I transitioned from Pediatric care (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: CHOP) to Adult care (Presbyterian Hospital) at the age of 23. It was a totally new world, but it was my time. Although, my Hematologist would haver allowed me to stay until I was 25 (my current age) I was ready to go!
My wanting to be transition came from an incident that happend when I was hospitalized for a crisis at CHOP. I had been in the hospital for a week or so with Acute Chest Syndrome and a irrhythmic heartbeat.....I was pretty sick! Anyway, the fellow who was "caring" for me, was a nasty ol' thing. LOL...She ordered for me to have a MRI done at 4pm, it wasn't done until 10:30pm...during this time I had visitors who I did not get to see.
When I returned to my room, it was 11:30pm, the fellow came to my room and told me she wanted to discharge me that night. Was she CRAZY OR WHAT?! She insisted that I should have one of my visitors take me home....after they left and that was none of her business anyway; and she didn't even have the results of my MRI, nor scripts. She left and came back the next morning ready to discharge me, still with no scripts. I didn't get out until 3pm, I was so OVER the entire experience, that I was ready to leave CHOP.
Now my first crisis in adult care........
I was having chest pains and thought, "I'll just go to the ER at Presby, and I will be seen and everything will be ok"...Laaaawwwwddd, was in for a rude awakening! I arrived at the ER, told them I was having a SCD crisis, the lady at the desk told me to sign my name and have a sit..........waiting....waiting....waiting...still waiting! Three hours passed before I was brought to the back of the ER to be seen. This was far from pediatric care, where you can call before you arrive and when you get there you already have room on the Hematology Acute Care floor.
Once I was admitted to Presby, I had the best care given to me and was very pleased with my doctor and the nurses.....shoot, even the food!!!
Share your transitioning experience here!!
About Me
- TahirahAkilah (SCD Warrior)
- Simple but complex, intelligent but idiotic, lover but a fighter!!! I have Sickle Cell Disease....but Sickle Cell Disease does not have ME!!
I just finished a transition also! My dad is in the army and got orders to TX, weeks after my 18 birthday, so I had to leave my pediatric doctor and hospital and learn a new hospital and doctor, but this time it was with the "big" people doctor. It took a few different hospitals, but I finally found one that both my mom and I love. Being that I'm 18 they all think of me as a "baby" and still keep my mom in the loop, which we both love, since I'm still new to being an adult. I hope your transition is going well!
ReplyDelete