Welcome to Lethbridge (Chinook Regional)

The best thing about being back in Lethbridge was that we were home and away from the unforgiving constraints, impatience and invisibility of Calgary – not that constraints, impatience and invisibility don’t exist in Lethbridge, they are simply on a different scale.
The first encounter with the Lethbridge EMS and the Chinook Regional Hospital was the result of the first visit from the Home Care Worker. She took one look at Fred and called 911.
They didn’t keep him in the hospital that time and sent him home with a prescription for some pain meds and a suggestion for a referral to a Kidney Specialist.
A few days later when the pain was even more intense they kept him in the hospital to try and assess what was going on. He was referred to Dr. Wong (the Renal Doctor)  BUT we only saw his resident, who was personable, seemed to know what she is doing and attempted to explain to us what they were doing.

They monitored his potassium, INR and put him on a catheter.  He had little energy or motivation but is finally started eating solid food. They did take it a little far-this is what they gave him for supper one night.
The incision was healing well but we needed to get the pain under control WITHOUT causing more harm to the kidneys.
They don’t communicate with each other
The Renal Doctor told us that they were reluctant to give him diuretics because it was so hard on the kidneys. The next day, the nurse came in and without explanation (until I asked him what he was doing) pumped a diuretic intravenously. He said that was what the ward doctor had ordered.
I wish to hell the doctors would either talk to each other or, at least read the files to find out what other issues the patient might have!!!!!
Every day has been a whirlwind of random activities just to keep things under control.
I have seen small steps of improvement every day, but his confidence has been  effected.
Home Care has been more than I ever expected. Immediately - like the same day he got home - we had a care worker up here to help him with the catheter bags - then twice the next day - phone calls to see how things are going - someone comes in to help him have a shower and a nurse comes in to help when it comes time to take out the catheter.
February – April
Two months of trying to find out WHY his kidney is not functioning the way it should and why his bladder is not expelling the urine.
The Renal Doctor (the WONG doctor) seemed to quite looking for any explanations. Yes, he looked at the creatinine levels (I think), referred us to a dietitian and said come back in 6 weeks.
The Urologist seemed a little more concerned. He scheduled another test ( a urology dynamic test) that is supposed to reveal more information about what is going on. Unfortunately the Nurse-technician who performed the test “forgot her glasses”.
Can you believe a person who has to input catheters into a human body AND data into a computer can function without proper vision and be completely unconcerned about it ???
We became VERY concerned when Fred was in severe pain and the Home Care Nurse came up the following night to discover the nurse had put in an 18 gage catheter instead of a 14 gage one. Also, there was only 5 cc of fluid in the balloon (that keeps the catheter in the bladder) instead of 10 cc.
The next visit with the Urologist revealed that the dynamic test revealed nothing and he then did a scope through the urethra to the bladder. It looked clean. The only conclusion he came up with was that the muscle that controls the flow of urine is not functioning and Fred will need the catheter forever more.
We were hoping for some direction from the Kidney doctor (the Wong doctor) who told us ABSOLUTELY nothing. He walked into the room, opened the file and said “we will see you in 6 months”. THAT WAS IT.
We were so shocked, we didn’t even say anything.
Well, THAT IS IT!