May that be the worst day you will ever see.

seems very reasonable. I’m so sorry you are having to go through all of this.

I would be furious, too.

I hope you get better soon. Pain that severe is no joke.

I mean, it was literally a shitty and pissy situation that you found yourself in but you wouldn't have lashed out to that degree. Please don't let your blood pressure get that high if you can control it.

We all want you to get well and keep posting here for many years to come.

Wish I could do something to help you though this rough period (DM me where I can mail some new pairs of socks). Hang in there!

being sick, in pain, on meds, and in such vulnerable predicament in the hospital. Sound like an experience one would have to endure in a prison hospital! Hoping you get well soon!

I'd have been seeing red too.

Hospitals suck enough as it is. To be forced to deal with people who have no manners or consideration for others while you’re a patient makes your stay worse.

I’m sending healing energy to you. I hope your infection begins to abate quickly.

That was unacceptable.

And I don’t get this shared bathroom baloney.

Just tell them you are going to write a letter to DPH and cc the hospital infectious disease and quality control managers (say it calmly!).

Unless DPH is useless in your area that should get their attention. You haven’t made any friends there but does it really have to get to this level to get care in hospitals these days?

Twenty years ago the average age of nurses in the field was mid 40s. Don’t think it’s much better now.
I fear for the medical care we are devolving into.

Sorry you had to go through that!

the staff is so overworked. But who in their right mind did this? These visitors? Wow, unbelievable!!!!!

Hoping that things turn around for you soon!

Even the aide who initially thought l had destroyed the bathroom apologized profusely to me.

I banter with the nurses and make them laugh. They are busier than hell yet they still sit with me and hold my hand.

And then some douche bag who is not toilet trained comes in to fuck everyone up.

Now about the nasty neighbors - I have different thoughts about them!!

Sending you my hopes for a turn for the better!

Have you seen your neighbor? Is he maybe elderly and/or impaired? Still sounds like someone really dropped the ball there--your anger and disgust is justified.

Hope you break out soon, and go back to being Magically Delicious!

Authentic is good! Sorry it’s like this. Hang in there. ((HUGS))

My husband was in the hospital for 16 days, after we fought with the insurance company to pay for a specialist to do the surgery we knew he needed. Of course, there were complications due to the delay. His digestive system shut down for a few days. He was not a happy camper and said a lot of things due to the amount of pain he had.
I also made some outrageous statements while in labor. My opinion is if you are in the hospital, nothing you say can be used against you.
I hope you feel better soon.

restrained. I could see myself thowing a fit they could have heard in the parking lot.

Sending hugggggs and vibes that they not only figure out what is going on, but actually manage to deal with it effectively.

Your DU family is here for you.

That degree of shit-losing is something I have only experienced at the DMV.

.... don't get me started.

Definitely one of the circles of hell!

My career was in high tech at a giant semiconductor company. You be amazed at how many HIGHLY EDUCATED ADULTS behave like 5 year olds when it comes to bathroom habits. It's pathetic.

That's why I always wash my hands, take extra paper towels and use them to grab the door handle when leaving. I also never touched the handrails when at work. The little boys with childish bathroom habits spread those germs everywhere. Disgusting. And people wonder why they're sick all the time.......

What happened to you in the hospital was inexcusable. I would sue.

And I noticed how many of the high-ranking IT managers/supervisors never washed their hands after doing their business, that I eventually just refused to shake hands with any management personnel.

I was also told by a female IT professional friend that it was her experience that the prettier the girl was the less she would wash her hands.

Who would have believed?

...is inadequate if no one was checking on you when the fall danger alarm went off. Ignoring IV alarms is pretty normal (but major leagues annoying when you are laying next to it). As someone who worked in hospitals and lately spent more time in them as a patient than I like, there may be more going on. Where I worked only patients could use room bathrooms, for exactly the issue you raise. Visitors had to use public bathrooms. And visitors caught violating that were tossed out. It could also be possible that the patient in the adjoining room has major issues that lead him/her to leave the bathroom in the state you encountered. As you note your narcotics haze, that could be true of them and if mixed with pre-existing dementia, even worse. If the hospital is on their game, the unit's senior nurse manager should be checking in with every patient at least once daily. Give 'em an ear ful and note that you will be sharing this in the post stay survey they will likely email you. That stuff works if its a good hospital and nurse managers hate getting spanked by the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). If there is more nonsense like this, I would reach out to the CNO while you are still there. The CNO, again if this is a good hospital, makes rounds to a couple of units every day. (Our hospital had 225 departments so likelihood you would routinely see the CNO in an average stay is pretty low). But they tend to move troubled units to the top of the visit list if they get calls like you might make. Best of luck!

It a roll of the dice every single day.

I sure hope you find what you need, some peace would be nice, less pain and they find the solution to the infection.
But peace would make everything easier.

I think you showed restraint. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more disgusting than dealing with that while you are sick and in pain. I hope the move you or your rude ass neighbor.

You did not throw that hospital-meal jello at anyone's head, so I admire your restraint. I hope things improve soon, LC, this situation sounds just awful. I hate to think of you in so much pain.

I know a bit about hospitals that many people don't, because I am married to a retired nurse and I volunteered at our local hospital for six years.

If that hospital was like any one I have been to, there is a person there in charge if infection control. He/she keeps the books on all infections that happen at the hospital and makes sure all the personnel are current on all vaccinations. Find out who that person is and file a report with them. Anticipate that nothing will be done and also simultaniously file a report with whoever the infection control manager answers to. Demand that they respond to you.

I must also say I was shocked to hear you are not only sharing your room with someone, but sharing your bathroom with two other patients. This is something I have never seen.

Best of luck to you, my friend, and get well soon.

I own a campground and the bathrooms are trashed on a daily/hourly basis by grown ass adults.

They don't flush....men dribble/piss in front of the toilets....they leave water dripping....paper towels on the floor right next to the trash can....flooding the floors outside the showers. We go into the bath houses every hour with gloves on prepared to clean up toilet seats and pick up garbage. Cripes they won't even wipe their feet on a rainy day. Don't let me get started on how they trash my cabins and cottages.

I always tell everyone not to criticize businesses for dirty bathrooms----the first person after you do your hourly check could smear feces everywhere.

I don't think poorly of you! Get better soon---hospitals will kill you!

soaked as if someone stood in front of the toilet and peed on the floor. WHY???!!!

WITHOUT the pain. Sorry you had to go through that. Hoping for some comfort for you.

but never noticed any that shared baths between rooms. It seems like a supremely bad idea for reasons that became very obvious to you.

Fortunately, they had single-patient rooms and all the patients are confined to their beds as fall risks.

Your reaction was justifiable. Toss in all of the physical things happening to your body, you reacted as most of us would have.

I am so sorry that all of this is happening to you. I don't know where you are, but try asking for a patient advocate if anything else starts to go wrong. Hopefully, they do have Patient Advocates there, and they will work for you and with you to improve the situation.

My parents went through a lot of hospital stays in the last seven years of their lives, so I learned my way around. And if all else fails, find out who the CEO is and go straight to them. That always gets their attention. I've done it.

Seriously. Anything.

I'll spare you the details, but nursing home/rehab are even worse. If you have to go, look at ratings before you choose a place.

What a shame for you.

What they do is interrupt the pain-anxiety feedback loop so that when you quit moving, the pain will settle down faster. It also makes you groggy and sleepy and trust me, sleeping through the worst of any of this stuff is a great deal.

It sounds like both you and your next door neighbor would benefit from bedside commodes, something staff will whine about until you mention the lawsuits if either one of you breaks a hip trying to sprint to the bathroom when you've been putting it off just a little too long.

Likely the next door neighbor had tried to alert staff, also, and had just enough attention paid to his needs as you did because the corporate model works a lot better for a WalMart than it does in a hospital. You can bet everything is being done at a dead run in that place, but nobody can run that fast. Yes, I experienced it both places, in a bed and beside one.

You'll have lots to talk about when you get out of that place.

Just don't forget to ask for that bedside commode.

leaving piss all over the restroom floor. Not only is it unsanitary, it's also fall risk and a health hazard. You're most likely wearing the non-skid hospital socks, however it's still a fall risk hazard.


It sounds like housekeeping should inspect the patient restrooms more frequently because your situation could have been abundantly worse. I understand the staff not being able to get to you and you having the urgency not to wait for an escort, but that restroom should have not been left like that for someone who's in the hospital.


Damn Lucky, how many days have you currently been in the hospital with this infection? At this point I'm wondering if you would be better off at another hospital. I don't know but I do know that I'm worried about your well-being and lack of pain management. I know that they're giving you heavy drugs but it's not easing your pain.


We want you to comfortable and pain free.

Sending extra healing positive vibes to you!

What you described is completely unacceptable from any number of angles - sanitation, public health, infection, and just esthetically. No one wants to be exposed to anyone else's waste products unless it is part of your job as a care taker either professionally or as a family member, or you are pet parents.

I'm sure I'm not the only woman who has encountered this - toilet seats in public bathrooms that are splattered with drops of urine. My guess about this is that the wet spots are left behind by women who don't want to sit down on a public toilet seat so they squat over it and end up making a mess, and then don't have the decency to wipe off the seat afterwards. Slobs.

I avoid public bathrooms as much as possible. And I've learned to look first because not finding the wet spots until you're sitting in them is really gross.

I so hope you feel better soon.

And being blubbering wouldn't have helped. I'd say thank you to you for speaking up loudly and doing something about it instead. I sure hope you can feel better soon.

I remember when hospitals were cleaner than expensive hotel rooms, and each "roomlet" checked every hour. They were basically silent places. Speaking was done in whispers, and if you didn't whisper you were chastised by a nun. Our hospital in my home town was run by the Catholic church. They sold out some years ago and moved to a new building south of town. Gone are the days of quietude! But what you experienced is beyond the pale. If it'd been me, they would have been able to hear me 1/2 down the block, at least! And I agree with others in their messages about making it known to the appropriate staff, and the patient advocate (if you have one). A couple of the hospitals I've been in lately have had such a role and it really helps.

I empathize with your pain. I usually live with at least a 6, and the pain meds do little of nothing but take the edge off. If anyone could come up with a pain med that actually worked, they'd make a fortune! I know there are some days between the pain and the fibro/lupus fatigue, even getting out of bed is a challenge. I'm sending you healing vibes and good energy to hopefully speed you towards healing, if that's okay with you.

Here's hoping you can do home care rather than rehab home. I've not been impressed with the rehab/nursing home situation when my Mom was using them. And they kept her just long enough to get the max out of Medicare, and then sent her home, regardless of her health or ability to easily move. Of course, my Mom wasn't the most willing of patients (gryn)...

I hope that aide learns how to talk to patients who are in obvious pain and distress! I'm a nurse and in my over 30 year career, I never spoke harshly to ANY patient. Except one.

In a rehab hospital I had an elderly post hip surgery patient who was in pain and also vomiting. It was very stressful and as I left her room to get a phenergan injection for her, I passed by a patient's room. As I passed, she started snapping her fingers at me, yelling, "Hey you!" She was a fairly young woman, about 50ish, with a knee replacement.

Thinking she also was in distress, I stopped and pleasantly asked her what she needed. She said, "Honey, can you go get me some milk?" Oh my effing gad, I was livid. I told her, "Number one, I am not "hey you" or "honey." My name is Ms. Marks. And number two. You have a call bell. Use it!"

Her mouth dropped open and she actually apologized. I did too, for snapping. We were good after that and actually laughed about it.

I'm not above bringing someone milk, or coffee or anything else. I'll escort you to the bathroom, or put you on a bed pan and give you a good cleaning. I'm not the kind of nurse who only passes meds and orders the CNA's to do it. But, that lady was beyond my patience at that time when a poor 93 year old was puking her guts up.

Here’s to you getting the infection cleared up and gone, and know you can yell and scream here ANYTIME.

and a big hug. What a clusterfuck!

I would have reacted the same way. Hope things are better soon, and you are no longer in pain. Will be keeping you and your wife in my thoughts,

Not you, the person that left the bathroom like that! I would have been pissed too.

I hope you can get through this quickly, so you don't have to endure anymore pain.

You really had a combination of horrible things, and you have had pain for a long time. I hope they find you help soon.

Reminds me of slip seating an 18 wheeler with other drivers. Dried up snot on the steering wheel, plastic urinal bottles filled with piss alongside of the drivers seat, etc etc.

The real question is: "Why is our healthcare system so poor that a critical patient has to share facilities with all these other people?" It was not like this 50 years ago. I'm old enough to remember.

I hope you recover soon and get to eat some comfort food in a cozy bed at home.

many hospitals that had beds in rows, many of them, in one room with one bathroom. Our healthcare system sucks but hospital rooms have definitely gotten better with generally more privacy.

Even without the pain, dealing with all that seems close to overwhelming.
May your best zen be with you.

Qualifies as an ugly-demon-nightmare-from-hell on a popsicle stick.

I hope things improve soon.

there are ZERO reasons, however, why someone could not alert the cleanup crew - that's crazy terrible

If you need any more counsel, PM me direct! Hang in there (or better, out of there) LC,,,

Serious judgment on any able-bodied person allowing such unsanitary conditions to exist outside of a disaster area or a war zone--much less IN a hospital.

Used to work at a destination retail location. Found rolled up, that is, used diapers tucked in between merchandise on the display shelves more than once. Why are those people bothering to shop for dishware when they can just catch and eat squirrels or whatever animals with their bare hands? Scratch that. Most predator animals are fairly fastidious and keep their dens clean. We're talking grazing animals that shit as they munch.

I'd have gone into that other room and knocked those people to the floor. I'd have been arrested. But sometimes that's the price for defending someone's dignity.

I can't take opioids. They do not give me pain relief. Can they offer you something else? Honestly, there are quite a few of us out here that can't take opioids because of their DNA mutations. I'm one of them. Ask for something else.

Morphine made me nauseous and didn't relieve my pain at all. ibuprofen makes me a wired up mess too so I can't take that either. Unfortunately, I didn't find these things out until AFTER I had surgery and the doctors don't seem to understand the level of pain that happens after and if you can't get pain relief, you can't sleep, you can't do anything. Hugs.

Hydromorphone is an opioid medication that treats severe pain by blocking pain signals in your brain. The brand name of this medication is Dilaudid®. This medication comes in a tablet form that you can take by mouth with a glass of water as directed.
What is this medication?

HYDROMORPHONE (hye droe MOR fone) treats severe pain. It is prescribed when other pain medications have not worked or cannot be tolerated. It works by blocking pain signals in the brain. It belongs to a group of medications called opioids.

This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

COMMON BRAND NAME(S): Dilaudid

Also, ask hospital for magnesium - really keeps you regular. Magnesium citrate is good.

I understand that feeling and what I want you to know is that I am glad you can tell us your frustrations and pain because, and I'm pretty sure I speak for all of DU, we do love you and am more than willing to listen and empathize....

I'm so sorry for the turmoil and pain you are experiencing.

It is unbelievable to me that a hospital no less, would place a person with an infection in an unclean space, such as you have described. They should be reported to your healthcare provider and/or sued for negligence.

I hope you heal from your condition and from this experience quickly and get to go home soon.

Illnesses. Drugs. Etc.

I hope you're doing well very soon, Lucky.

I was in a shared room once with acute rejection from my kidney transplant and the kid next to me had been in an auto accident and was paralyzed. I don't think there was a second that someone in his family or friends were not in the room with him yakking up a storm. I couldn't get any sleep.

And when that bill comes in.... have a field day with the negotiations.

That was a freaking biohazard... in an active hospital space. There is no excuse for either it happening or the fact that an attendant tried to walk off without taking care of it.

Summary: completely unacceptable. You are a paying customer. This is their service?

(Hey, I'm not the one who made hospitals 'for profit' and then torpedoed all the state run institutions. If they had parked your car in acid and then dismissed it as 'whatever' and tried to scoff it off, you'd be on the phone with an attorney while driving the thing back into the garage for a cleaning... whether or not the door was open. They want to be a business, they can suffer being treated like one.)

I would have done the same only I would have had every towel or extra bedding thrown on that floor. Hospitals seem to short staff themselves at the expense of the patients. I k ow even my mo. Was in rehab her diaper wS always soaked and leaking in the wheelchair and on the floor. First thing I did daily when I got there was to get someone to help her shower put on clean clothes and new diaper and clean wheelchair . It was disgusting

She just turned 97, and lost he best friend (about the same age) about 3 years ago. Her friend was in better physical shape, but lighter on the care/companionship access. Her friend decided to enter a home for the aged. She survived almost two weeks. I think my mom in law would rather risk skydiving without a parachute than enter one of those places. From the meager description that we got, it sounded like the opening scene of Marat-Sade.

that "some people are no damned good". I'm seeing more and more with people feeling free to throw their litter out in parking lots as well.

It has been good for the times I've been in the hospital and the treatment I am receiving now. Nurses and other staff have been courteous and treated me good.

I know that is not the case everywhere.

People are such assholes these days. I'm SO SORRY you are having to go through this!

Screw the assholes; you did well standing up for yourself and had every damn right - especially since the aid thought you made that toilet mess. They needed to know it was NOT you -- and that it's unacceptable.

How rude, and dangerous those "neighbors" were not alerting staff of the situation! So sorry you endured that.

With the level of pain you're having it's no wonder to be so extra aggravated- thought it was a totally aggravating situation!

Never heard of a shared bathroom to another room either!

My best wishes for an increasingly improving situation in all ways, and more soonish return home to a healthier life again!

It's good that we have the bestest medical system in the world, oh wait, this just in, it's just the most expensive, not the best.

What you dealt with was straight-up unsanitary and dangerous.

I never understand people who treat restrooms/bathrooms like fucking catboxes. Visitors should not use patient bathrooms, and if they do, they should be banned from visiting.

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that, and of course it was absolutely fine to snap.