Parents--What did you want to hear from your nurse?

[admin]

Guest,

I agree they can't put everything in "What to Expect," (actually - sure, they could. Call it "What to Expect, Vol. II") but they certainly get in info about Down's syndrome, spina bifida, etc., which are regarded as more rare than BPI.
The book is so thick already; how hard would it be to add a page or two about BPI? Hey, I'd be happy with just a sentence or two!

Janet

[admin]

Tanya,
you are in a unique position to help others! My daughter is 17 years old but I will never forget the nurse who flippantly told me that she had a cousin who had "this" and she was "fine", that "all she has to do to dry her hair is take her left hand and flip her right arm back over her head with the hairdryer in it. And she's great at shifting the car left handed." I was horrified, and in no way prepared to be able to accept or digest that kind of information. The "no big deal" attitude, the "could have been worse" attitude, the "count your blessings" attitude. The other nurse I had was so driven to make my unwilling (and probably unable) baby nurse that I was a wreck by the time I left the hospital-the guilt of the birth was bad enough but the fact that she wouldn't nurse was awful. This particular nurse was grabbing and twisting her head to force her to latch on. What a mess. It's all a very bad memory. I would feel completely blessed to have a sensitive, caring nurse who could give me some very basic information on care and support, share some pain and perhaps encourage me to seek a specialist. I was fortunate to have a wonderful and caring pediatrician, who although not knowledgeable on the subject was eager to learn along with me. But those nurses could have gone a long way toward putting me on the right road to caring for my injured child if only they had known...
Best of luck to you
Sue (Emily's mom)

[admin]

I would have loved to have been told he had an injury...my son suffered a broken left arm and spent 2.5 days in icu as he needed resuscitation also He was discharged from icu with no mention made of his right arm bpi.Looking back now the nurses avoided spoken contact with us and when we brought him back with no movement of arm they scappered!!It took me 11 weeks to get information on his injury and none of it came from delivering hospital.
I am supposed to begin training to become a nurse leading to midwifery next year and part of your training is education on ethics etc At what stage in your nursing carreer do you stop caring for the most defenceless of them all NEWBORNS.In Ireland here,abortion is illegal cause they consider fetus's human from conception yet doctors are continually injuring live babies and no one not even nurses trained to care for people care.
Thru reading stories on this website my heart breaks for my son i assume he was in severe pain with both arms damaged yet as I wasn't aware of his bpi I fret that I didn't comfort him enough does that sound mad??
My boyfriend wants to use the same "GENTLE TRACTION" used on our baby to delivering doctor and see how gentle it feels when your pulling nerves from the spine.
I wouldn't want anyone to go through what we went and are going thru so if its education thats needed educate them make this bpi epidemic stop.The cost of educating nurses and doctors is nothing to court costs that have to be paid!
Make them read this site its where i got my education......