cj barrimond  

Today Dakota Jaynique' and her family come home from Valley Children's Hospital where she was admitted for an infected Lymph Node that has to have surgery on to drain it. It cause quite a problem for the family while they were staying with her by her side 24/7 in the hospital. You see Dakota has never from the time she was brought home slept in a crib. We all had cribs at our homes, but she refused to sleep in them.

Well when they rushed her to the ER at Valley Children's they admitted her to a room with a crib that was metal and had metal bars on it as if in jail.  Dakota wanted nothing and I mean nothing to do with that crib, it was for babies and she does not consider herself a baby.  She thinks she is a big girl, after all she is potty trained and wears big girl panties so she is a big girl.  She is very independent and she thinks she can do for her self rather than have mom and dad do for her.  She is a well mannered child who I would be proud to take anywhere with me.  She doesn't though fits when she can't have things or doesn't get her way. 

Until she went into this hospital she was so precious.  While at this hospital that comes highly recommended by every doctor around in Fresno, Ca she had nothing but attitude.  The nurses outside her door were absolutely rude, talking behind the families back as if they were trash.  When her IV machine would go off there was a nurse sitting at the desk and I asked the nurse if she could come and check the machine because I had no knowledge of how they operated and didn't know what the alarm was for.  The nurses response was yeah.  After fifteen minutes of listening to this alarm, I again asked the same nurse if she was going to come check the machine?  Her response was rude and uppity.  She stated the floor nurse would do it when she got back.  That nurse never left that desk once. 

I went to the nurses station to ask when the doctor was coming around to let use know when Dakota was going to surgery, the nurses could not tell us anything even though the parents were standing right there.  About a half hour later the Doctor who was going to do the surgery on her showed up.  We asked alot of questions and he was somewhat surprised at the number of questions we had, but after I explained that we were not getting any answers from anyone about anything he gladly answered all questions that he had knowledge to.  Bless his heart.

Now we were told surgery was in about 3-4 hours from then.  So we took Dakota outside for some fresh air right by her room.  The same rude nurse on the desk came to the door and told us that ya all have to come in now! I and a friend of mine were telling the parents that she would probably go into surgery sooner and that the surgeon may slip her in between his other surgeries.  That the operation would only take about 30-45 mins.  Well when we returned to the room, the surgical tech was waiting to prep Dakota and take her to surgery.  I guess I know a little too much.  While on the way to the operating room, my friend and I bent the tech's ear and gave her a run down on the attitudes that were being given to the patient and the parents.  We also told her of the crib problem.  That the parent had requested a regular twin bed the day she was admitted and denied the bed.  Dakota was prepped by some very professional people and treated with the ut most care in surgery area of the hospital.  Again bless them.

We were instructed by the surgery tech that a social worker would meet us in the waiting room for a chat on the problems we were experiencing. 

Now I must give you some background on this situation before you pass judgment.  My son has always been a hard working individual and he busts his butt for 8-14 hours a day at work.  When he lost his job he and his girlfriend had no other choice but to go on welfare until he could find another job.  She on the other hand was going thru the welfare to work program when this happened to Dakota.  She had to postpone her schedule until Dakota was brought home.  Now she can go thru her program once she is brought home and then he can go back out to apply for work again.  He at one point was working, carrying a full load at City college and taking care of his kids at home as well.  His girlfriend was working too, but only part-time.  He was draining himself with the load he was carrying around, so something had to go.  He needs one year for his college to finish.

Now the way the hospital staff were viewing him and his girlfriend was as if they were nothing but trash.  They are educated individuals who believe in higher education and push that education on both daughters.  So when this social worker came in to talk to the parents in front of my friend and myself, we both were applaud at the attitude she gave them and the statement she made to them about if they were from Madera, San Diego, San Francisco, or LA they would have no problem taking care of any need they had, but because they were from Fresno, Ca they were entitled to absolutely nothing and their daughter was not entitled to anything.  The parents were not concerned about themselves but about what would make Dakota comfortable. 

We fine out from several staff members at this hospital the because Fresno, Ca has not help donate as much money to this hospital as Madera has then anyone coming from Fresno will not be afforded good treatment.  If they lived right there in the town of Madera they would be treated with respect and all needs would be met regardless of their social status.  When my son and my friend brought out the race card and going to the news station about this treatment and this policy that not one staff member quoted both several staff members that social worker ran out of that waiting room as if someone was about to physically attack her.  No one in that room made any overtures in that direction at all.  Sure the parents were upset, but after she left they calmed down and we talked to them and explained what they needed to do from then on out. 

Take notes and names and get ready for the press. 

When we arrived back at Dakota's room, a twin bed had been moved in and the crib out.  The nurse that sat on her lazy butt and wouldn't check her IV machine was up and playing with an IV machine in the hallway.  A Chaplain was sitting in the room and he waited till she was comfortable in her bed and he talked with the parents and prayed with us and them.  Another Blessing for him.

When we arrived back at the room, the nurses had been talking amongst themselves about the meeting with the Social Worker Lori.  Word of any thing spreads around that hospital like it was a burning wildfire.  I was ashamed to know the disrespect for the patient and the patience's privacy and the families right to privacy, but at this hospital it is evident that no patient or family has the right to any kind of privacy when it comes to them if they are from Fresno.

Now you also have to know about the other family that was getting the same if not worse treatment than Dakota's parents were.  It was a family from Mexico who did not speak any English and they had been there 14 days when we arrived.  They were there still when Dakota came home.  They were also treated badly and disrespectfully at this hospital.  There is no call for this type of treatment I don't care who you are.  This hospital is there for children and they have a Ronald McDonald house on premises and this is the kind of behavior you can expected from this hospital if you are from Fresno, Ca.  I have known other parents from Fresno who have given similar horror stories of the treatment they received there as well.

Once Dakota was in her bed and sleeping so soundly and so relaxed she started getting the rest she so desperately needed.  The day after surgery, Dakota wanted to go to the play room and play with the toys.  While in the playroom a woman and her son were observed.  The woman was picking something from her son's hair and throwing it on the floor by where Dakota was playing.  When mom realized she was throwing whatever on the floor by her daughter she moved her away from the two.  There was another man in the room watching a game on the TV.  Yes there is supposed to be a nurse in there and if my memory serves me correct there was a nurse in there.  Once back in her room, some time later, mom noticed Dakota scratching her head and crying.  When mom checked her head after they had taken a nap in the same bed she found Dakota had lice in her hair.  She brought it to the attention of the nurse outside at the nurses station and they immediately stated that it was impossible for her to have gotten it there, that she must have been brought in with it.  Not so.  So when the mother asked if the doctor could prescribed the medicine to get rid of it he did so.  Mom asked for a prescription for herself as well because she slept with Dakota that day.  She was not taking any chances of spreading it to the other members of her family.  Now this gave the nurses more to chat amongst themselves about.

There was an angel nurse that did come to their rescue and gave them information and some support and she was not allowed near them the rest of their stay.  No one gave her name out and yet the hospital was out to chastise anyone giving any support or good treatment to this family.  It took other family members to get test results from the nurses and that is not permitted under hepa laws, but you resort to what you know when dealing with such menus.  My husband had to ask for the test results and if you have ever looked at my pics (on my myspace page www.myspace.com/cjbarrimond) you will see him and he is not a small man.  Some look at him and immediate fear comes over them.  I had to ask about things and got no where, but we brought in a friend while she was still dressed in her hospital scrubs because she worked in another hospital somewhere else and she was able to get the information we had been trying to get as a courtesy.  Bless her heart on that one.

The treatment they received in this hospital was appalling and down right unacceptable.  If there is a god up there, may he come to our rescue.  These parents tried to be tolerant of their attitudes knowing they were busy and taking care of children and allowed some slack in the attitude area.  But what they gave was so unacceptable I refused to have another one of my grandchildren taken to that hospital under any circumstances.  I would not recommend that hospital to any parent or child living in the Fresno Area for any reason.  You will set yourself up for discrimination because you live in Fresno and not Madera.  I will from this day forward make it my life's mission to persuade all members of Fresno to avoid that hospital at all costs and I want Fresno City Council and the County Board of Supervisors to look into setting up a children's hospital in Fresno County.  This way our children will not be subjected to such ill treatment and such nasty attitudes of staff that think of where you reside rather than the fact you need help.  If this isn't a blatant case of discrimination I don't know what is.  I would really like to hear from anyone and everyone out there on your thought of the treatment given and how you think this can be settled.  Bless you all and I personally hope you never need this hospital for your child's life.  If you are a supporter financially of this institution you need to be aware of what you are financially supporting.  Please reconsider your financial support for this hospital.  I urge all out there to take note of this blog and consider an alternative to using that hospital if at all possible. 

If we here in Fresno are spending money on those newspapers on Kids Day and dropping donations at McDonald's where is that money going.  If it is in fact going to Valley Childrens Hospital why are our Fresno Families receiving such nasty treatment when our children are admitted to long or short stays there?  Why has our local administrators allowing this horrible treatment of our families and just now does a family say enough is enough and are willing to go to the news agencies that will listen? 
I want to hear what you all have to say and whether the family should sue the hospital or what?  Do you consider this a case of discrimination of what?  Come on people speak up, you have someone here to listen to after all this time.