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by Camelgirl
on Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:27 pm |
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A few years ago I had to have surgery to fix a badly broken finger. I went to a hospital in Texas and they did a great job fixing my finger. After my surgery, my anti sister (God Bless her) would wheel me out to the courtyard every few hours for a smoke. My entire hospital stay was a pleasant experience and I felt that my rights were respected.
Flash forward five years. I started having abdominal pain and I went to a hospital here in NYC. They said I had a gall stone and needed surgery. I signed the paperwork and was taken to a room. A few hours into my stay I started having a nic fit and I asked if I could go out side to smoke. The doctor replied "Of course not! You may not go outside for any reason!" I told that I am claustrophobic and I have serious issues with being confined. They essentially replied "Too bad. There isn't a hospital in this state that would allow you to go outside to smoke."
They then put me on NPO (no food or water) for the next five days. I started to rapid detox off nicotine on the second day and had a horrible claustrophobic freak out. They gave me nicotine gum which only exacerbated my anxiety. Then they just decided to keep me sedated so I wouldn't try to leave. I finally reached the point where I felt like I was in jail and I decided to sign out of the hospital against doctor's orders. They made me speak to a psychiatrist who essentially said that he didn't think I was stable enough to make that decision. I demanded to see another psych. and at least that woman realized that I was just totally wigged out because I was rapid detoxing and I felt I was being held against my will.
Long story short, when the time came for my surgery I had a ct scan and they said "Oh, the gallstone seems to have disappeared...maybe it was just a pill stuck in your gut or something" and they sent me home. They comped my bill because obviously they were totally incompetent and had misdiagnosed me in the first place. Now I very reluctant to go to the ER if I have pain because I just can't go through that experience again. Whatever happened to patients rights? Now I feel that going into the hospital is like going to jail. They are going to force you to quit smoking whether you like it or not. WTF has this world come to? |
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Camelgirl
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by garhkal
on Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:34 pm |
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| I would speak to a lawyer to see if you can get them for negligence. |
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garhkal
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by Camelgirl
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 8:55 am |
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I really wish I could, but I am a college student and don't have that kind of money.
I think the thing that gets me most about the situation is that it appears that hospitals no longer have the patients best interests in mind. Even if they did not allow me to smoke, they should have at least taken my claustrophobia into account. Rather than allowing me to go outside every once in a while or even open a window (which would have kept me calm) they choose instead to sedate me and keep me bedridden for a week.
I just feel that I no longer know what my rights are as a patient. Being unexpectedly forced to quit smoking cold turkey on top of my confinement issues was just a nightmare. I posted this story so that other smokers will hopefully not be bindsided like I was and can at least be prepared to quit smoking if they are hospitalized. |
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Camelgirl
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by seabooty
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:38 am |
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I live in Florida where smoking laws are a lot less exagerated than NY, but in my last bout of hospital stays, (I went to a nearby hospital emergency room where they were total bitches about smoking, then transfered by ambulance to a Catholic hospital). For one thing the ambulance drivers waited for me to have a smoke after they got me out of the hospital, then another before going in to the next hospital.  I had been in a car accident. At the Catholic hosp. there was an outdoor gazebo set up in a garden area for smoking. I was allowed to go out to smoke whenever. I'm not Catholic, but I'll never go to anything but a Cath. hospital again if I can help it. A lot of hospitals have no smoking anywhere not even the parking lot. I guess Catholics believe it's no big deal to smoke. Or maybe they don't feel you should try to control a persons free will.
One thing that sucks about being a kid is that your parents force you to eat your veggies, and you can't have dessert until you finish your dinner. Once you are grown, you can eat dessert before dinner if you want. You get the picture, now that you are all grown up there are "parents" again telling you you have to do as you're told. You no longer have the right to make your own decisions, if smoking is bad for you they will make you do as they see fit. Too bad the sheeple can't see how this is going to backfire in their faces. You know, when the powers that be tell them there will be no dessert, no matter how good they behave, and there will be no barbeques, or firepits, high fat foods will get you a jail term etc. Smokers will be asking them how they like it? Aren't you folks glad you decided to allow your personal lives to be run by a bunch of health freaks, even though you are still dropping like flies because death and desease still exist no matter what the health freaks have done to your freedom of choice?
The only reason wars exist is because somebody wants to be the boss over somebody else and tell them how to live. |
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seabooty
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by 63westonmo
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 10:45 am |
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| It awful what some people will do for the sake of squeezing another dollar out of folks for something the don't even what. When you tell them NO they ought to respect your decision. |
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63westonmo
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by Camelgirl
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:42 pm |
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| Thanks for sharing that seabooty. I'll try to find a catholic hospital outside the city so maybe I will have better luck if I have to go to the ER again. I only have another year here but I can't wait to get out. This city exemplifies the attitude you're talking about and they make a whole lot of money off it to boot. |
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Camelgirl
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by twillercat
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:20 pm |
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| The Catholic hospital in our town bans it not only inside the hospital but outside as well...the entire hospital campus, which is acres huge, is an a/h zone. The nearest public sidewalk is about two blocks away and it's on a major thoroughfare in a bad neighborhood. Nothing like compassion. |
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twillercat
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by garhkal
on Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:35 pm |
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Camelgirl wrote: I really wish I could, but I am a college student and don't have that kind of money.
While i hate most lawyers, many good ones do offer free consultations. And some do work for free (no pay unless they win for you).. |
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garhkal
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by Camelgirl
on Thu Jun 11, 2009 4:53 pm |
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My MIL works in a law firm, so I will ask her about it.  |
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Camelgirl
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by JoshNJ
on Fri Jun 12, 2009 9:00 am |
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Camelgirl wrote: Flash forward five years. I started having abdominal pain and I went to a hospital here in NYC. They said I had a gall stone and needed surgery.
In New York, the statute of limitations for filing a claim for medical malpractice is 2 1/2 years, so depending on when this incident occurred, I would suggest consulting with an attorney sooner than later.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/nycodes/CVP214-ATXCVP0214-A.html |
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JoshNJ
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