Morgan at the Hospital

[Ernie]

Hi everyone,

Morgan is still at the hospital. She had some tests done but they have not found much. The endocrinologist refused to test her catecholamines because they feel that she has nothing wrong with her endocrine system! (They could at least check it out!) Then the neurologist does not want to test her because of "political issues".

Morgan is physically getting worse and no doctors in her area knows how to figure out her case. She is pretty discouraged because she is afraid that no doctor will be able to help her. Yesterday she had tachycardia 12 hours non stop and it made her feel very exhausted. The doctor is suggesting another ablation and a pacemaker. She is seeing the EP tomorrow and will take a decision after. She realizes that she is getting worse in worries what will happen next.

I know how much you care for her and love her.

Ernie

[dawn]

Ernie,

Thank you for the update. Morgan is in my thoughts and prayers daily.

Dawn

[PattiL]

Ernie,

Please tell Morgan that we are all thinking about her if you talk to her again. She will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Patti

[Poohbear]

Thanks for updating us! Please let her know we are thinking of her. Sounds like her experience is frustrating so far.

[steph37822]

oops

[Guest Julia59]

Please tell Morgan i'm praying for her.

I'm sorry she is getting the run around once again----this is so sad to see such ignorance.

I hope she can be helped with nothing too invasive.

Tell her i'm sending hugs her way.

Julie :0)

[JaneEyre9]

I was so much hoping to read better news. I can't believe that an ablation is all they can think of! It's unreal. Thanks for updating us, Ernie. I'll be praying for her.

Kristen

[corina]

Ohhh Morgan, what else can happen to you. I really thought (hoped) that finally you were in good hands. But not. What is left to say else than I?m so very sorry for you.

Thanks a lot for the update Ernie, give Morgan my love and hugs and tell her we are here for her. Would it be possible to send Morgan a card? Just a little idea to give her a lift (as it?s all we can do for her).

Corina

[DancingLight]

Ernie,

I am so grateful that you are keeping in touch with Morgan through this and updating us. I was hoping that her husband or someone would be able to keep us informed and I have been anxious for new...BUT not anxious for the news we have all received.

Will you be talking to Morgan again? Like Corina said, is there something that we could do?

The most I can think of right now...is to please pass our words on to Morgan. To tell her how much we miss Miss Gabby. How much we love her here and her humor, wit, honesty, knowledge and compassion. It's been raining, okay POURING, in her world too much for too long...and I am so hoping for some light for her.

Please tell her how much I care about and love her and how many of us are holding her in our hearts...and have been for a very long time--especially as we have seen her health become increasingly worse. It's so disheartening the quality of medical care she is receiving!

Sending my love to Morgan....

Emily

[Ernie]

Hi,

I gave Morgan your messages and she was very touched.

They don't know if she is leaving today or staying for next week. I will depend on the EP's visit.

Steph, They suggest the ablation and pacemaker because of the non stop tachycardia in any position. It makes her feel very crappy.

Thanks

Ernie

[Aprilmarie52]

earnie, thanks for keeping us updated on morgan. You are sweet to do that. My thoughts and prayers will be with her.

[Poohbear]

I don't know if this is an option for Morgan, but at this point, since she is in the hospital....I wonder if she can request her Dr to call the Mayo clinic and tell them they've got her in the hospital and he needs their input regarding the EP study and surgery.

I am so afraid that if they do ablation she will get worse instead of better.

It might be good if she could get the "experts" opinion and Mayo may take her since she's in the hospital.

[Sunfish]

ernie -

thanks so much for updating us, although like everyone else i of course wish it was better news. ggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. i am SO frustrated for morgan. sending love & thoughts & prayers & hugs & anything else that could possibly help (a kick in some of the doctors' behinds perhaps?) her way,

melissa

[goldicedance]

Ernie...Please tell Morgan that I am with her all the way and am praying that she gets some positive results that will make her feel better.

I think that she should ask for another endocrinologist to run the test. Forget the politics stuff. That is between her doctor and the endocrinologist. And, frankly, if she gets another endocrinologist, the politics might go away. Her well-being is more important than politics.

As Morgan knows, I was the victim of a botched sinus node ablation back in 1996. I still got tachycardia but, as a present, got bradycardia--so I needed a pacemaker. Later, I got this strange tachycardia-junctional--so it was back for an AV node ablation and now I am 100% paced.

Also, please tell her that Carrie the Westie sends her hugs, kisses, and slurps!

[Roselover]

Ernie, thank you from me too, for updating us. I am so sad for Morgan. Please give her our love and tell her we're behind her all the way.

Love Roselover

[dizzygirl]

ernie..

thank you so much for giving us an update on Morgan..I have been thinking of her and wondering how she was doing..

I am deeply saddened by how she is being treated.. it is just so wrong!!

please send her best wishes from me.. and some hugs too

[yogini]

Yikes, the "A word" scares the heck out of me, especially given Morgan's prior ablation. She is in my thoughts. I really wish they could find a medicine to treat the tachycardia. I like the idea of calling the Mayo Clinic. Ernie, thanks for the update, keep us posted.

[MightyMouse]

I'm a little late here chiming in. I'm so horrified at the endocrinologist's insistence that she's got nothing wrong with her endocrine system. Ernie, if you talk to Morgan, you may want to tell her that she can get the hospital's patient advocate involved as this would seem to be a failure of the system's basic "duty of care" and "standard of care" -- basically according to the law, "what would a reasonable person do given that situation?" I can't fathom why a 12 hour run of tachy could not have an endocrine cause? What about pheo?? My goodness, it's such an exercise in frustration.

Frankly, it's disappointing that Morgan's other doc ins't willing to deal with the political ramifications of being pushy. Guess what, if she ends up passing away from an endocrine problem, that's called medical negligence... GRrrrrrr.

Morgan, I'm sending you my best. I hope you can find it in you, or your husband can fight on your behalf.

Nina

[morgan617]

Hi everybody, I'm home and darn glad to be here! Thank you all soooo much for your thoughts and prayers. I am so tired so I am going to be brief and will write more later.

The nueros wouldn't come see me because of "politics" ie., they don't like the hospital I was in, so there. What a bunch of babies. The endo totally blew me off. They did one more cortisol stim test which was okay because I was in the middle of a paralyzing syncope when they drew it, which was right after one of my episodes. When I was having the 12 hours of tachy. On one episode the nurse said my pulse was 40, but someone had shut off my telemetry and forgot to turn it back on so there is no documentation.

I had tons of lab work, my ana is elevated as is my white count. However they are not elevated enough. My potassium was low so I got one dose. My bp went from 177/115 to 94/50, but they said I shouldn't feel crappy from that.

The eps came in today and is looking at my old ablation records. I have an appt in a couple weeks, but he does NOT want to ablate. He says people with my problems are way too unpredictable.

Today 3 psychs came in and had me babbling about stuff, then left. I asked the head guy if he thought I was crazy and he said no he didn't believe my problems had a psych component. But said he was coming back to see me later. Well I had a fainty. (this is where I suddenly go completely flaccid, am unable to move or talk, my bp sky rockets, my heart rate goes to about 180 or so and my eyes jerk uncontollably. They last about 15 minutes or so, then slowly things come back, every time they have drawn blood with these my K+ is low) The aide came in and was chatting and of course I couldn't respond and she asked me if I was okay, and when I didn't answer, she said to just her know if I needed anything and walked out. The next person to walk in was the shrink. He was talking. I can understand everything being said to me, I just am unable to respond. He said my name a few times and asked what was wrong. He then went out and got the resident writing up my discharge papers, and she came in. They were talking about how high my bp was and how fast my pulse was. He picked up my arm and it fell flaccid. She went out and he said he was going to count to 3 and when he reached 3 I was going to relax and be fine. By then I was coming around and was able to say I'm okay.

So then he starts this hocus pocus, what were you thinking about before the episode, what have you been streesing about today, blah blah. I said I was thinking about getting up to pee, but when I sat up, I realized it was not a good idea and laid back down. But what was I stressing about? NOTHING... So he said because of my speech pattern he is convinced I definately have a real psych problem and he would like to see me and help me. I said who would put themselves and their family through this intentionally and he said, well you don't do it on purpose. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH

I asked for potassium, they drew a level, it was low and so they gave me some. He told the resident they should probably rule out seizures of some sort, but I had childhood issues I needed to deal with..AAARRRGGGHHH Deal with this #$@^%

So in one hour he diagnosed me, it is going in the chart which will go to any other docs I see. So I am just a crazy girl with childhood issues looking for attention, after 4 days in the hospital. I guess this is longer than brief, but there you go. He gave me his card and I wanted to stick it where the sun don't shine, but I am nicer than that.....Then I came home after getting 40 meq of potassium. Now I am really tired. Oh they also let my hep lock get infected, because they refused to take it out. It was all great.....morgan

[Sunfish]

MORGAN!!! i haven't even read your post yet but just wanted to say welcome home b/c i was so glad to see you online....i'll read/write more later but i hope you get some good rest in your OWN bed tonight.

melissa

Edited September 17, 2005 by Sunfish

[MightyMouse]

Morgan, it's hard to believe things could get worse for you, but there you are. now cut out all that attention getting behavior and snap to it missy!

I think you need to move somewhere that has a decent set of medical professionals for you to see. Holy smokes I just want to jump through my computer screen and commit some felonies. I'm thinking you've now found the cure for my malaise and nausea. It's a pure adrenaline rage. Of course in about an hour I'll be sleeping, so I'll get mad again for you when I wake up. And, even better, because my cognitive skills are declining, it'll be all new and fresh to me, as if it were the frist time I was reading your post.

Not sure what else to do to help other than my very twisted humor.

nina

[morgan617]

p.s. When I told them I was having a lot of arrythmias and I seem to do that when my K+ is low, the shrink said, so the crux of this is, you don't want to go home today because you are afraid of your arrythmias.....doesn't it just get better.....

[Sunfish]

morgan -

gggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. i don't know what else to say. i am SO angry & that doesn't even begin to cover it. i could easily join nina in the commiting of some felonies (although i don't know how far either of us would make it in doing so at the moment....at the very least we definitely wouldn't have an affective get away!)

i really don't know what else to say. there are other options out there somewhere but i don't see how you can be feeling anything but completely cut off from them right now. and i have no clue where or what the options are. sadly enough your story reminds me WAY too much of a hospital stay i had at a "top hospital" wherein they wouldn't even call docs that had treated me b/c they were in a diff department (but they sure would call psych, even though that too was a diff department). ironically i had major potassium issues at the time too...

i may have something more tomorrow but i had to write something now. i am SOOOOO SOOOOOOO sorry morganmyfriend. i was hoping & praying so hard that at least SOMETHING positive would come of your visit. i couldn't have even imagined....

melissa

[KathyP]

Dear Morgan;

First of all let me say, I am glad that you are home!! OMG, the ordeal you went through was unexcusable! I have worked in the medical field for several years and have never heard of such horrible treatment. Talk about a BREACH OF ETHICS! To me it sounds like several ethical codes have been broken. What was that place you were at, a band-aid station?

I wish there is something I can do for you. You have my best wishes.

KathyP

[DawnA]

i don't know what to say. Tears of frustration well up in my eyes. This is awful, but beleivable. A psychiatrist could find something wrong with anyone. i would love to see a study on sane people going to a psychiatrist and what kinds of things they are diagnosed with. Go somewhere else and don't let them get a hold of any of those hospital records. Don't give up on looking for answers...someone will take you seriously. Take care DawnA