Bob’s new nickname, according to his good friends, became ‘Grunt.’ At 82, they said he grunted more now than ever. It wasn’t just because things were tougher now, but because he was growing ornery. Bob was hospitalized a few weeks ago following a major medical emergency. He spent a full two weeks in bed, and he got anxious. He wanted to just get out of the hospital.
When it finally came time to be discharged, Bob just wanted an orderly to wheel him down to the lobby and out the front doors so he could be done with ‘this place,’ as he referred to it. He barely listened to his doctor.
Bob wasn’t following his doctor’s advice.
This is where his new nickname starting developing. Despite what affected him and what his doctor had advised, he would grunt at the reminders. “Grunt. What do they know?” he would say. “Grunt. Will you stop pestering me about it? I’m fine!” “You’re not fine,” his good friend said, “You’re stuck in your seat!” “Grunt. I just need a boost.”
His friends could see it, but Bob wouldn’t listen. They knew where this was headed. He wanted to remain oblivious. What Bob’s friends could so clearly see that when he refused to follow the advice it was the increasing risk of a hospital readmission.
Then, it happened.
Bob was rushed to the hospital one afternoon. His friends call the ambulance. His recovery was never on track and his body wasn’t given the chance to regain some of its strength and health. It took this second stay in the hospital for Bob to finally get the lesson: the best way to avoid a readmission to the hospital is to listen and heed doctors’ advice.
This didn’t need to happen.
In many, many cases, hospital readmissions are avoidable. Plain and simple. Not all of them, of course, but many. When a hospital readmission is avoidable, it’s a tragedy when it happens because, for older individuals, it means the road to recovery could now be even longer.
That’s what happened for Reggie. What could have been a normal return to life and full vigor within a few weeks became a months’ long struggle. It was a difficult lesson for him to learn, but he learned it. Other seniors don’t need to fall into the same trap that Reggie did, thinking he could do this all on his own. Rely on help. Home care is the best place to turn.