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I just returned from visiting during my mother's surgery. My mother's caregiver, my dad, is having many health problems -- his joints and muscles are in constant pain, making even getting up and walking impossible. Also, about a week ago, one of his legs swelled up so that he couldn't bend the knee. His caregiving duties were curtailed. After seeing one doctor for the knee, he was ordered to return home, lie on his back, and get his legs up (plebitis). My mother said they'd be fine (her looking after him). In less than 2 hours she fell in the kitchen and broke her hip. (Her third fall that week.) Five days later they finally operated. My father continues to be confined to a bed at home. I know I have read horror stories about PD (and PD+ in my mom's case) being hospitalized. It's all true. 1. She was supposed to get a spinal, but because of problems with her bones, they couldn't do it and ended up giving her a general. Of course the doctor's couldn't have know that just 2.5 hours before surgery, someone had given my mother all her meds (with water), thinking that she wasn't getting a spinal (this dose, by the way, was 4 hours late anyway -- they missed her morning dose altogether). Luckily, she came out okay. 2. My mother's doses are given at 6:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. She gets Sinemet, Artane, and Requip each time. The first nurse she saw told her that my mom should take her PD medication herself. Luckily, my mom had enough medication to keep her going until I could get to the hospital with the rest of her pills. Then, about 3 days into her stay, a nurse came to her bedside at 11:30 p.m. with only Sinemet and insisted that my mother take it (note: this isn't her full dosage at any time and it's the wrong time!). My mother explained that she already took her medication at 6:30 p.m. and wasn't due to take anything for 12 hours. The nurse would not leave the room until my mother took the Sinemet. My mother ended up putting it in her mouth and spitting it out when the nurse left. When I heard about this and insisted on seeing her chart to see where it said she needed an 11:30 p.m. dose, I discovered that her PD med times weren't even written on her chart (even though she had given them this info). 3. When she came out of surgery and I discovered that she was given a general, I was concerned about her evening dose that day. The nurse's response was: "If she cannot take it at 6:30, then just give it to her a few hours later." I won't even mention all the other problems. Just try to stay out of the hospital. Debbie White [log in to unmask]