"Sent to palliative care too soon"

Many months ago, my adult child went to the Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) with heart failure and fluid on their body. They walked in themselves and were short of breath. While they were in hospital, they contracted aureus golden staph infection. 

I feel my child was ill-treated all the way through. The nurses kept accusing them of drinking water because they kept gaining weight - my child wasn't allowed to do that - but they were just washing their face and rinsing their mouth to wet it. They couldn't even get up at that stage. They were just using the iced water we brought them - putting it in their mouth and spitting it into the bag they give you to throw up into. 

What I believe the reason my child was gaining weight was that the infection was causing inflammation. 

My child's foot was also incredibly painful and they kept asking the attending staff for physio treatment and to find out what was wrong with their foot but nobody did anything. 

My adult child was given medication and sent home. But the golden staph came back. They didn't want to go back to the RPH because that's where they got the bug. So when they got sick again, they went to the Fiona Stanley Hospital. But they were sent home from there to manage things on their own. 

But they got so sick with aureas golden staph that they went back to the Fiona Stanley. They were treating my child for their heart failure, but as far as I could see, the golden staph caused the septicemia again. I felt that the attending staff treating my child were constantly accusing them of still taking drugs. The doctor said my child had to get off the meth but they hadn't been on meth for 6 to 7 years by then. My child was agitated all the time but I believe this was caused by the medication. My child has just been treated terribly. We made a complaint and the accusations reduced for a while but then started happening again. They said my child has heart failure and their heart pumping projection was at 5%.

Their foot was still so sore and my child kept asking for a physio to help them start walking. They got my child a psychologist but no physio.   

The Fiona Stanley Hospital sent my child home with medication again but then the septicemia came back. Because they couldn't walk, they had to go to the hospital by ambulance. My child asked to go to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Charlie's) but was accused of hospital shopping. My child asked to go there because it's closer to home and because Fiona Stanley said they couldn't do anything more but put them in palliative care and wait for them to die. 

Charlie's treated the bug there but then sent my child home. I think that at that point the septicemia had come back. 

At home, my child could barely walk on their foot and was only able to get up to go to the toilet. But then they fell and busted both feet. Most of the time, we had to pull them to their feet - they were sent home in this state - not even able to bear their own weight. 

My child then went back to Charlie's via ambulance. My child was X-rayed - but because their feet were so swollen the medical staff couldn't see anything. The hospital staff said they were going to do a scan on my child but that never happened. They got to the point of putting some radiation dye in my child but then never did the scan. 

They put a needle into their stomach where they were giving them morphine. I stopped that because it zonked my child out too much. They were treating their heart and the bug. 

We asked them to look at their ear but they said they were more worried about their heart. When my child was at Charlie's, their heart went to 180 and their defibrillator went off - it hasn't gone off in 4 years so why did it go off then? My child said the treating staff just gave them an empty syringe and told my child to blow into it. They were more or less treating them like a drug addict. They were on drugs but it was years ago. They also said they put a magnet on it to stop it going off and kept giving them morphine. 

The treating staff said my child's heart pumping projection was at 23% which was a lot better than the 5% the Fiona Stanley Hospital said it was. But then Charlie's said later that it was at 5% so I don't understand.  

One night Charlie's even called in the early hours of the morning to say my child's blood pressure was that low that they won't make it to the morning. I told them to give my child food and water and they were okay. 

They said my child's heart is too weak but they won't give my child a transplant and that we should put them into palliative care so they can get home care. To just go home and make them comfortable and let them go. 

They took them off their diuretics but I told them to put my child back on them. They were giving them an IV but they took that out and starting just giving them oral antibiotics. Charlie's said they've got the ball rolling and my child's going to die. They said the bug will now take over and make them comfortable and let them go.

Charlie's even said my child would be lucky if they make the trip home from the hospital - but they are still with us after several weeks. They have no idea how much my child is suffering.

That was several weeks ago. My child cannot walk but tries because they are not ready to give up. They have been on the couch for several weeks and haven't had a shower in months - even when they were in the hospital, they only got a hand wash. 

A home-service is now sending someone to check my child's INR (blood thickness) and not checking to see if the infection grows back. They keep asking my child if they want morphine. They gave me fentanyl patches.  I have a fridge full of morphine. I feel my child's not getting any care because the hospitals all put them in the too-hard basket. They didn't even send them home with any diuretics. 

I think it's disgusting the way my child has been treated.  They got the infection from a hospital so they should be doing more about helping them. They have a duty of care to my child who has lots of health issues but is being neglected. I am heartbroken. 

Don't just keep saying my child is going to pass away from heart failure or the septicemia. The hospitals should be asking what they can be doing. 

At home, we put my child back on their diuretics and normal medications and they started urinating again. I feel they wouldn't be here if I hadn't done that. My child is still trying to battle. 

My child is now too afraid to go to any hospital because they say nobody is going to help me. They are in agony from their foot - they are trying to do this on their own because they are not ready to let go.