When a Cancer Patient Has a Medical Emergency

3 Days in the DRC, Part 1

If you haven’t read my first post about the DRC at Moffitt and how it works, since Moffitt does not have an ER, you can read about it here. https://confectionsforcats.blogspot.com/2018/04/neutropenic-fever-after-ie-chemo-and.html

In summary, the DRC is where an existing Moffitt patient is directed to go if they have a medical emergency. 

Usually, we would be there a few hours or overnight (since we arrived at midnight or shortly afterward) until they had a room for Mathew on the ward. This particular visit Mathew stayed in the DRC three days. As mentioned in my other post, the DRC has maybe two rooms with a bathroom; otherwise, one bathroom for about a dozen patients. In Mathew’s case, a patient with a lowered immune system. 

This time Mathew was in the room furthest from the bathroom. 

When inpatient, we had a routine for getting him to the bathroom. First, he needed the IV unplugged (often quickly) and most times, I had to help maneuver it into the room for him because he was using a walker or unsteady on his feet. Because the tumor impacted his abdomen, he liked to have his phone and a book available.

This particular stay in the DRC, because of his lowered immune system, in addition to the IV pole, I put sanitizer on some paper towels and went ahead and wiped (in this particular order)

- the outside doorknob

- inside doorknob

- light switch

- paper towel dispenser

- spigots

- toilet flush handle 

- toilet seat.

Another example of the logistical vectoring I was continually doing.

On the chemo ward, each patient was given a disposal blood pressure cuff for that hospital stay. In the DRC, it was the same as in regular hospital wards, one BP cuff taken from room to room. I had to remind the tech each time to wipe down the cuff first.

I was told that the DRC used to be the X-Ray department. That means leaded walls, so texting was next to impossible. DRC visits were the exact type of hospital stays that required updating others. Not the best times to leave Mathew to walk out to the nearest hallway and send messages or return phone calls. To add to my frustration, if I made the mistake of trying to answer a call or text, my phone went into emergency calls only mode and required a reboot. In retrospect, I should have appointed one person to inform at these times and let them send info in order of needs to know.