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| MIJA |
FUN (questionable) FACTS about DANIELA that I heard that were noteworthy with all our time together yesterday: Daniela got in trouble for stealing a book in Kinder because she had none at home. I swear her Christmas list was all books and I said, “add something else, please!”
She’s tried cocaine at age 10 with her sister after mom passed away.
Tuesday:
We woke up at 4 am. I had a dream about my brothers and I. In the dream I prayed and I said a few things concerning a verse about Elijah. On the way to the hospital I told Dani and she told me she read that very story that nothing! Can I first say I’m so proud to hear she read her Bible at 4am! We left at 5 and I didn’t even read!
We dropped Jess at Dilena’s house and headed to Santiago with great time.
We arrived at 6:45am. We entered admissions and had no idea what to do so we stood there waiting for directions on putting our names on a list, a ticket, something. Minutes passed and the guy said sit down. This is actually really odd because usually when you walk into a Dominican room the attendant would say good morning. Always.
We are finally called to the counter and the man rambled 3 documents to give him. I personally was given this folder here at the anesthisia test. I have no Idea the names of the documents inside. I pushed my envelope that I already gave him, closer to him. I was thinking okay, he just needs this hospital folder with Daniela's complete info. He wouldn’t take her documents out. Again with no eye contact and angry he repeated his documents. I said I don’t know which those are...I started to well up with tears.
“Can you help us? Please.”
He takes it gasping for air, hating his life and hating us. I’m so shocked and appalled because it’s 7am and they just opened! Then, he wanted a deposit and I told him ok, how much. He was agitated again telling me—I tell him. Ok can I make up the amount? More gasps, no! He basically told me forget it and to go wait to the side, I’m not prepared. I’m like wait! No! 😠We have surgery in 30 minutes, please help us. Now I’m crying because I just don’t know why it always has to be so hard.
Look my daughter up in the system and tell me.
I don’t have her in this. Call your surgeon and talk to him.
Wait, can you call him?
No, you call him.
I pulled out my document, that I demanded from my surgeon stating everything, and showed him that the hospital determines the deposit. I ask him to please call. He huffs and puffs. I’m still crying and can’t seem to pull it together.
I wait to the side. I go to the bathroom to pray and breathe. I know God is in control but why can’t it be easy?
Then he comes back with an amount. I just pay it. Then he wanted Daniela’s ID. I’m like she’s a minor, no one told me to bring anything.
“Where’s her passport???”
I never told this guy she has a passport! Dani was like, “excuse me, sir, I’m a Dominican citizen only.”
He assumed she flew in here with me. By now, I am full in tears and I’m so frustrated that it’s now after 8 and we aren’t even close to surgery.
He storms up again making sure we know he isn’t happy. He comes back and now doesn’t care that she has no ID.
He asked why have I not paid equipment bill. I told him I drove there yesterday and they said pay after surgery. He said no, I’m supposed to pay that first. He looked at me said this is a mess because of your surgeon! If you read my last blogm, I had this concern too last week. I asked my surgeon to stop texting me and sending me voice messages with tiny bits of info here and there and changing prices. I asked for all info to be put into a formal professional document from his secretary. I also needed info on what the surgery was.
Anyway, by this point I couldn’t talk anymore. My eyes were welled with tears. I let Daniela talk for me. I was already stressing her with my crying. 7:47am my surgeon texts he’s headed to the hospital. How odd he didn’t plan to be there before surgery time. Why tell me to arrive at 7AM to do admissions to go into surgery at 8am?
Anyway, he continued, “He’s so unorganized and you don’t even have the information!” WOW.
The surgeon came in and I couldn’t believe how disrespectful he was to him! I thought, ok, he might be a mess but that isn’t how you talk to a surgeon. He flat out told him off. She got her bracelet and we were out.
We finished and went to preop. As we walked with surgeon there I told him Daniela has some food sensitivities with meat and dairy, if we could order a vegetarian diet for her. Oh sure tell the clerk on the floor when you get your room assigned. (Remember this.)
We started to get ready to operate. We had 4 nurses stick her 11 times for an iv. I almost threw up watching the sticks then digging up and sideways to hit. Lady 4 came in and hit one first try. 🎉🎉We thanked her. With every lady we prayed asking God to hit something.
So surgery is over and a man found me and said I needed to pay. I asked to see Daniela. He said not yet, go pay first. I found this super crass. I asked do I go to admissions? Same place as in the morning? Yes, go to admissions.
I go in there and decide I’ll choose the girl because the guy was about to kill someone in the morning. I tell her my kids name and I need to pay.
You don’t pay here.
She’s super short and little eye contact. She also doesn’t try to help or send me anywhere else.
Can you tell me where to go?
To the cashier outside.
That guy told me you only pay there when you leave. He tells me she’s not in system. I go back to admissions.
I go back to the lady—
Well, the doctor upstairs said I come here to pay. He said I need to pay then I can see my daughter.
It’s not here. This is admissions! She raises her voice and has hand and head gestures.
I said, What is going on here? Why is your face doing that— why you are so angry?
Because I told you this is ADMISSIONS! YOU DONT PAY HERE! Literally shouting and enunciating every single word.
Tears well up. I’m so on my last leg.
She picks up the phone and the person said I need to pay the deposit. She looks at me and says oh you need to pay the deposit here.
No apology. She just acts like it’s nothing.
I was waiting for Sal to jump out that this was a prank.
“I paid my deposit in the morning.”
Sadly, I don’t have my receipt and it’s in my medical folder that keeps following Dani.
I call on the guy that was my clerk in the morning. He seems to be on my be on my team now. I think he’s seen way too much crying out of me and took pity. He was raising his voice again for the phone to hear! She paid! She already paid!
All I want to do is see my kid. They made another mistake and I could leave. I ended up not paying anything and seeing Dani in the recovery waiting room. I go back up and another doctor is talking to me again about how I’m paying. I find all of this so rude.
Can I go spend time with my kid? I have stated to my surgeon several times how I am paying. This is no mystery. This money hungry pushing me to pay is insane as she’s minutes out of major surgery (I didn’t know it was major surgery either until someone told me).
He kept repeating that they will take money off if I pay in cash. There is a ATM downstairs and I could take the money out. Pay in cash it's cheaper. NOOOOOOOOOOO, I am not paying in CASH! I didn't say that but that was exactly my thought. Why do you keep pushing me to get the money out in cash. You can pay tomorrow or the next day, it's better in cash. NO. Sometimes I just crave a man to stand next to me and not deal with BS like this, but I also know the Lord has made me tough enough (He stands with me) to speak for myself and demand what I want and not cave.
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| the room we slept in all night |
6:15 almost 7 hours later we have been waiting in a recovery room with other post ops. Sometimes up to 15. I was watching some man convulsing/shaking and I was becoming nauseous. I didn’t like seeing all these people out of surgery. I didn’t like screaming kids and crying kids for their moms. We stayed there all day watching every patient. The place was packed with about 15 beds at one point. I walked around people to get out. We at least got a back space around 3 pm. I sat on the floor for 4 hours next to he before they moved us to the back. The back space was better with a partial curtain, several didn't have that. Plus, I finally got a chair to sit on.
6:14, a nurse said we might sleep right here. 🙃 I just can’t. I kept asking and I was told later, the afternoon, soon, your next.
We ended up sleeping in the recovery waiting room of post operation. The lights in the room are all connected, so you couldn’t shut off the light above your bed.
Our nurse Jon who was taking great care of us said he would find me a bed to put next to Dani. By 8, I am about to pass out. At 9, there’s a new female nurse. I ask for a bed next to D and she said no. I asked her am I not going to sleep tonight? She, no joke looked at me, and said, no, you aren't going to sleep tonight. I looked around and said I am going to sleep.
Unless you are a single mom, you don't know SINGLE MOM TIRED. I am going to sleep. I am over the running around this place up and down the stairs and doing it all alone.
So, I found a metal bed with no mattress hiding behind Daniela's space and went to sleep on it around 9:10pm. Next thing, I was being woken up by Daniela telling this male nurse that ASKED
Is that your Mom?
Yes.
Why is she on that metal gurney with no mattress?
The lady nurse told her she can't sleep here. He was livid! He was like why didn't she clean the bed with a mat for her?
Dani said my Mom asked her to and she wouldn't.
He rolled me in a bed. I secretly loved that man. Thanks, GOD! I swear this male nurse disappeared and we haven't seen him since. Or before. He did nothing but find me in some crawl space and demand I get a bed.
We were woke up several times to nurses laughing, playing, and talking loudly. I shhhhh’d them at one point. They stopped.
After 10PM sometime when I was passed out, they wanted to bring Dani dinner. DINNER. Up until this point they gave no snacks, no water, nothing. I already spoke to my personal nurse Casey and she said she can have some food.
Around midnight, they started blaring secular Spanish music for a celebration of a birthday. I AM NOT KIDDING. In the room that patients STRAIGHT out of surgery go to for recover! (Casey, did you read that?)
Dani told the male nurse Jon, that was taking GREAT care of us, to please tell them to stop. Again, after a minute they turned it back on. Daniela asked them to please shut it off. They told her it’s a birthday! She told me she told them patients healing and sleeping are the priority, shut it off, I need sleep. She's going to be 17 next week and I am so thankful she holds her own and she never worries. me.
THIS IS THE PART WE ALL NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND---
Our nurse finally helped us understand what was going on and why everyone was so rude. He was on a 48 hour shift, not knowing when it will end. He’s not being paid either. Their paychecks are delayed. He lives pretty far away too and doesn’t get any gas compensation.
And then it clicked why everyone is has been so mean since we walked in the door. I do not know what this delayed pay means but I do know my security guard says that his company doesn't always pay him either. Its delayed right now. I find this interesting because I am charged 4 times HIS SALARY for his services, so my bill alone pays 4 guys months SALARY. Why are they not paying? Once again my hospital bill pays scores of their salaries, I bet.
Today is Wednesday and I am hoping to leave this morning. I need to head upstairs, and there isn't internet in there, to see if the doctor is here to help get us out.
I wanted to leave you with this: while Daniela and I were just in a funk to the treatment of this place we decided to sit and brainstorm where we saw God. Here's our list <3
Where did you see God?
In the English doctor we found who answered my questions. (He sent me to a place that doesn't exist anymore in another building, but still)
In the nurse asking her how she felt and would pray for Dani when I wasn’t with her
In getting safely through the operation
In the parents supporting me here
In the old man that was white as can be but was Haitian telling me to google and you tube her recovery myself and telling me to be careful they don’t take advantage of my money by charging me more. He reminded me of my dad. I went to talk to him in English and helped him put on his arm sling. I just wanted to be near him because he felt like my dad
In the sunset as I waited for food delivery
In the calmness inside
In the angel man that got me a bed
in the music finally stopping
in Jon our nurse being so soft and good at his job
in my Lake George hoodie that became my soft covering to the metal bed
Photos aren't uploading. Maybe later when I have good internet xoxo
