The Can of Worms...

So, this is a post about that time I almost killed Shelbie...on accident of course but now...an investigation has been opened and this is exactly what I need to round out the end of the year!

We are a little behind on infusions because of our non stop trips to Utah, hospitalizations blah, blah, blah.  So, last night, I got Shelbie caught up with her infusion and we did our usual thing.  I started it at around 10 pm, with the plan that she would go to bed and it would run through the night as we have done before on many occasions. The only thing that was different was that when the pump started running, there was significant pain, but that happens sometimes.  I stopped it til the burning subsided, then started it back up. 

About 45 minutes into the 7 hour process, Shelbie complained about one of the needles leaking plasma.  I suggested we had better switch out the needles before she fell asleep since leaking would mean she wouldn't get her full dose. At this same time, she started complaining about the inside of her body being itchy and hot.  Her lips started tingling as well.  I shut off the pump to determine what to do and where to place the new needle sets.  As I picked up the pump, I noticed her plasma was nearly gone!  It had only been 45 minutes, if that and there's no way it all leaked out. I was so confused and went back to my supply of new IV tubing and needle sets the specialty pharmacy had just sent and discovered that they had sent the wrong tubing.  The tubing they sent, infuses at a rate over 10 times what it should!!!  I realized the horrible situation we were in and it was clear that Shelbie was going into an anaphylactic reaction.  I immediately pulled the two IV lines from her stomach and gave her a double dose of Benedryl and Tylenol.  Hives had started to cover her stomach and she was having a hard time breathing.  I pulled out our IV Epinephrine and IV Benedryl so I could administer that as well but found out it was expired.  

Long story short, things began to calm down after about 20 minutes and we averted a trip to the ER. 

I called the pharmacy today to tell them of their error and get new tubing sent for next week. While the Pharmacist was nice, and acknowledged fault in the mix up, he ended up turning the table on me and questioning my ability to be administering an IV blood product at home.  He asked why we didn't have a nurse coming in to help me.  The more I tried to explain our situation, the more he questioned me and my ability to do this by myself.  The more I heard myself talk, the more I began to question myself as well! 

We had a nurse for just over a year when we started all this.  Our first nurse was awesome and amazing and we loved her but she quit.  The second nurse was nice but she slept nearly every week.  She would just fall asleep, stretched out on the floor or the couch.  I didn't see any point to paying for someone to sleep and by that time, I was pretty confident in doing this.  For two years, I have been doing this every single week and we have never had a problem.  

All I wanted was new tubing to fix the error.  Now, the Pharmacist, by law, has to file an investigation into themselves and the secondary company who packages the medications as well as me!  He says if a nurse would have been here, they would have double checked the rate of flow and she would have caught the mistake.  Instead, I was negligent.  If a nurse would have been here, she would have had current IV Epinephrine to administer instead of me dishing out tablet form of Benedryl.  If a nurse would have been here...he went on and on and the more he talked, the more I second guessed my entire existence and ability to handle this.  

The last thing I want is a nurse coming in twice a week to sit around here all day.  It's the worst waste of resources I can think of.  The pharmacist is also filing a complaint against the home health company because of the nurse who fell asleep.  I didn't turn her in because I didn't want to make it an issue and end up with her getting fired.  I knew her background and knew she was in very poor circumstances.  

This is just no fun.  It's crazy how things can unravel so quickly.  I only hope if they press charges against me for endangering my kids, they put me away for a long time so I can finally get some sleep and stop all this nonsense of cooking meals every day, cleaning toilets, working 8 jobs!  And, if they send to the prison just South of here, my friend was just made Warden over the women's facility so that wouldn't be so bad!  

This is stuff you just can't make up!  Shelbie saw the light of day today so that's good!!