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Dad is a klutz
July 28, 2005I took short break today to get in a run on the trails. I was halfway out when I turned my ankle on an exposed tree root and had to limp home.
Ouch. Fortunately, Sharon has a ton of great pain medication left over from the hospital.
Tiny Hugs
July 28, 2005 One from the garden photo shoot today.
We Have Navel
July 25, 2005Melina has a belly button as of 4pm today.
The cord was misplaced temporarily, but was found before Clyde could start playing with it.
How cute is this kid?!?
July 21, 2005 I think I'm turning into "that Dad".
But this is one cute kid.
Kaiser: Thrive... or Drive? (or Kaiser SR 1, Kaiser SF 0)
July 21, 2005I have to admit, I really like the new "Thrive" campaign that Kaiser Permanente is running in northern California.
With that said, you can imagine my surprise when I found my family's experience with the Kaiser facility in San Francisco last Wednesday night / early Thursday morning squarely at odds with the "Thrive" campaign's promises of caring and wellness.
In addition to "celebrating broccoli, SPF 30 sunscreen, all kinds of exercise, (and) faith in optimism...", apparently Kaiser SF also believes in the power of having a 38-week pregnant patient with contractions that are 3 minutes apart wait for 9 hours to be admitted to the hospital. They must also believe in empowering the patient to problem solve at 4 o'clock in the morning by offering the choice of going home (with contractions 3 minutes part) or *driving* to the nearest Kaiser facility, which is over an hour away. At 4 in the morning... on a foggy night... with a wife in major pain. The reason given was that they didn't have the staff to "offer us care".
What a truly crappy experience. Just poor. We were treated like we walked into a trauma unit with a paper cut.
When Sharon called to tell Kaiser SF L&D that she was coming in, she should have been told at that point to either stay home or go to another facility... seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it?
The crappy experience was personified by the attending labor and deliver physician that night. I won't name names, but I should. After several hours of waiting, she graced us with her presence and gave my wife one of the roughest physical exams I have ever seen. The doc was obviously frustrated by whatever else was going on in the unit that night, and she was definitely letting it affect her performance. She asked where we lived, and when we said Fairfax, she rolled her eyes and huffed... obviously hoping we were close enough to send home. Seriously, what a witch. To top it all off, as she was leaving the room, she stole the copy of People that someone had bought Sharon to pass the time. She just grabbed it and walked out. Truly weird.
When I asked Dr. Personality how we were supposed to manage Sharon's pain on the drive up north, she agreed to getting us an ambulance to Santa Rosa. Not optimal, but it was the best deal we had, so we took it. A little after 4 we were on our way out. To add insult to injury, Doctor Satan waited until the EMTs had Sharon on a gurney and on her way down the hall before announcing that she needed to do one final exam.
Words can't express the relief I felt as we left the facility. It was clear that the attending had zero interest or motivation in providing us care that night. She wanted us to be someone else's problem. Not exactly the experience Kaiser is going for, I have to think.
The scary thing is, the more people in Marin we tell this story to, the more we hear of similar experiences.
There is a happy ending...
The staff at Santa Rosa was fabulous. They took such good care of us and really made us feel comfortable during one of the most intense experiences our family has had.
Most importantly, we had a beautiful and healthy little girl.
Melina's Birth: As told by Mel
July 17, 2005Howdy All!
We have a little girl, Melina Grace Johnston. Born on July 14th at 2:19 pm.
Sharon and I have been coasting on about 3 hours sleep a day since Wednesday, so until I have time to write up our version of the story, I thought I would share Grandpa Mel's, all the way from San Carlo Switzerland.
2005 July 14 (Thursday): You can call me Grandpa Mel! We just heard from Kevin that Sharon gave birth to “little Mel”, officially, Melina Johnston at around 2 p.m. today. She was born in the Santa Rosa Kaiser hospital, and weighed in at a respectable 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Mother and daughter, and we assume, father, too, are doing well.
It is 12:34 a.m., Friday, here, but sleep, as you can well imagine, is not easily forthcoming after a wakeup call of this importance. Rickie, that is, Grandma Rickie, is trying to sleep, but I know she is in bed just thinking of all the wonderful possibilities for this, our first, grandchild. What a wonderful occasion!
From Rickie’s interpretation of Kevin’s information, Valerie and Kevin were to have dinner Wednesday evening with Sharon. Bill had a major, as in career enhancing, presentation that day, and was expecting to be home late. Sharon called Valerie and Kevin and told them to come earlier as she was having some contractions. They took her to Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco as planned Wednesday evening. The hospital was full of expectant mothers, had some difficult births and seemed understaffed. So, after refusing to (1) go home and sit it out, or (2) driving to the Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa, Sharon got an ambulance ride to a nicer, quieter, fully staffed and just-waiting-for-Sharon hospital. From then on, nature took its course, Sharon and Melina did the work (always the women), Bill, Valerie and Kevin provided comfort and support, and we ended up with a wonderful granddaughter. Bill was with Sharon during the birth. I’m sure we will hear more as things settle down, and Mom and Dad begin to learn of the impact on the rest of their lives that a child makes. And, of course, the impact on our lives and that of my mother (Great Grandmother), and on Bill’s parents and his Grandmother.
Yes, I started a journal on the 11th, and will get it out soon. And, knowing my son, and son-in-law, I will probably have some of Melina’s first pictures to share. Until then, buona notte. What a great day! And, we hope Bill's presentation went well.
Melina update
July 07, 2005It seems we are well on our way to meeting little Melina in person, but then again, maybe not. Went to the doctor Tuesday and was told I am now 80% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated. My doctor said we need to be ready as little Mel can decide to come out any day now. She hopes to see me at my next appt on the 12th, but said she would not be shocked if I went into labor before that. However, she also said that it would be a good idea to make an appt to see her on the 1st of August just in case Melina is not out. She will want to “encourage” her out on the 1st. So, who really knows? All I know is that if we make it past my due date she is going to weigh close to 10 lbs and that is not sounding like a fun afternoon for anyone. Today is Thursday so if she is on my “SF parking schedule” then perhaps she will decide this weekend is a good time to head out into the world. We’ll see. In the meantime, I am trying my best to shake this cold I caught. Spending a lot of time resting and remembering the days when popping a few cold medicine pills and cough syrup would have cured this problem in no time. I can’t remember the last time I had to “ride out” a cold—if ever. Oh well, new experiences! My handsome boy Clyde is not handling all of this very well. I wonder if he senses something. Sure do wish he could talk.
