news

Saturday, October 08, 2005

connecticut blogs in the new york times

Hey! WestportNow.com was featured yet again by the New York Times, along with several other Connecticut blogs (not this one, boo hoo). The article appears in the Connecticut section and is titled Dear Blog: It’s Another Day in Connecticut (by Barbara Gordon). I think this article is in the still-free section.

Here is the section about WestportNow.com:

Westportnow.com has become the gold standard in Connecticut for blogs that focus on news and information. It is run by Gordon Joseloff, a journalist who worked for United Press International and CBS, and who said in an interview that he lives off his real estate holdings in Fairfield County because blogs make little to no money.

The blog makes liberal use of photographs of breaking news in Westport. There are images of downed wires, road construction, storm damage and car accidents like one in Westport last summer involving the singer and actress Eartha Kitt and her two toy poodles.

Within a few hours of that crash, photographs showing Ms. Kitt on the ground surrounded by emergency workers, her Range Rover on its roof and her toy poodles held on a leash by her daughter, were posted not on an Associated Press Web site or the local television news, but on Westportnow.com. Employees for The New York Post saw the posting, acquired the pictures and published them in the next day’s editions.

To get that kind of image, Mr. Joseloff has cultivated the good graces of stay-at-home mothers, retirees, students, aspiring photographers and anybody else with a camera and a willingness to take rudimentary instruction in shooting pictures.

Mr. Joseloff has come to know what writing a successful blog feels like. But he is also running as the Democratic candidate for first selectman of Westport, and Westporters have let him know they are concerned about the future of the blog if he wins.

Mr. Joseloff related a conversation he had with a Westportnow reader recently.

“Gordon, any bozo can run Westport,” the reader said to him. “But only you can do Westportnow.”

There are also a lot of links to other CT blogs that I wasn’t aware of, particularly a collection of CT blog feed put together and maintained by Tom Fausel, who lives in Harwinton (which is in Litchfield County, near Torrington—a gorgeous area in the state). This blog of blogs is www.ctweblogs.com (you have to use the www to get there). Oh cool, so many places to explore ...

posted by lee on 10/08/05 at 09:10 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Monday, September 26, 2005

not one, but two new sites

So busy that only yesterday was I able to look through all the email that’s been accumulating. Yesterday, Stanley and I took a break. I wanted some good apples and he wanted an apple pie, so we went to Silverman’s Farm in Easton. It was busy busy busy—but not as busy as I’ve seen it before. Probably because the leaves haven’t turned yet. At any rate, we got apples, cider, and Stanley got his pie.

Sad thing about the pie, though. It was marked “apple,” but it turned out to be a peach pie. Stanley was disappointed—nothing like setting your mind on a piece of hot apple pie and having your tongue burned on a piece of peach. But, he said, “I’ll just have to eat this anyway [sigh] ... ” (He gave me a bite—it’s pretty good pie.)

Then we stopped at Balducci’s for some decent cheese. We’ve been working so hard we decided to indulge ourselves a little. Heck, maybe we’ll win the Powerball next week (yeah right).

SO WHAT"S BEEN KEEPING US SO BUSY?

footnote journal We launched TWO websites last week! First to get launched was Footnote Journal. Footnote Journal publishes a database of information gleaned from the footnotes of 10K filings (annual reports filed with the SEC), in this case, focusing on tax and pension information. The editors compiled this information for 900 publicly traded companies and are offering it as a standalone product or a two-year subscription.

The editors of Footnote Journal wanted a very simple ecommerce solution—and they didn’t want it to be PayPal as they believed it would not be as appealing to their high-end clients as one with that isn’t generally associated with eBay. The toughest part of the whole project was finding a merchant account provider that would accept digital goods as the product. It may have been easier if the editors were going to provide the product on a CD or something more tangible (to the merchant account providers, that is!), but the whole idea is to provide clients with the information they need as quickly as possible and you can’t get much faster than pay and download. The logo was designed by Victoria Chave of Chave Design (New Haven).

Rarities Fashion Launch number two was Rarities Fashion, a site which sells women’s silk, taffeta, and velvet apparel and accessories hand made in Vietnam. The owner discovered beautiful clothes made in Vietnam when she traveled to Hanoi to perform in a concert. Eventually, she decided to make them available to women in the United States by launching a website.

More "not one, but two new sites"

posted by lee on 09/26/05 at 12:16 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Monday, September 19, 2005

pascagoula, miss.

Dan Goodgame wrote a special report on the Katrina aftermath of his hometown Pascagoula, Mississippi, published on WestportNow.com (Goodgame now lives in Westport, CT). Complete with horrific pictures of the damage.

Goodgame went down to Pascagoula to help his mother and other family members begin the process of cleaning up. Much of Pascagoula suffered significant or complete destruction after it was hit by a 20-foot tidal surge. Goodgame writes about what residents there are doing and lists the supplies and skills that they desperately need, from cleaning supplies and tarps and gift cards to people who know how to put up drywall. I would imagine this list is the same or similar to all of the Gulf towns and cities hit by Katrina.

I have been wondering what’s been going on in the towns other than New Orleans, how they fared, how they’re coping, what they need. It’s sad that there isn’t better news. I don’t think we’ll know the true extent, physical and economic, of the damage Katrina wreaked for a couple of years.

Oh, please, I hope Rita fizzles out.

posted by lee on 09/19/05 at 07:17 AM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Monday, July 04, 2005

gordon’s campaign; thoughts on sherwood island

Gordon Joseloff, founder of WestportNow.com and a client, is running for first selectman of the Town of Westport, CT. First selectman is the equivalent of mayor. We recently put up a website for Gordon and his running made, Shelly Kassen, at www.joseloffkassen.com.

Gordon also launched a candidate blog, Gordon’s Journal. Even though it just launched, it’s already interesting. A recent entry provides the details behind the “Sherwood Island has no lifeguards” controversy, and why Governor Rell’s response is inadequate.

Sherwood Island is a CT state park located in Westport. I think it might be safe to say it gets more visitors than any other CT state park because every summer the families from New York City and Westchester County descend upon it. Though the crowds haven’t been as rowdy since the state banned alcohol, it can get very wild there on the weekends—not in a bad way, just a lot of people having fun. During the rest of the year it’s very quiet there—most of the visitors are dogwalkers, joggers, and hookers giving their johns a quickie in the parking lot or the pavillion.

It’s a beautiful park, despite the way the so-called landscaping where they ripped out the gorgeous beach roses and the pointless and ugly Sept. 11 memorial that ruined the point. There are paths where you can walk to see the birds in the salt marshes that surround the park, and even a little nature center that’s open once in a blue moon, and nice bathhouses. Plus you can often watch the model airplanes flying off on the other side of the big parking lot. And it’s a great place to fly a kit since the breeze from the Sound is just right on most days. We try to spend a lot of time there between September 30 and May 1.

So I hope they get the lifeguard problem figured out. In this state, a “solution” to problems is often to just close the place, and we’d really miss our off-season meanders with Ginger. Maybe Westport can offer or subsidize EMT training for the lifeguards recently hired on, or donate some of the missing equipment. Seems like a saner solution that waiting for the State to come through with what’s needed.

posted by lee on 07/04/05 at 10:25 AM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

council passes anti-patriot act resolution

We (Stanley, Alice, and I) showed up at the Norwalk Common Council chambers at about 7:45 Tuesday evening. We were there until nearly 2:00 Wednesday morning. There were three resolutions before the Council that, combined, packed the audience. They moved the meeting from chambers to the Concert Hall because so many people showed up.

I think it’s a pretty strange procedure to have speakers all line up and speak out about resolutions before anybody even knows what the resolutions are. The way it’s all a mish-mash makes no sense—speakers who had no intention of speaking to any resolution but the one they were interested digressed to encompass the other resolutions, it was bizarro-land, for the most part. Seems a more logical procedure would be to present the resolution, ask for speakers, debate it, then vote on it and then go on to the next resolution.

There were some good speeches on all sides of all the issues. A couple orators I would like to listen to for more than the allotted three minutes. And there was stuff I wanted to say, but decided to just shut up and not add to the listening load, especially since a couple of the speakers presented my issues more eloquently than I ever could.

The first resolution had to do with the Council urging the Mayor Knopp to get off his ass about the firefighters’ contract, or lack of one I should say. They’ve been working without a contract (or raise) for three years. It’s now in binding arbitration. The mayor said, in a pre-vote speech that went on interminably, cycling the same points as if repetition would make it more believable (a Bushie tactic), that the union had canceled some of the more recent negotiation sessions. Like two or three since April. But didn’t get into why it had even dragged into April 2005 to begin with. The Council amended the resolution to call on the mayor AND the union to get on with it—rendering it pure even more meaningless mush. The firefighters walked out in disgust. I don’t blame them.

More "council passes anti-patriot act resolution"

posted by lee on 06/15/05 at 09:35 AM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Sunday, June 12, 2005

neighbors take on travesty known as patriot act

On Tuesday, June 14th, the Common Council will be asked to pass a resolution:

To: The Mayor and Common Council of Norwalk

Whereas multiple provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional and dangerous to the legal rights of Norwalkers and all Americans in that they allow authorities to:

1.Search A Private Home Without Notifying The Owner (section 213),

2. Collect Information About What Books We Read, What We Study, What We Purchase, Our Medical History, And Our Personal Finances (section 215),

3. Label One A “Terrorist” For Belonging To An Activist Group (sections 411 and 802),

4. Monitor Our E-Mails And Watch What Internet Sites We Visit (216),

5. Confiscate or Impound Our Property Without A Hearing (section 806),

6. Spy On Innocent Americans (204 and 901),

7. Jail Targeted Immigrants Indefinitely (412), and

8. Wiretap Citizens Under A Warrant That Does Not Even Contain Their Name (216).

We Citizens of Norwalk Petition the Mayor and The Common Council Of The City Of Norwalk, to:

1. Inform the White House and our elected federal representatives of our objections to these provisions and seek their repeal and specifically that the Common Council President transmit as soon as possible a copy of this resolution to Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman, and Representative Christopher Shays, accompanied by a letter urging them to support Congressional efforts to assess the impacts of the PATRIOT Act, monitor federal anti-terrorism tactics, repeal provisions of the USA PATRIOT ACT and other laws and regulations that infringe on civil rights and liberties, ensure that provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act “sunset” in accordance with the provisions of the Act and prevent passage of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, known as “Patriot II.”

2. Instruct all departments of the city of Norwalk to refuse to comply with any provisions of the law found to be unconstitutional by the City’s Law Department, and

3. To notify all appropriate state and federal enforcement agencies of the City’s position of noncompliance.

Norwalk residents are being asked to sign this petition online—go to http://www.petitiononline.com/norwalkp/petition.html. It’s easy.

This resolution is being sponsored by council members Carvin Hilliard, Bruce Kimmel, Bill Krummel, and Peter Wien. (Though word is that Bill Krummel won’t be there to vote on this resolution.) It is supposed to be a bipartisan deal, since the Patriot Act tramples on everyone’s rights, dem, republicans, independents, non-voters—everyone.

In addition to signing the resolution, NEIGHBORS (Norwalkers Engaged In Giving Hope to the Bill of Rights) Freedom Committee (organized by Paul Cantor) is urging supporters to show up at the council meeting on Tuesday as a show of strong support, and sign up to speak in favor of the resolution.

This afternoon, Stanley and I went to the NEIGHBORS meeting to find out what is going on. We already signed the petition, and wanted to find out what else we could do in addition to showing up at the Council meeting on Tuesday (we’ll be there). Not much, as it turns out, except get people to show up and sign up to speak. So we will.

We were informed that there is “powerful opposition” to the resolution by “people with influence,” mainly because of parts 2 and 3 of the resolution. The council member who is one of the presenters of the resolution, Bruce Kimmel, said, in essence, that if he doesn’t think the resolution would pass unless provisions 2 and 3 are dumped (which he apparently already decided is the case), he would cut them when the Democrats have their closed caucus on Monday. He’s decided that it’s better to pass just section one than nothing at all. Some people agree. Others, like me, think this is the typical kind of namby-pamby nonsense that lost two presidential elections.

And, we learned, there’s not a thing we can do if the Dems decide to drop 2 and 3 unless we show up in force and insist that they be put back in (and even then, who knows?)

He also said, when I asked him about why he would de-fang the resolution (which, without teeth, I think is an exercise in futility—though I hope I’m wrong), that he didn’t care what I thought. Guess he’s too powerful to care about what mere citizens think. And he said this without knowing who I am. He said that he has to play politics with this because he’s up for reelection in November.

What shocked many of the people at this meeting was that the Dems have this closed meeting to decide what gets on the agenda, even though they’ve already got the resolution petition circulating for signature. We won’t know what the resolution actually says until we show up on Tuesday—though Kimmel did assure us that it will really, truly be on the agenda. Though we don’t know in what form.

So, bottom line: sign the petition, show up Tuesday to show your support, and call and write to the members of the council and let them know what you think. In particular, write to the dems to let them know they should present the resolution as it stands.

Council Members At-Large
Representing all residents of Norwalk
Kenneth Baker D 838-5457 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Matthew T. Miklave D 852-7051 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jeanette Olmstead-Sawyer D 845-7949 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Douglas Sutton D 846-9862 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Michael W. Coffey D 849-9404 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Council Members in District A
Representing residents of Central Norwalk
Peter Wien D 838-2806 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Richard A. Mcquaid R 838-0454 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Council Members in District B
Representing residents of South Norwalk
Carvin J. Hillard D 866-4284 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Leona Williams D 831-0356 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Council Members in District C
Representing residents of East Norwalk (our district)
Fred Bondi (Majority Leader) D 853-0793 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Kevin Poruban D 838-4862 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Council Members in District D
Representing residents of Northern Norwalk , Cranbury and Silvermine
Bruce Kimmel (Council President) D 847-2301 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Douglas E. Hempstead (Minority Leader) R 846-1054 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Council Members in District E
Representing residents of HarborView, Village Creek, Rowayton, Brookside and West Norwalk
Betsy Bain D 838-1109 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
William Krummel D 853-7147 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

UPDATE: Here is a link to resolutions pending in Fairfield County (thanks, Alice!) http://www.ctgreens.org/fairfield/Coalition.htm

Here are some resolutions passed by other CT towns:

More "neighbors take on travesty known as patriot act"

posted by lee on 06/12/05 at 03:54 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Sunday, May 22, 2005

an amazing city

We’re in Washington DC, and I’m going to write this quickly since I am using a stolen wireless connection that keeps dropping out (I don’t really want to go down to the lobby for a better one—it’s late). The only traffic we really ran into was a mess on 287 just past Nyack, which, of course, backed everything up to the Merritt. But it was mostly smooth sailing after that.

We found Hotel Harrington without much trouble—they give good driving directions on their website. The rooms are miniscule, kind of like the rooms at the Waldorf Astoria, meaning very old but clean, just about big enough for a bed and a bathroom so small it requires the same care you’d take if you were on a ship. A decent cafeteria (The Blue Plate). Really close to just about every place you’d want to go in DC. The bed is comfortable.

First night, we wandered over the see the White House, which was amazing. We had to work our way around miles of berms and barriers, but we got to see the back of the White House, the Treasury Building, and then around to the front of the WH across from Lafayette Park.

Today we went on not one, but two, tours. The trolley tour took us everywhere, from Union Station to Georgetown and the National Cathedral to everything along the National Mall ... we heard about or saw just about all the major spots. We went to the house where President Lincoln died, the across to the Ford Theater, which was closing so we’ll try to get back there soon. In the evening, we did the Monuments by Moonlight tour—or whatever the Gray Line calls it. We had a wonderful tour guide, Art Engram. We got out at the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial (which is also the stop for the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial), and the Iwo Jima monument next to Arlingtion National Cemetary. The FDR Memorial was amazing. The Korean War Memorial was very, very eerie, particularly in the moonlight. We didn’t have enough time to see the Vietnam Memorial or the WWII Memorial: those are on our plate for tomorrow or Tuesday.

I know, breathe.

The Chinese Embassy was the second-most depressing thing we saw—what a horrible, ugly building for representing a country and culture that has been a symbol of such beauty over centuries. The most depressing thing we saw was how they’ve torn up all of the beautiful lawns surrounding the Washington Monument—they’ve ripped it to shreds because they’re putting up some security wall or something. There are security berms and barriers and barricades all over the place, all in the name of Homeland Security, but it’s all such bullshit and such a monumental waste of money (pun intended). It’s all so unnecessary and makes it look like we’ve already lost the war on terror, whatever the hell that is.

But, the monuments still move me to tears, just like the did when I first saw them some 35 years ago. No amount of government assininity will be able to do away with their power. Stanley wonders if Bushie ever visited any of these places.

Tomorrow we have the Duck Tour and the Capitol and the National Museum of Natural History on our list. Tuesday, the monuments we didn’t get to see yet (WWII and Vietnam). If we can get into the National Archives, that would be great, too, so we can see the Constitution before the current Administration tears it into shreds. (The lines are very long—even on a Sunday!)

We are well on the way to completing our American Haj.

posted by lee on 05/22/05 at 09:32 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Thursday, March 17, 2005

he’s home

We were on I-95 heading home at 7:00 pm. He’s home. Finally! Stanley was in the hospital longer from the complications than he was in hospital for the operation.

Tomorrow we have a long list of things to get squared away: getting things going with the visiting nurse, who will be changing Stanley’s dressings and administering the IV antibiotics; going to get his Coumadin level test over at Qwest; calling the surgeon’s office and getting all the appointments we have to keep set up (with Dr. Infectious Diseases, with the surgeon, etc.); finding out if S’s cardiologist will be following the Coumadin or his internist (the orders were written for the internist to follow it, but that’s weird so we have to find out if it’s what Dr. Robinson wants or if it’s an error from picking up the wrong doc’s name on the chart ... ) There’s more, but I don’t want to think any more about it tonight.

I am so tired I’m numb. Stanley is doing so much better, but is still feeling very weak and is also exhausted. At least he will be able to sleep without getting awakened for vitals, or by noises in the hall or staff laughing or talking loud. He’s still very binary.

More tomorrow—just too tired to organize my thoughts right now. And thank you so much to everyone—don’t know how we’d get through it all without your kindness and support.

posted by lee on 03/17/05 at 08:07 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

chest tube is out, progressing nicely

Stanley on the ides of march 2005

Wonder when hospital “designers” will realize that bilious green is not a color conducive to making people feel better?

Anyway, Stanley’s chest tube was removed and he is in his 24-hour observation period. Thursday morning he gets yet another chest Xray, and they are going to ~~install~~ insert a PIC (Percutaneous Intravenous Catheter) line, which has to be done in radiology because it has to be threaded up the vein until the tip reaches the large veins inside the chest. The PIC line is so S can take antibiotics intravenously for six weeks—with a PIC line, he can do it at home. One side benefit is blood can be drawn from the PIC line. Stanley has so many holes from all the needles and the tubes it will probably be a relief for him not to have any more blood drawn via stabbing or puncture.

He is feeling much better. He can breathe, and the left lung cavity is drained though there is a lot of gunk inside the lung that still has to be expelled (via coughing, using the breath machine, breathing exercises, and walking). The Coumadin level is back at a rational number, though they decided to skip it Wednesday night because of the PIC line procedure. Guess they don’t want blood spurting out all over radiology without being able to staunch it.

S received more CheerGrams and just loved reading them. George stopped by again, and Jeff (who appeared as if by magic just when I needed a sanity check and help sorting out my questions), and lots of phone calls. Thank you, thank you!

Dr. Robinson, making rounds this morning, asked Stanley about why I was upset. Stanley explained that I need to be kept informed about what is going on. Dr. R. told Stanley to ask me to call him so he could talk to me about what’s going on, adding (Stanley says tongue-in-cheek) that he can’t have me terrorizing his staff.

So, in the early afternoon, I called his office and he asked me to stop up so he could talk to me between appointments. We met in this huge, well, boardroom it looked like, huge mahogany table, leather chairs, bookshelves lining the walls. Looks like it cost more to outfit than I make in two years.

He asked what I wanted to know, and I whipped out my list. He said he was between patients, so I tried to limit the list to the most important things to me, but he insisted that I go through it all, get it all off my mind. So I did. A brief mention of how Ryan blew the conversation last night, then I asked about missing 12 hours of antibiotics. R said S had so many antibiotics in him that they’d stick around for 12 hours. I don’t believe this, but I moved on (pointless to dwell on it since the new treatment started). I asked why S was put back on Coumadin if that’s what caused the lung crisis to begin with. R said it was for six weeks only, and therefore just two more weeks or so. I told him I was damned unhappy with how his Coumadin was managed, which was NOT managed, for it to hit 5, aka life-threatening. He agrees that it now has to be managed much more carefully since S is very sensitive to it.

I told him about my concerns when S is released—I don’t want to keep playing dial-the-doctor and cross my fingers, and how frustrated I was that we kept asking for help with the breathing and got nowhere. He said he focused so much on the infection he missed the lung problem. I asked what we were supposed to watch for to guard against it getting so bad again. Mainly having trouble breathing again.

I asked why S is on Zocor, when his cholesterol level isn’t that high and was probably, by now, well below 200. He said something about young guys with a blocked artery probably have problems with cholesterol, and at any rate, he prefers that S’s cardiologist decide yea or nay on Zocor. Fair enough.

I also mentioned the weirdness Stanley has been having with his eyes, but he said S hadn’t mentioned it during rounds. (Let’s see, the posse walks in when S is sound asleep, loaded with pain meds and still in pain, groggy, and he’s supposed to remember this?) R asked me to have S mention it tomorrow. (So I drew a big picture of an eye and Stanley taped it to his table, where he keeps his eyeglasses.)

We talked about a couple more things. Dr. Robinson listened to everything, answered my questions (or, in some cases, didn’t really answer them because there are no answers yet), assured me that all of my concerns will be addressed, asked me to talk to him when stuff is bugging me. Or to PA Dave, whom I trust the most besides Dr. R. I asked R why the nurses couldn’t answer my questions about stuff such as labs. He said because they didn’t know. I asked why they couldn’t look at the chart and give me the answer (I used to work in a hospital and I KNOW what goes into the chart—I had to chart on all my patients daily). He said that wasn’t the job of the nurses—their job, he said, is to administer meds and tend patients. I guess he has a weird idea of what tending patients means and this is reflected in his unit. I suspect he’s never been a patient in hospital, or at least not one where he wasn’t one of the gods. It really bothers me that he considers nurses medbots and not essential members of the team.

But, all in all, I feel much better. I feel like I can insist on and get a detailed, day-by-day treatment plan for when S gets out of the hospital—whom to see, whom to call when this or that happens, our next two or ten appointments, a visiting nurse. I’m hoping I don’t have to bother dealing with Ryan because I don’t trust him. But S should be out of there Thursday or Friday and, I hope, never have to see Richardson 7 again. At least not from the mattress side of the hospital sheets.

It was weird driving home tonight. I noticed the smell of natural gas while going through the western side of Bridgeport on I-95. It was really strong—I knew exactly what it was because I grew up in an area where natural gas is the cheap fuel so most widely used. I didn’t see any reason for it, though, so just held my breath while I got through it. When I got home, they had shut down that section of southbound I-95 due to that leak. I made it through just in the nick of time. Again. Don’t yet know what caused it.

I am so exhausted. But finally back to my more usual optimism.

posted by lee on 03/16/05 at 09:20 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

stanley is doing much better

Stanley had a much better day than he’s had in a long time. They removed the suction from the chest tube so he’s not tethered to the wall anymore. Though lugging a box full of fluid around is not exactly easy, he much prefers going into the bathroom to take care of things. His coughing is much better. Maybe they will take the chest tube out Wednesday and see how that goes, depends on the Xray results. He’ll be on IV antibiotics for six weeks after discharge. I hope, I really hope, that all goes well and I can bring him home on Thursday or Friday. He’s still in pain when he coughs a lot, and even when he’s not coughing a lot, but has gotten adept by now at making sure the nurses give him his meds in time. His nurse today told him he doesn’t need to take them unless he wants to. He says no more of this pain nonsense—he wants to stay ahead of it. I’ll be glad when he doesn’t need them.

Thank you for the CheerGrams! They do him so much good, he just lights up when the guy from Patient Relations walks in with the purple printouts! George and Claudia visited today, and tomorrow I hope I can bring Helene to visit, and he got a beautiful basket of plants from Ann and Jeff S, with primroses and kalanchoe and ivy and more. Alice calls and keeps him laughing and they compare hospital notes and discuss the differences between Norwalk Hospital and Bridgeport Hospital.

Right now, I’m pretty pissed off. The antibiotic regimen was changed, and Stanley was placed back on Coumadin. Only, nobody told us. Every time I asked a nurse for information such as Stanley’s lab results, I was told either I, or they, have to ask the physician assistant. Which is really bugging the shit out of me—how can we make sure he’s getting what he’s supposed to be getting when he’s supposed to be getting it if we can’t even find out what the hell is supposed to be happening? We found out the antibiotic regimen was changed when I went to ask the nurse because his once-every-four-hours IV was way overdue. And we had to ask the nurse to double check to make sure Stanley was actually supposed to be back on Coumadin.

What is the deal with the nurses not being able to provide us with information? Why can’t I see Stanley’s chart? That’s what I’m going to find out tomorrow morning.

PA Ryan did a really stupid thing tonight. When I asked for him to be paged so he could fill us in on what is supposed to be happening as far as Stanley’s treatment goes and why we weren’t told what is going on, he made some serious patient relations mistakes.

When I asked him how it was ok for Stanley to be off antibiotics for more than 12 hours—especially in light of all the proclamations that the least little bit of infection at this point will undo the surgeon’s handiwork—Ryan didn’t answer me, just said that’s what Infectious Medicine said to do. Infectious Medicine didn’t say anything about that to us when Dr. Lobo examined Stanley. I was there, I would’ve asked him about it.

I then asked PA Ryan (a physician assistant is, from what I can tell, analogous to a field medic in the military—enough training and know-how to do nearly everything an MD can do, but under the supervision of the MD. Not a doctor. In Connecticut, it takes 60 hours of training and a Bachelor’s degree plus passing an exam to be able to practice as a PA. It’s like majoring in doctor the same as one would major in nursing or teaching. Only PAs are required to train constantly in order to keep their certification.) why we were not told of the med changes. He then told me that we did not need to be told about every order written. I asked him why not. I told him that he, PA Dave, Dr. Robinson, Case Manager Tracy, and the nursing manager I met on Monday all assured me that we’d be kept informed of everything. He said, “I promised that?” Yep, you did, I told him.

Then he had the extreme stupidity to tell me that I didn’t need to worry about Stanley’s meds—it was all being taken care of. That’s when I blew—but I didn’t yell or use abusive language, just said, essentially, trusting them the last time led to missed meds ...

How many articles have you read that tell you to double check everything they do in the hospital? Bridgeport Hospital is not even computerized—why the hell would I trust them?

... then I asked him again why we weren’t informed of what’s going on, and why Stanley didn’t get the chest Xray we were told he was to get this afternoon after they removed the suction, and why his IV wasn’t changed when it was supposed to be and why, for god’s sake, do the nurses have to get permission from a PA to tell us our own medical information?

PA Ryan got pretty nasty, and said (paraphrasing here) “Do you expect one of us to tell you every time we write an order?” Me: “Yes. Or if not you, the nurse should tell us. I want to be able to walk on to the unit and ask Stanley’s nurse what in store for today, and I want him or her to be able to tell me. I want to know the results of all the lab tests and what they mean. I want to know what’s going on and what’s going to happen.” This is my right, according to the hospitals own Rights and Responsibilities Statement. Unless is just a bunch of bullshit they print out because they’re required to.

Ryan then tells me to make an appointment with Dr. Robinson to sit down and go over everything. Or to show up when they do rounds. Why can’t I just get this information from the nurse, who has been trained to provide this information to me? (No wonder so many good nurses are leaving, if they’re no longer allowed to do what they are so good at doing, which is caring for the whole patient, why would they stick around?)

Then PA Ryan, who should’ve known better, said, “Why are we talking about a trivial antibiotic change at 11:30 at night? The time I’m taking talking to you about his is time you are taking me away from patients who need my critical care.” Wrongo, buddy boy. That just took extreme frustration and pushed it over to anger. Let’s see, Stanley is no longer close to dying, so he no longer matters? Like PA Ryan had anything to do with it? First he patronizes me, then he gets arrogant on me. Some bedside manner, eh?

Ryan, young though he is, should have had the sense to simply say, “I’m sorry you weren’t told of the changes, this is what’s going on and yes, it’s safe for your husband to be off antibiotics for 12 hours, and I promise I/we will be better at notifying you of changes henceforth.” He could’ve been lying through his teeth (about being sorry and about not doing it again), but it would have appeased me for tonight, taken three minutes instead of ten. Stupid, stupid.

I will tell Dr. Robinson what happened, and the case manager, and the nurse manager, and patient relations and my insurance company (which stresses we should be assertive about our care) if need be. Bottom line is, I want answers when I ask, and I want to know what’s going on without getting bullshit about having to get a PA’s permission before I can be told what’s happening.

I know I am still furious that we couldn’t get the help we needed when we first started asking for it, and that things had to get so bad for Stanley before we could get anyone to listen. I told all this to PA Ryan on Sunday—I’m sure Stanley’s chart is flagged with a message essentially warning staff to watch out for Stanley’s bitch of a wife—though I’ve been very careful to be polite. (And look where that got me.) I just am so tired of begging for help and for answers and I cannot afford to just trust them with Stanley’s care. I might not be able to get anywhere with this, but it won’t be for lack of trying.

Damn it’s been a long day.

posted by lee on 03/15/05 at 10:22 PM
news • (0) comments • permalink

Page 11 of 13 pages « First < 9 10 11 12 13 >

neurotwitch

Other Sites

Said

Search Titles

Good Reads & People

Categories

Monthly Archives

Syndicate