Chugging Along

I have been feeling better each day. Tuesday morning was a bit tough. I put Julianna in the car. She threw her sippy cup out. I leaned over to pick it up and got really lightheaded. I grabbed the car door to steady myself and hit myself in the head with it. I now have a laceration and big bump on my forehead. Ugghh.

Other things are better. I had a meeting with some top people at LIJ to talk about what happened with my surgery. They said they dropped the ball. They reported it to NY State as a grievous medical error. They apologized profusely. The medical director said he came in the morning it happened and was informed of it. He said he was told a woman lost a reconstructed breast yet had been complaining to staff all night that it was not right and was not listened to. He said there must be more to it. They did a thorough investigation. He said he was dismayed to find out it did happen.

They told me they are making changes so something like this can't happen again. They are developing a system where a patient or patient's family can call for a rapid response team if they feel they aren't getting the proper care. They are doing more training. These things are great but they don't change my outcome. My chemo was delayed for over a month. I hope that will never be a problem but I will never know. I have a lot more surgery ahead of me that I wouldn't have needed if all went well. The reconstruction will never look right.

So, I am happy that they were open and honest. I am happy that they admitted that they were wrong. This doesn't change what happened, but I hope it can stop it from happening to someone else.