More frustration with the home nursing today. The night nurse that we are trying to get rid of, caused us additional stress last night.
Keeping in mind that it's not personal, we actually like this woman on a personal level, however as far as professionally taking care of our child, now that's a totally different matter altogether.
This particular nurse wears a very strong perfume, and we have asked her on several occasions not to. Realistically speaking, a nurse or doctor should never wear strong smelling perfumes, deodorants or after shaves, as it might cause nausea or irritations. Especially with a child with a tracheotomy, since they do not have a way to filter these fumes and aromas.
Katie also learned last night while feeding Sadbh that this nurse did not understand how to check the suction machine to make sure that the settings were not too strong for an infant.The suction device that we have has a gauge that tops out at 750, for an infant like Sadbh, the maximum setting should be 100, anything over that can cause respiratory distress. This is very easy to check and to reset if necessary.
While Katie was feeding Sadbh during the night, she asked the nurse to assist with suctioning. As the nurse was preparing to suction, Katie asked if the setting was correct, since this is common practice for us every day. First, the nurse couldn't read the setting, and had to go find a flash light to be able to see the gauge. She determined that the setting was at 120 and Katie explained that it had to be reduced to 100. Keep in mind, this is all happening while Sadbh is needing to be suctioned. It was at that point we learned that she was unable to make this adjustment to the machine, and worse, that she was probably using the suction on Sadbh with the higher settings previously through the night.
Needless to say, we had a very frank conversation with the agency today, to find out where we were in the process of replacing this nurse, and the one that we let go from last week. They were very apologetic and will be addressing the perfume, and equipment training issues immediately. Very frustrating to say the least.
Homeopathy as defined by Wikipedia, is a form of alternative medicine in which the patient is treated with highly diluted minerals that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient. Hopefully I haven't lost you after that.
Within the first couple of weeks of Sadbh's life, we experimented with a Homeopathy remedy as suggested by our good friend Dr. Karina Uhl in Germany. We decided to end that treatment after a couple of days, since Sadbh was experiencing respiratory distress and there was so much going on.
Considering that we are now settled in at home, and that Sadbh is quite comfortable and can breathe without the need of supplemental air, we figured it was time to revisit Homeopathy to see if this can assist in her recovery.
Sadbh had an appointment this morning with a Homeopathic Therapist and after reviewing her case, she prescribed Causticum, which is the same remedy that Karina recommended almost three months ago.
Causticum is prepared by taking slaked lime and sulfate of potash and combining them. They are dissolved in purified water, and this solution is then further diluted and then shaken vigorously. What remains contains virtually no traces of the actual mineral.
We are planning on starting this treatment tomorrow and since she is in such better form compared to the last attempt, the hope is that we will be able to observe her reaction and see if there are any benefits to this remedy. It's definitely worth a shot.
Sadbh got to Skype with our friends Kati and Sev in Boston tonight. She was actually sleeping her little head off, so she missed all the excitement. We will have to do it again while she is awake so she can join in on the conversation.
Photos from April 28th: http://www.flickr.com/photos/langer-dan/sets/72157626480935393/
All the best,
Wayne, Katie and Sadbh.
More frustration with the home nursing today. The night nurse that we are trying to get rid of, caused us additional stress last night.
Keeping in mind that it's not personal, we actually like this woman on a personal level, however as far as professionally taking care of our child, now that's a totally different matter altogether.
This particular nurse wears a very strong perfume, and we have asked her on several occasions not to. Realistically speaking, a nurse or doctor should never wear strong smelling perfumes, deodorants or after shaves, as it might cause nausea or irritations. Especially with a child with a tracheotomy, since they do not have a way to filter these fumes and aromas.
Katie also learned last night while feeding Sadbh that this nurse did not understand how to check the suction machine to make sure that the settings were not too strong for an infant.
The suction device that we have has a gauge that tops out at 750, for an infant like Sadbh, the maximum setting should be 100, anything over that can cause respiratory distress. This is very easy to check and to reset if necessary.
While Katie was feeding Sadbh during the night, she asked the nurse to assist with suctioning. As the nurse was preparing to suction, Katie asked if the setting was correct, since this is common practice for us every day. First, the nurse couldn't read the setting, and had to go find a flash light to be able to see the gauge. She determined that the setting was at 120 and Katie explained that it had to be reduced to 100. Keep in mind, this is all happening while Sadbh is needing to be suctioned.
It was at that point we learned that she was unable to make this adjustment to the machine, and worse, that she was probably using the suction on Sadbh with the higher settings previously through the night.
Needless to say, we had a very frank conversation with the agency today, to find out where we were in the process of replacing this nurse, and the one that we let go from last week. They were very apologetic and will be addressing the perfume, and equipment training issues immediately. Very frustrating to say the least.
Homeopathy as defined by Wikipedia, is a form of alternative medicine in which the patient is treated with highly diluted minerals that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient. Hopefully I haven't lost you after that.
Within the first couple of weeks of Sadbh's life, we experimented with a Homeopathy remedy as suggested by our good friend Dr. Karina Uhl in Germany. We decided to end that treatment after a couple of days, since Sadbh was experiencing respiratory distress and there was so much going on.
Considering that we are now settled in at home, and that Sadbh is quite comfortable and can breathe without the need of supplemental air, we figured it was time to revisit Homeopathy to see if this can assist in her recovery.
Sadbh had an appointment this morning with a Homeopathic Therapist and after reviewing her case, she prescribed Causticum, which is the same remedy that Karina recommended almost three months ago.
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