This is Laura M. I do not live in a rural area. Mesa AZ is a big city 30 minutes from Phoenix and Scottsdale. My Banner neurologist follow-up (5 weeks out from my ICU stay) was very neglectful. I stated all my post brain aneurysm issues,( not leak), to my neurologist like brain fog, memory recall, depression, fatigue, and falling asleep issues to him. He just raised his hands protecting himself saying, “I just stop the bleeds, I don’t handle anything else”! He then wrote me two bogus referrals to a psychiatrist (who does not treat post stroke patients) and a supposed PT place for rehabilitation which, when called, was a physiatrist’s office who only did injections for pain…My daughter found NeuraHealth, an online service, that I have used for post prescription refills. That’s the other thing. I was sent home on Valproic Acid, verapamil, and gabapentin, with no instructions on when to stop taking them and no refills. When I called the neurologist who took care of me in the ICU and prescribed the medications, the staff told me I had to “establish care” with him at “the office”. I told them he cared for me in the ICU and they said that didn’t matter! They also would not help me with my medications until I saw him. His next available appointment was five weeks out from my hospitalization! That was total neglect. I felt so abandoned!
I’m now going on four months out now from my aneurysm. I have an appointment with Mayo to establish care. I am going to continue advocating for better support post stroke in my area. I’m also going to write to the CEO of Banner and share my experience.
Welcome again Laura! I’ve moved your reply in the Welcome to General and created a new topic. If you don’t care for the title, feel free to change it.
Boy, did I guess incorrectly about everything, I do apologize. Sorry about the rural guess. Most of my memories of AZ are from the mid ‘60’s to late ‘70’s. So even Phoenix wasn’t near as big as it is now, much less Mesa. Dad had a friend right near Mesa from his Navy days that we would visit, learned to drive a Jeep in the desert there and then our family friends moved from Downey CA to Chandler Heights. At that time, everyone seemed to cool their homes with swamp coolers and not air conditioners . I get confused when anyone says they had an aneurysm as opposed to saying a ruptured aneurysm so that’s why the guess on the leak. Again I do apologize!
I think we’ve only had one, maybe two members in all the years I’ve been here that ruptured and the bleed stopped without any procedures! You are one very lucky lady! Even more so with a daughter that was able to find you some help.
Glad to read you’re going to get established at Mayo since Banner really dropped the ball with you in my opinion. I think the neurologist should have helped with setting you up as a patient. I’m also confused on the neurologist specialty, none of the ones I’ve seen since I ruptured do surgery, I have a Neurosurgeon for that. In fact I only saw one Neurologist in NSICU and it’s because one of the CCU doctors brought him to my bed showing him how I was controlling my BP despite the Triple H Therapy they were pumping into me to stop my vasospasms. I did have a follow up scheduled my Neurosurgeon before I left NSICU, so I’m appalled that your surgeon didn’t automatically have that for you. For goodness sake, it’s a teaching hospital, it should have been done automatically, again in my opinion. I’d definitely be writing the CMO! I wrote the new one at Baptist in Winston when I went in for my second coiling and the staff in NSICU were dog dead tired. They’d been working double shifts because of the reduction in staff from the previous CMO. I was pretty harsh in my hand written letter about the changes and let her know that they were not within the guidelines the State puts out which requires an RN for every two patients in NSICU as opposed to the four -six they were dealing with. I gave the letter to my Neurosurgeon who gave it to the new CMO. She actually wrote me back in a handwritten letter assuring me she would look into it and that she did get out on the floors and did not like brown nosers either. I had my third procedure about a year later and the changes she made as the new CMO were phenomenal. I just had to let her know how much the changes put me at ease. Again handwritten but sent via mail and again she responded back with a hand written note. Obviously I’m all for members to advocate not only for themselves but for others in our community.
Again, please accept my apologies for getting it wrong. I truly think the upper management of hospitals, especially teaching hospitals needs to know the good and bad of things under their supervision!
That sounds like such a tough experience. To go through something as serious as an aneurysm, then having your symptoms brushed off like that must have been awful. You definitely deserved clearer guidance on your meds and better support overall.
I’m glad your daughter was able to step in and help you find NeuraHealth in the meantime. Getting established at Mayo sounds like a solid step forward, and hopefully you’ll receive the kind of support you should have had from the beginning.
I also think it’s great that you’re planning to write to Banner’s CEO, which may also prevent other patients from going through the same neglect. It’s encouraging to hear you were able to turn this bad experience into action!
Laura, Please reach out to patient services at Banner! You have legal rights when it comes to health care! I have Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. They are wonderful! Remember, the sqeeky wheel get the grease! Goldmmountain
. I get confused when anyone says they had an aneurysm as opposed to saying a ruptured aneurysm so that’s why the guess on the leak. Again I do apologize!