A recent event has reminded me of my trials & tribulations I was faced when my father suffered his last major stroke in the island he loved so much and still does, Puerto Rico. I can remember it like it was yesterday, just how many hours we all spent in the emergency room of a so called quality high care institution of The Bella Vista Hospital in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. My father was totally ignored for the first vital hours of care to minimize the damage in that hospital while another celebrity patient was taken care of properly. He was talking clearly, moving about and his only complaint was some pain or discomfort in his bladder but the blood clots were running unchecked through his body and doing its damage. We spent hours in that emergency room (if you can really call it that) and it was emotionally exhausting despite my many attempts to bring his serious condition to the attention of the staff.
This happened at a time when most hospitals including this one was enjoying great funding both by medicare claims and other federal grants to the island but that made no difference at all in my fathers case then. Late that day or better yet the following day early in the morning, he was transferred to a room in the general care section, not intensive care as he probably should have been assigned. I spent the night with him holding his hand while the damage went wild unchecked, untreated, ignored and his only defense was a bag of saline (IV) with no monitors at all. The nursing staff at that floor could of cared less and did not monitor his vitals as they should of, and several times I had to plead for them to come into the room and attend to his internal bleeding and or clots coming out of his urine completely filling his hospital bed. He also became very agitated and wanted to get out of bed, a common symptom of major stroke victims I learned later. After a very long night doing the job of the staff at this so called great quality hospital, I finally spoke to our trusted doctor (Dr. Olivencia) who found enough time to address this very important health issue. I was given weak excuses for the lack of care and his bleeding and then he decided at that time (2 days later) to prescribe a blood thinner (too little too late, damage done). I, my mother and other family members spent round the clock vigil making sure my father (an admired and great individual) was properly attended to since the staff at the hospital was lacking. I called in my other siblings into the picture and they came quickly from the states (mainland US) to help us out. By the time they got to Puerto Rico me and my mother were ready to drop from exhaustion, not because they took so long to arrive, but because it was just that hard. When our doctor finally consulted with the family (me, my brother and sister), he recommended that we put him into a home and forget that he even exists. He explained that because his condition was that bad, he would be a major burden on to us to care. We refused to give up on our father and we told the quack doctor to have him released so that we could send him back to our home state of New Jersey. Healthcare at that time was much better then what we had received in the island and we were willing to take a chance on making his condition worse due to altitude of the plane (blood clots or guaranteed lack of care and or death).
Things have changed a lot since then especially here in New Jersey, but I don't regret moving back to my home state at all. Nothing is perfect and we do what we can to survive but at least my father is enjoying a better health care system here (even now) and has more time to enjoy his grand kids and close family. Now I hear that the island is improving in its care of patients, point in fact is my uncle's recent stroke and surprisingly being treated at the same facility where my father was with a much better outcome. I hope this is true and thank God that my uncle was properly treated to avoid what happened to my father from repeating itself again in my family. The hospital and Staff now (if true) is to be commended.
