Finally, the laxatives began to work, the pain medication caught up with the pain, and Miklos was able to get some rest. On Monday morning, we were visited by the social worker who gave us the impression that if he were not discharged by five PM, he would stay for another night.

At 4:45, the nurse announced that he was going home. I said, “No, he isn’t.” It was too late in the day for me to properly prepare for him. He was still listed as a fall risk, and he was getting up at least once on hour to go to the toilet. I doubted that I would have been strong enough to help him up if he fell. He was still catheterized, I had not been adequately instructed on how to care for the catheter.

The social worker stopped by on her way out of the hospital to say that since he was deemed medically stable by the hospitalist, insurance might not cover an additional night. (We haven’t seen the bills yet, so I don’t know if that is another battle I will have to fight.) When the night shift social worker came on duty a few minutes later, we again explained the situation, and she intervened with the doctor.

I saw that Dr. Lieb had scheduled his post-surgical check up for a date three weeks away. I immediately emailed him and asked if he really expected Miklos to walk around with a large bag of urine hanging outside his pants for three weeks. He was appalled. No one had informed him that Miklos had been re-admitted to the hospital.

Miklos now has a home health nurse visiting weekly for the next few weeks, and a physical therapist. An occupational therapist came to assess his needs, and said that he was sufficiently independent and that he didn’t require any of her services. She added that she was sorry because she thought that he would be fun to work with. Everyone’s favorite patient was back!