Nurse Lauren Bush took care of my husband on the first day after hip surgery. She did all of the things that kept my husband pain free, comfortable, and infection free after a full hip replacement. In addition, she oversaw existing conditions of diabetes and high blood pressure, which were swinging from high to low.
She stridently assured that snacks were provided to prevent low sugar events, and cautiously withheld blood pressure medication to avoid low blood pressure. She realized a trend of lower blood pressures post-op in hospital and withheld blood pressure medications in times of low blood pressure. She assured that the wound was iced, and did whatever she could to keep my husband as comfortable as possible. She reported medications daily, so that I could understand the changes from day to day, and reasons why. This was very important to me as a caregiver, who would take on all of the responsibilities at home.
Lauren helped me to understand what medications were converted to other medications, to eliminate the chance of my giving two medications to the patient, that were the same medication, but named differently. This was a huge help, since I am not a nurse, and have never distributed and controlled multi-medications and most importantly, pain medication. This nurses went above and beyond to give me the understanding so as not to inadvertently harm the patient, and at the same time, this knowledge gave me the necessary confidence to assume the task responsibilities. Frankly, without the help notes on when to withhold blood pressure, I could have caused a serious health risk to my husband. Keep in mind that the hospital stay is only two days, and things like blood sugar and blood pressure may be "stable" but in our case, they were not statically so, after the operation. Further, my husband's prescribed drugs ultimately were decreased post hip operations largely due to the absence of pain.
Organization of medications for the non-medical caregiver is a serious matter, and I am thankful that from day one, I understood how to control the medications, even with rules "before meals", "after meals", and the coordination of around the clock meds, and every six hour meds.
She also showed me how to ice properly, and how to change the bandage on the wound.
I was really afraid of infection, and she told me what to look for, and what to do if signs of infection were apparent. I believe she gave me the tools that I needed to do a good job, doing no harm to the patient.
There was a lot to learn, and very little time to learn it and without this assistance, I can imagine that a lot can go wrong requiring re-hospitalization.
Lauren did a good job of taking care of the post-op patient, but also, she took care of the caregiver, to ensure that I understood the job of caregiver. My husband and I are very grateful for her caring ways and willingness to impart knowledge to the non-medical caregiver, thereby bridging the gap between hospital and in-home care.