PLEASE SEND POSITIVE ENERGY AND PRAYERS FOR NINZREZ who was in a horrible accident today

OMG. Prayers.

Please add my prayers for her & family going through this ordeal... that is a very bizarre accident and made me think of the recent threads about people have strange DIZZY spells + eartones, etc !

I worked as an ICU / Trauma / ER / Surgical RN for many years ... here's some things that came to mind to tell the family that might be helpful!

She needs somebody trustworthy to serve as her ADVOCATE & CARE COORINATOR if no close relatives around to take the reins. For sure, she needs lots of rest to heal - so try to encourge sleeping, no stress, short visits from folks and try to keep things cheerful & hopeful.

PREVENT COMPLICATIONS !!
See that she is being cared for properly = turned side-to-side often, especially if being kept medicated from pain on frequent doses of meds; there should be extra pillows to go behind her back when turned & one put between her knees always to avoid any pressure on sky surfaces. She should get a bed bath daily and rewashed well w/ lotion any time she is too sweaty or soils linens... and ask that they change the bed if it gets too rumpled up or has persperation .... clean, fresh sheets can make big difference !

I think with her type of injury, she should have an air mattress ordered for her bed if one is not built in already ... it will help increase comfort & relieve pressure to that wound area. Also, there can be a "trapeze" bar put on the bed frame to give her a handle to hold overhead for moving about & help her w/ getting up. With a leg injury , she likely has that leg elevated but still, there may be swelling in the lower leg when she gets up so ask about having ace wraps applied to that leg (should be wrapped from toes of foot all the way up over the surgical dressings to also help support the injured tissues .. but ace should not left on too long as area needs to "breath" and do keep those ace wraps washed up clean (buy some dish soap to wash em & hang to dry).

If linens fall in floor, they are DIRTY & get fresh ones; wash hands after handling anything that has touched floor.

Once it is okay, do ecourage her to get up in the chair even if she doesn't like it (pain!) ask for a recliner if she does not have one as that can be more comfy ... Also, once allowed if not already, give ecouragement for her doing the walking routine (Note: PT can be started right away so request it... also she needs good assistance from staff any time she tries to get up, go to bathroom = put on the call light and don't let her up by herself as FALLS w/ injuries are common & can lead to broken hip or hit head w/ bleeding in brain, etc > stroke / death --- things can get very haywire fast when someone is hurt bad & had surgery as she has.

Other nursing "musts" are that she be doing deep breathing exercise often + cough every few hours &/or do lung exercises with blow bottles = prevent pneumonia setting in. If she starts having any chest pains or twinges, any lung / breathing congestions or shortness of breath, coughing even a little, alert her nurse even if she thinks it is no big deal.

Another concern is blood clots can form in the legs & travel to lungs too so that needs to be prevented -- there are special pressure hose & air pump machines that can be ordered if not already in use. Another issue is the working of kidneys & bowels so those must be watched carefully and efforts made to avoid dehydration / constipation issues.

Urinary tract infections can occur often after surgery so try to prevent this as best is possible; good cleaning techniques used with tolieting, good fluid intake (they can monitor how much she drinks by measuring all intake + output too) and do keep the room clean (we always take a bottle of Lysol "Kitchen" cleaner disinfectant spray as it is good to wipe down bed rails, table surfaces, doorknobs, the TV remote, so on ... do try to not spray it but pour some on papertowels so to not have her breath it in the air & get irritated lungs.

House slippers are NOT a good thing for walking w/ the sick, elderly ... nor on a badly injured leg as the slippers do not give feet adquate support or firm surface & and the person shuffles in them = a fall risk & not good posture either which is important factor in rehab. Instead, go to Walmart & get a pair of the basic velcro athletic shoes (cheap) & they come in men's too, which a size 7 or 8 mens usually work ok if none are stocked in women's sizes (some stores don't have them for ladies - ?why). I would buy 2 pairs with one size larger as her foot may be swelling then take back the other set... you can put double socks on the good foot if that shoe is a bit too large.

NUTRITION is key and hospitals often do not have the best quality food. Once she can eat, consult with the dietician and get to know the other things you can order on the menu + extra snacks (like fruit plate, smoothies, all sorts of stuff they can send to room). You can ask nurse or when the doctor comes for an order to give her daily vitamins right away ... they can also be added to her IV fluids if she is not able to eat/drink currently. Have them keep close eye on her weight if this is a prolonged ordeal or she starts having any issues.

When she is able to drink at least fluids, then really work to make her drink nutritious fluids so that her body can accelerate healing (like have milk or real OJ instead of water) ... the body needs food in any form so to begin repairing = the tissues begin knitting back together.

Some things we have used in our family to really speed up healing after surgery are these:

Mix a daily packet of EMERGENCY-C (Walmart, CVS) in 100% fruit juice daily as a supplement.

Go to a Whole Foods type store & get bottles of GREEN JUICE and make her drink it often (I think the best results we've had are with the Knudsen brand "MEGA GREEN JUICE" (every time we use this juice, the surgeons are always amazed at how quick the person heals up: [link to www.knudsenjuice.com]

They now have other varieties "Specialty" line for healing & health supplements, so you could rotate w/ them & their Pineapple-Coconut is very yummy stuff! It comes in glass bottle so we bring in a small ice cooler & keep it on hand along w/ some other foods. Mega Green does taste a bit powdery due to the green food additive (which is the 'super' food element but it does taste nice like a fruit punch). A good health food store will have someone to give you advice on things too so do recommend that option.
The hospital will provide liquid supplements like Ensure or Boost too, and can make those into milkshakes w/ ice cream.

If she is on antibiotics, get her eating yogurt daily or else request a PROBIOTIC be ordered as a med to be given. If requested, the Doctor can also order that family may use what they prefer & bring their own in to administer to her (like a good brand from Health Food Store).

Try to get friends, relatives, neighbors that can take shifts sitting w/ her and ask them to be her advocate = safeguard her against anything that could be a danger or does not seem in her best interest. Watch for blunders, medication errors, staff being rough, people not washing hands before approaching her bed includes all caregivers, the family members + visitors & and the DOCTORS too (SPEAK UP! Don't touch the bed w/ dirty hands -- someone simply grabbing the standard gloves from the box [so-called "clean" gloves but they are most all from 3rd world foreign factories = likely very dirty themselves even in the box]. Everyone should first wash up or use the disinfecting foam/spray ,, otherwise is BAD as their dirty hands handle the gloves & thus they will spread germs that can cause infection)

Question things always & do NOT assume anything: Always confirm who is her nurse & the care technician for each shift ... anyone else coming in to do care should be questioned as that is how errors get made. Also ask about all meds being given - name, routine, times, why on that mdeication , etc (write them down in the notebook so that family knows what is the routine & can spot anything out of ordinary) -- it is very important to protect her from any mistakes or unordered interventions (like they can take the wrong patient for a procedure or test, etc) so always ask and even make them go the chart & bring it in to room so to verify orders. If uncertain, have them hold off till everything is clarified ... even if that means the nurse will need to go phone the doctor.

Know the patient rights ... like if there are problems with staff or poor care, request the "Charge" nurse ... you can also get on phone and ask the operator to page the hospital "supervisor" to come to the room to speak w/ you or her if things are not going well (that is what I used to be when working as a RN) ... the supervisor can often get to the core of any problems cropping up, deal w/ doctors if they are not handling things to family's satisfaction.

Always remember, if things are not going well = she / family unhappy or too many problems, etc -- you have the right to have her moved to another facility (but do plan it and research options first + get on here for more advice on how to get that accomplished as it helps to know the ropes). I've saved many a relative / friend that started doing poorly or we had even been told was likely going to die by having them transferred elsewhere = to a better facility ... and their ratings of hospitals on the internet + the top 100 list. Sometimes the person was going sour for no real apparent reason but in reality it was likely due to complications or unexpected reactions... or resulting from inadequate nursing care, sloppy technique, substandard doctors, or being in a "Podunk" hospital when they needed to be in a better/bigger one where there were highly trained specialists & nurses too). It can make a life & death difference in many cases to get someone transferred & have a new evaluation done.

Last tip: they need to get a spiral notebook + pen to keep at bedside & also when she goes home or to rehab; they can be keeping notes of what goes on, meds given & times, names of doctors, any incidents that occur,etc (can have a section of what is routine & the other is daily notes like a journal). Any one staying w/ her should write in it ... the notes can be helpful in many ways + useful when dealing w/ the bills that come in months later.

Well, time for me to hit the bed now ! Best Wishes for a speedy recovery & Blessings !