting more stressed in the hospital environment so we asked to be discharged. I had to argue still for the two doses of Ventolin that remained sealed but we were asked to pay for. I already agreed to pay for the oxygen and the opened yet unused ventolin vial, asking to pay for the sealed ones is too much. In the end, we shelled out almost 800 pesos for an hour and a half of ER stay without having anything administered to Johan. Great service, really!

I am so not going back to that hospital. For a hospital that says this on their website: “The Hospital is committed to the provision of patient – centered quality, holistic and compassionate care".” – you might want to teach the meaning of quality care and compassion to your ER attendants.

For those living in the south, specifically near Dasmarinas, Cavite, can you please suggest a hospital and pediatrician that gives utmost quality care to their patients?  And please do not even suggest the hospital bearing the name of the Archers if you don’t want an arrow coming your way. =)

Johan sleeping on the ER bed

Unfavorable ER Experience

I was supposed to return to work Monday night. I got the thumbs up from my OB Gyn's reliever last Saturday. That is before I had an asthma attack come Monday morning.

I woke up at around 9am wheezing already. I puffed Seretide twice hoping that I'll feel better soon. After 30 mins to an hour, I felt very weak already. Just near to collapsing. I guess it's the heat that triggered it. 

Good thing, hubby is still at home and we immediately went to the ER of the Chinese General Hospital. I even lost consciousness on the way there.

ER stands to Emergency Room, isn't it? But, why do the nurses move so slowly while we were there? It was pretty obvious that I'm having difficulty in breathing and I appear to be very weak leaning on hubby for support. I can't even hold the water bottle that I brought with me.

Finally, we were ushered inside and I was asked to sit down to have my oxygen level monitored. The nurse even had the guts to tell me, "Idiretso mo ung daliri mo natatanggal eh." Can't you see that I can't even move an inch and you blame me for a defective machine whose finger probe is loose and was just being held with the use of a medical tape?!

I was seen by an OB-GYN, shouldn't I be seen by a Pulmonologist? 

In the end, when I was sure that my vital signs are normal and so are my baby's, I asked to be released. I don't want to be admitted to a hospital like this, I'd rather rest at home.

Before leaving, I asked the OB if I could have a medical certificate so I could have something to show to my employer. Guess who wrote the medical certificate? A pulmonologist who didn't even see me! Isn't that amazing!