Mama Bear

I originally was going to title this Toe to Toe, or No. She. Didn't. LOL Alas, Mama Bear seemed only appropriate.

Cameron was moved right before shift change. Our (day) nurse came in, got Cameron all hooked up, and took his blood sugar (which is to be checked every hour on the hour). She said goodbye and off she went. Then Cameron's doctor came in and I saw the 2 (night) nurses at the nurse station directly outside of Cameron's door. After the doctor left I waited for Cameron's night nurse to come in, introduce her/himself (because there was one female and one male nurse at the station), and then I would get ready to come home. Alas, no nurse.

Cameron was beginning to feel pukey again and have some abdominal pain, so I went to the nurses station to see about getting him some more medicine. Cherry introduced herself as Cameron's nurse. You know those senses that take over? They were already tingling. She was sitting there, just sitting there, doing nothing. Cherry told me he couldn't have more medicine for another 3 hours, but would talk to the doctor about maybe giving him something else. Just then Cameron's heart monitor alarm went off. She came in, checked it, punched in whatever needed to be punched and went back out. No, Hi Cameron, I'm Cherry. NOTHING.

A few minutes later Cameron's IV alarm went off saying he had an occulusion. She came back in, from where she was sitting, checked his IV, punched in whagtever needed to be punched in, and told Cameron to keep his hand a certain way so the occlusion wouldn't happen again.

The heart monitor sounded again 10 minutes later. She came in and silenced it. REALLY? What if it WAS an issue? I didn't say anything, and she went back out to sit where she was sitting.

No joke, just a few minutes later Cameron's IV alarm went off again saying he had an occlusion. She came back in, checked his IV, punched in whatever needed to be punched in, and told Cameron to keep his hand a certain way so the occlusion wouldn't happen again. Not another few minutes later the same alarm went off again and Cameron hadn't moved his hand. Cherry came in, grabbed Cameron's hand and arm, angled it at the most awkward of angles and said, "Cameron if you can't keep your hand like this, I have a board that will do it for you!" DANGER! DANGER! Spidey senses were on overdrive.

Cherry was up anyway, so she decided to do Cameron's 8 pm blood sugar check. She gathered her supplies, cotton ball, blood glucose meter, strips and when she went to scan his ID bravelet, he wasn't wearing it because SHE hadn't retreived it from his file to put it on him. (Note the day nurse just punched in his ID number, which, honestly, super big hassle because that number is huge.) Cherry scanned the bracelt, but didn't put it on Camerno, and threw it on the table. Cameron asked Cherry if he could poke his finger and she said, "Sure. Just don't move that hand." as she pointed to the arm that kept sounding occlusion. Hmmmmmm...Cameron, did you pick that up? He didn't.

She lays all her supplies out on Cameron's bed and Cameron says, "I need an alcohol wipe."

Cherry responds, "We don't use alcohol wipes."

WHAT? Okay, so when Cameron was first diagnosed, we were taught to use antibacterial soap. I could buy stock in it we have so much. We religiously use it, and Cameron washes his hands before taking his blood sugar. HOWEVER ...

I said, "What? You don't use alcohol wipes? We've been here since 2 pm, he's had his blood drawn every hour, and every nurse has wiped his finger with an alcohol wipe. Clearly you can't expect him to get out of this bed, all tied up, and wash his hands at the sink?"

Cherry reached for an alcohol wipe from her scrub top and threw it on the bed. I. Stood. Straight. Up. and behind her. She was shorter than me, which is saying a lot because I'm pretty short, so I could see over her shoulder very clearly.

Cherry opened the alcohol wipe and handed it to Cameron. He proceeds to take said alcohol wipe and rub it inbetween 2 fingers, not ever using his hand that kept sounding the occlusion. Are you with me so far? He used his fingers to rub the alcohol wipe between them. Cherry then hands him the lancet (the device that pokes his finger) and Cameron says, "I can't do this one handed." DING DING DING!

Cherry says, "I'll have to do it then." and takes the lancet from Cameron.

Cherry asks, "Which finger?" Cameron shows her which finger to use and Cherry proceeds to put the lancet in the middle of his finger.

Lesson #2 when Cameron was first diagnosed. You NEVER poke your finger in the middle where all your nerves are. You poke on the sides of your finger.

Cameron hollers, "NOT THERE!" Cherry huffs. Cameron explained calmly, "You can't poke in the middle of the finger that is where my nerves are and it hurts."

Side note: Cameron had already been poked in the middle of the finger today from another nurse, while Cameron wasn't paying attention and dry heaving.

Cherry stomped her foot sideways, huffed, and began to berate my son about how she knows where to poke for a blood draw. I interveined.

Composed, more composed than I expected, I explained, "Look, he's frustrated. I'm frustrated. YOU don't get to be frustrated. (I pointed to Cameron) This child is 1 of 3 and my entire world. He is 10 years old, with a disease no child should have to endure, and the last thing he wants to do is spend the night in a hospital, hooked up to a bunch of monitors, poked and prodded. He didn't ask to get sick. Where is your compassion? This is a PICU floor."

Cherry turned her ENTIRE body and moved toe to toe with me. My ENTIRE body tightened and ...

I. Lost. My. Mind. (a little of my religion too)

I screamed, at a decible I had NEVER imagined my voice could reach, "GET OUT OF THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW." I was like a banchee, and it scared the crap out of me, because that voice was my mother'segg donor's.

Cherry leaned in to me, almost nose to nose. I don't know why she didn't say anything, but Thank. God. She. Didn't. I would have been arrested.

Feeling like I was back in control of myself, I opened my mouth, and scared the crap out of myself for a second time, as my voice was even higher, when I said, "NOW!"

Cherry paused, I am sure she wanted so badly to say something, but then exited the room. I became a puddle of tears. Cameron had seen me at my absolute worse, and don't think I hadn't seen the reaction on his face to my screaming.

Just moments after Cherry exited Cameron's room, the male nurse came running and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

I was shaking, crying, heart palpiatting, and said, "You can keep her out of this room."

The charge nurse came in shortly after. I apologized for my behavior. Let's fcace it, I was on a PICU floor, and the very last thing I would want to do was disturb another patient. I told them EVERYTHING that had happened in the last 75 minutes. The male nurse took a look at Cameron's heart monitor, and fixed it. In less than 15 minutes, Cameron's occlusion was fixed as well. Cherry would have just needed to take out 15 minutes of her sitting on my butt time to fix everything that was putting her in a bad mood that night. I told the charge nurse that I could not leave Cameron in Cherry's care, and that I understood this was a PICU floor with nurse patient ratios, but I wanted Cameron moved. They moved him just a few minutes later.

The charge nurse asked to see our ID bracelets, and ... we weren't wearing them because Cherry hadn't given them to us. I apologized over and over and I apologized again to Amber, his new night nurse. Do you know what Amber told me? "I wish more parents stood up for their patient rights like you." WHAT? WOW!

Do you know what Cameron asked Amber? "She won't come in here and harm me tonight will she?" OMG! My son, the least of his worries, should be of some renegade nurse messing with him. Amber and I calmed him down and explained how that couldn't happen. After Amber left I told Cameron if Cherry darkened his door with anything other than an apology, to scream just like I did. :)

Cameron told me I scared him. I told Cameron I scared myself, but that is what a Mother's love is like. I told him I was a Mama Bear protecting her cub.

When I left the hospital there was road constuction on I-15 and I was all kinds of backwards. I was on the phone with Hubby and the events of the night were still with me, that I was screaming in the phone because I was lost. Finally, when I hit the bed, I laid down to rest my eyes, and my heart beat was irregular. My body was still tight, and I praised God for using on my voice and not my hands.

When I woke up ... I felt good. I felt right. I am ashamed for my actions, but in my heart and soul believe I was right in my response to Cherry the nurse. I believe that if I had seen her acting that way to another patient, I would have interviened by reporting it. Cherry has absolutely no business working on a Peds floor, especially PICU. I reported her.