Getting old and dealing with doctors, my take

[glatt]

The lack of communication is the worst.

My FIL has been in the hospital with a broken back for two weeks, and with each shift, it's a new face, and they don't have the half an hour it takes to read the growing chart. So they all ask us for the executive summary of what's going on. At least he's been there so long, I think we have gotten everyone up to speed about him.

But it's amazing. You tell a doctor that he has a broken back and therefore trouble breathing, and they stand there, nodding their head, and then ask him to sit up and lean forward to they can listen to his lungs while he breathes. But he's not supposed to lean forward, because the added pressure on the fracture might make his spine snap clean in half. Not to mention the pain is causes. But they are on autopilot, asking him to lean forward so it's a little easier for them to position their stethoscope.

You're absolutely right that it's critical for someone to be there with them. I don't know how single old people with no kids survive the medical system.