I’m So Pissed I’m Steaming

Last night I smelled something wrong when I went in to check on Al. It smelled highly of urine. I checked the catheter bag and it was empty. With the help of my friend being here we started investigating Al’s body.

His shirt was soaked in urine. I called  Hospice and informed them of the change. They sent a nurse out with the intention of changing the catheter and accessories.  I want to add that I have asked a few times if Hospice could change his catheter more than the normal once a month and they have refused. With the illness attaching itself to the internal tubing. I think it should be changed every two weeks, but it is against policy.When she arrived she did what she needed to do but ran into a snag.

The catheter was stuck inside of Al. Now, I want to back up to a couple of days prior. I had reported to the nurse twice that Al has stated he has to pee but he can’t. I have also said to Hospice that Al has a liquid coming out of the tubing going into his penis that looks exactly like KY Jelly.

Nothing was replied back nor checked into. So I have now come back to last night. The nurse tried and tried to pull the tubing out of Al but the tubing was stuck. She contacted another nurse who said she didn’t know how to  help.

She called another nurse who did come out. Together they pulled the tubing out. There was some bleeding but the nurses repeatedly told me there may be a little bit of bleeding but it would stop by morning.

This morning when Al was checked there was blood running down between the legs. There were blood clots at the top of the tubing. He is still bleeding and complaining of burning. The catheter bag itself, is filled with blood about 250cc.

I immediately called Hospice and asked for a visit. The regular nurse was not in. Another nurse got on the phone and said this was perfectly normal. According to the two nurses that came out last night made comments that in all their years of nursing they had never seen this happen.

The illness of M.S.A. had attached itself to the inner tubing, and so when they tried to remove it through the small opening of Al’s penis it wouldn’t budge without being pulled. So now as it stands, this isn’t the normal day Hospice would come out.

The  nurse said to me on the phone today that if she had to come out it would not be until later this afternoon. Then she said this is so normal that Al could bleed all day today and tomorrow.

I asked her repeatedly where the entrance of the tubing inserted to. I knew  the answer but I wanted to hear hers. She kept saying the tissue. I said what tissue? Where is it going when it is inserted?

She then stated, ” I will have another nurse call you.” I said, ” I asked you where the tubing went into.” ” Into tissue.” In the end she said, ” Well do you need a nurse later this afternoon or maybe you could just keep an eye on it and let us know if you see anything odd.”

End of conversation. No nurse coming. Al bleeding. I am so steaming pissed off I could blow steam out my nose. I can’t even change  Hospice at this point as Al is too close to death for any change.

Here is a clip from a web page My Health that I am pasting here to let you know I am not just over reacting.

As stated above, trauma is an ever-present facet of catheterization. However, there are rare cases when the catheter has caused some sort of physical damage either because it was too thick or if the balloon was overinflated for an extended period of time. In either cases, contacting your physician as early as possible will allow you to get the condition checked out and fixed.

With regards to an infection, physician attention is critical. The urinary bladder is technically supposed to be a sterile area. If an infection were to occur within it, you will become sick and will need to be put on a course of antibiotics to be treated. The longer a urinary infection remains untreated, the more difficult it will be to remove it. The presence of blood in your catheter bag in tandem with a urinary tract infection will open up a pathway for the bacteria to cross into your bloodstream, so you should contact your doctor immediately when you detect heavy amount of blood in your catheter bag.