Hello,
I am desperately trying to reach someone regarding the care of my husband, John McConkey, who is now at RVH transitional care unit. I can not reach a doctor, I have no idea of his care plan and I am fed up and I want to take him home ASAP.
John was with you 3 months ago. He was sent home but returned by ambulance the next day following a heart attack and was sent from RVH to SouthLake where he had multiple strokes during open heart surgery.
Since Southlake John has been bounced around like a ping pong ball.
From Southlake he went to RVH where he was moved to 3 different wards and each time had to do a 14 day quarantine. He left RVH (and in my opinion should not have). He then went to Soldiers in Orillia where he had to do another 14 day quarantine. From there he went to Huntsville where he had to do a 14 day quarantine. From Huntsiville he went to Midland hospital ltld rehab where he had to do another 14 day quarantine. While there he has a ‘false positive’ test and was moved to another floor for yet another 14 day quarantine.
MOST of John’s recovery time has been spent largely alone, in quarantine. I believe all of this has been so traumatic for him that he may have missed his window in Rehab.
Last week John was transferred back to RVH where he is now in your Transitional Care Unit.
This entire week, I have tried repeatedly but have been unable to connect with his doctor, his therapists, the patient discharge planner – the team leader, all to no avail.
I have talked to no one but his nurse and each day it is a new nurse who knows nothing of Johns harrowing hospital history. Each time the nurse leaves a note for the doctor and therapists to call me.
I call 3 times a day. Today is Friday. I may be out of luck and have to wait till Monday where I fear I will begin another week of silence.
I am not allowed to see him but I know he is not eating and may be slowly starving to death.
We had great hopes that John would make it to a brain injury rehab in Toronto, as that is were we were told he needs to be. But as I said, John’s constant moves and constant isolations have caused John to slip into a depression. As well, his lack of stimulus has caused him to decline. At Southlake, and at Huntsville, John was walking with a walker, talking and reading.
He has declined so much and losing weight.
John is for the most part, physically incapacitated, with diapers and a catheter. But he is often fully aware and this makes it like torture for him to be moving from hospital to hospital, from ward to ward, from quarantine to quarantine, from stranger to stranger.
It is enough. I need to begin the process of getting John home in the ‘Home Care First’ program ASAP, before it is too late. We will do his rehab and care at home.
John will need a hospital bed as that is where he spends most of his time, an electric wheelchair, a bed lift, a walker, a portable toilet, diapers, homecare, physio visits, occupational therapist visits and whatever help I can get to take care of him.
It is my hope that John will improve at home and perhaps be more ready for Toronto rehab at one point. But if I don’t get him home soon, I fear he will just linger and die there.
I hope you can help me. Time is of the essence.

regards,

Tracy McConkey
wife and power of attorney
cell: 705-790-3577
email: zorro.mclaughlin@gmail.com