Reklamo Corner

A bit of a back story first, in January last year she was diagnosed with dementia then a few months after she had to have a PEG tube put on her because she was not eating anymore. She pulled her PEG 3x so we had to rush her to the ED multiple times in April-May. A few months passed by, we are getting used to our new normal; we have a new routine. One of my Aunts who lives with her is the main caregiver, we’re very lucky that she’s there. I help with her medical and other bills, and I visit her as much as I can. 

In December, they noticed that the PEG was starting to leak so they thought maybe it was time to change it. They change the PEG every 6 months. A week before Christmas they did the procedure and didn’t tell my family that my grandmother needed to stay for observation. They changed the PEG tube with a different type, it looks harder and bigger. My family still noticed that it was still leaking but they said that it was normal, so we waited.

Last Christmas 2024, My grandmother was rushed to the emergency room because it was still leaking. We were waiting for answers, but it took a long time. They were saying that the stomach acid was leaking and burning her skin so they were waiting for her skin to heal before they could put another PEG. I had to send a letter to the head of the hospital before they told us anything. It took 3 weeks, and my grandmother got diagnosed with pneumonia before they told us anything. Then on week 5, I had to ask them to test for flu before they thought about testing forI even though it was the flu season. It was very frustrating, they were talking about a ventilator without even using the noninvasive one first. When I told them to do that first they were skeptical but decided to try it, it worked so they didn’t have to do the ventilator. Then on week 7 she got pneumonia again and tested positive for candida in her blood, her oxygen dropped, and was rushed to the ICU and had to use a ventilator because it took them a long time to do their job so everything got worse. It was supposed to be just a PEG follow-up but it turned into a 9-week hospital stay.

I grew up in my grandmother’s care, and thinking that something really bad would happen in the two months that she was there was draining my whole being. Seeing her having a hard time breathing because of their incompetence makes my blood boil. We’re not rich, but every time they’re asking for payment we find a way to pay on time but they don’t care about the life of their patients, they only care about the money. If we hadn’t advocated for my grandmother’s rights, I don’t know what would have happened. I hope they don’t experience the situation they made us go through. 

With everything that’s been happening since last year, it’s been very overwhelming. I’ve been clenching my jaw, I’ve been getting a constant headache, and what happened today at work just broke the camel’s back.