silvercanyon7 I am so incredibly sorry about your dad. I hope you can hold onto those beautiful memories of him... he sounds like such a wonderful man. For me, this past Monday, November 11th, marked exactly one month since my mom passed away so suddenly. Honestly, there isn't a single five-minute stretch where she doesn't cross my mind. I was actually just sitting here wondering what I would even do if she were still here right now. It's heavy.
I'm just... I'm so sorry you have to deal with everything going on with your dad. And what you said about the Mayo Clinic? It's honestly the truth. That’s exactly how they wrote off my mom right away, even though she didn't even have cancer. If radiation could have helped him, and that's what they told you... I don't know why he isn't getting it. Maybe it's because of that strike still going on. I've been to several other hospitals in Washington, D.C., but I've truly never experienced such arrogance, or rudeness, or just plain shouting from doctors and staff like we did at the Mayo Clinic during that strike late last September and early October this year when my mom was staying there. I mean, I didn't even realize something like that was possible. Both of my parents are actually doctors—one of them even worked at the Mayo Clinic for a little while—and yet, even the head of vascular surgery was yelling at him, asking what we expected from him. We were just expecting him to help my dear mother with some basic humanity, which is his duty and obligation as a doctor, even if he was also heavily involved in the strike, which really showed in his inhuman behavior.
Is Dad doing any better? I was wondering if they ended up putting that feeding tube in him. Maybe he’ll start feeling a bit more like himself once they finally let him come home.
It’s the same thing with my mom—they actually wrote in her discharge papers that a nasogastric feeding tube was recommended, yet they never even put one in. They just gave her IV fluids once she stopped eating, and honestly, I have no idea if that was even the right call. I just don't trust that hospital at all. My mom was unconscious back then because of sepsis, so I saw everything on that paperwork. Is your dad able to speak or stay conscious? Is he having any trouble breathing? I used to feed my mom myself while she was still in the hospital and able to eat. The food service in these places is just... it's terrible. They rush through it, if they even bother at all. Hang in there. I really don't want to scare you, but based on what you're describing, things don't sound good. How old is your dad? And about that tube—I don't think you can just pick one up at a local pharmacy. One of the biggest issues with critically ill patients is how easily doctors just write them off. At least that's what happened at the Mayo Clinic where my mom was. She didn't even have cancer; it was just an amputation and some other leg issues. Since she was only 68, I'm certain she would have recovered if she'd just had proper nursing care and actual attention from her doctors.
Does anyone here have any experience regarding dialysis being used during sepsis? I’m looking for insight—feel free to DM me if that's easier. I guess I'm wondering when it actually makes sense to attempt dialysis and when it's just... futile. Specifically, does it get used in cases of septic shock, especially if the patient is unconscious and unable to communicate? My mother (who was 68) went through this, so I'm trying to make sense of it all. She wasn't conscious or able to talk, though, on her very last day, she actually managed to lift her hand when I visited her at the hospital. She wasn't even in the ICU, even though I've read everywhere that sepsis should be treated in intensive care. Her breathing was really labored because of the infection. Her CRP levels started dropping once she got the antibiotics; it went from an initial 400 down to 200. In my opinion, maybe she would still be here if they had started dialysis. On her final day, there was a blood clot in her catheter line, which was something she had never dealt with before. Also, her urine output was minimal because her kidneys were failing due to the sepsis. I honestly don't understand why they didn't just remove the urinary catheter once she developed the infection from it. From what I've read since, removing the catheter is such a basic step, and usually, a catheter doesn't lead to life-threatening sepsis in the first place. Not to mention, the sepsis shouldn't have happened at all. She was hospitalized the whole time, and they knew she had a UTI from the catheter, but they seemingly waited to start antibiotics because it was a Sunday—maybe they just weren't in a rush. All of this happened following a below-the-knee amputation, where the wound itself had actually healed fine. She woke up from general anesthesia, was communicating, eating a little bit, and could even sit up in bed. Then, suddenly, she developed sepsis, which I feel was due to inadequate care during a hospital strike.
It was the exact same thing back in 2008 with Marivarin; they pulled it from the market, but they didn't release Martefarin right away. You really don't need to warn me about that. He never actually said this new drug was available immediately. I just assumed he needed the old one urgently.
If you happen to be in the area, maybe try that pharmacy near the Dolac Market upstairs? They used to handle imports from overseas quite often. I remember back in 2008, I had to order Marivarin for my mom because it had been discontinued here, and at that time, the new replacement, Martefarin, hadn't even hit the US market yet. Back then, I think you just needed to show up with your medical history to get things sorted. Another option might be heading over to a pharmacy in a nearby town across the border—we actually managed to get a few boxes of Marivarin through an acquaintance who lived just across the line, and he was kind enough to bring them back when he visited us in the city.
That’s such wonderful news. I’m just... I guess I'm a little confused about the process. How could they have told you it was cancer, only to turn around now and say it isn't? I mean, what were they actually looking at during those initial exams to make that call? Surely they weren't just guessing at that stage.
My dentist always makes sure to include the date on my referrals, which can actually be a bit of a headache. You have to go back and get the referral extended if those thirty days pass. My primary care doctor usually doesn't bother with the date, so I ended up using a referral a whole year later once. Even then, I still had to circle back to my doctor because they rolled out some new billing codes that they started adding directly to the paperwork.
It’s not quite the same situation as yours. Back in 2009, I had this sudden retinal detachment out of nowhere due to some retinal degeneration. It was pretty scary—I had to rush in for emergency laser surgery just to patch things up so the detachment wouldn't spread and I wouldn't lose sight in that eye entirely. Honestly, the team at Mayo Clinic was such a lifesaver; the doctor actually came into the clinic specifically for me that day just to perform the laser procedure. A few days before all that happened, I had gone to see a private specialist, Dr. Vukas, for the exam that people have been mentioning here on the forum... and he completely missed a massive retinal tear. He gave me some really strange explanation for my symptoms, too, which didn't make any sense to me since I follow medical news quite closely. So, I guess I was just incredibly lucky that I sought out a second opinion from a more conscientious, skilled young doctor and that I ended up getting the help I needed at Mayo Clinic. I was only 31 at the time.
Transferring her to the CDC... I mean, the staff at Mount Sinai really should have called the CDC ahead of time and let them know she was coming, especially since Mom was already an inpatient there. But honestly, it felt like they were just too lazy to bother. The doctor on call for vascular surgery that Sunday was just some junior surgeon, not even a resident. Mom had already been on IV antibiotics at the Mount Sinai Medical Center pulmonary ward back in '99 when she dealt with that embolism. So, I guess I just assumed they’d know how to react this time around, even if it was a different department within the same hospital. I didn't even consider the CDC as an option back then. But then, seeing them move her over to hematology, it was obvious they weren't exactly pros at administering antibiotics. They clearly lacked the experience—experience you'd definitely find at the CDC.
It’s not just what you’re saying, though. I think mortality rates actually go up during these strikes, especially over at the Mayo Clinic. There, patients and their families are just sitting there on the wards, waiting right alongside the metal coffins. I remember one time, back when my mom was still healthy enough to run around, I was following behind a casket being wheeled into the nephrology unit where she was staying. It felt like they were stripping away every ounce of human dignity from her during her treatment. The atmosphere was just... incredibly morbid and heavy. It felt less like a hospital meant to help people get better and live their lives, and more like a morgue—just a place for dying.
I haven't seen coffins being moved around other hospitals in Washington, D.C. I assume they handle things differently there, maybe in a way that's actually more humane.
I’m certain—and even my mom’s primary care doctor agrees—that she would still be with us if they had just moved her to the Infectious Disease Hospital immediately. She was in such bad shape, struggling with a really high fever. The staff at Vinogradska Hospital knew she had a urinary tract infection too, but they just sat on it until Monday because apparently, they didn't feel like administering antibiotics on a Sunday. They actually told me there was plenty of time. If she’d been at the Infectious Disease Hospital, they would have acted right away; they specialize exclusively in infectious diseases, so they actually know how to handle a patient presenting with a high fever and a bacterial infection. But over at vascular surgery in Vinogradska? All they knew was how to shamelessly lie and mock a critically ill patient. I just had to sit there and take it because we were waiting for her transfer to hematology. Once she got to hematology, they tried to do something, but even then, they seemed unsure of what steps to take. A colleague of my mom’s who works in microbiology asked me if they had only given her Medazol intravenously. So, it wasn't even an optimal treatment plan... it's obvious they don't know what they're doing or they just lack the necessary experience.
I went to the Community Health Center with my dad. They’re operating as usual, and they're actually against the hospital doctors' strike. They kept asking me how Mom could have passed away so suddenly, especially since she seemed to be recovering quite well during those first few days after her surgery. When I told her primary doctor that Mom died from urosepsis caused by two different bacteria, she just couldn't believe that antibiotics hadn't been administered sooner—because if they had, the sepsis might not have even happened. The surgical team at Vinogradska Hospital knew Mom had a urinary tract infection due to the catheter, but they didn't take any action because it was Sunday and they didn't feel like dealing with it. They basically told me to wait until Monday and not to overreact. Even my GP suggested that Mom should have been transferred to the Infectious Disease Clinic immediately. My own mother was a microbiologist; she spent her entire career working in the building right across from the Infectious Disease Hospital. But in this era of antibiotics, letting sepsis develop at Vinogradska Hospital, followed by septic shock... my mother ended up fighting for every single breath. The doctors there treated it like it was just some routine occurrence; they just told me, "Well, these things happen."
Well, I guess your Rib is definitely a better bet anyway. Honestly, I wouldn't set foot in Vinogradska Hospital as long as I'm breathing. You've still got options like Merkur Basketball Club, Dubrava Basketball Club, or Holy Spirit. There seems to be way less striking going on at those places compared to Vinogradska, where things are just... well, it's a mess there because of the strike. People are really suffering.