Family Backpack

Though a colonoscopy is normally recommended as a screening tool for colorectal cancer for individuals who are fifty years old and older, doctors usually recognize that reports of rectal bleeding by a patient merit performing a colonoscopy even if the patient is younger than fifty. Regardless of whether a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy is performed, though, if the examination is not complete and adequate visualization was not achieved, doctors normally recommendedthat the procedure should be done again. This article considers a wrongful death matter in which these two practices were dismissed by treating doctors.

In this example, a woman complained to her doctor that she was having constipation and observed rectal bleeding throughout a five week interval. This continued for another month. She was forty six years old at the time. Now the primary care physician scheduled her for a consultation with a gastroenterologist to do a sigmoidoscopy to check for the reason for the bleeding and constipation. But, the gastroenterologist only did a sigmoidoscopy rather than a colonoscopy. A sigmoidoscopy merely lets the physician examine up to 40 cm from the anus. While the sigmoidoscopy only permits examination of a limited section of the colon, the doctor documented that the sigmoidoscopy was not finished and that it had not been possible to examine the full length even of the sigmoid. Despite the poor visualization, the gastroenterologist failed to suggest that the procedure be repeated so as to properly examine the sigmoid.

The woman saw her physician for 2 yearly physicals after that and each time told him that she kept experiencing problems with constipation. At one point the physician spoke with the patient’s daughter and although he told her he would give some thought to a colonoscopy at some point in the future he proposed that the patient was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and simply should eat more fiber. Later on he told the patient to begin taking lactulose. Ultimately, when a physical examination showed abdominal tenderness and a structure suspicious for stool in the colon, the physician ordered a check of her thyroid and at last referred her for a colonoscopy.

Roughly two weeks later, the woman ended up in the emergency room when she experience pain and vomiting while prepping for a colonoscopy. The emergency room physician found that she had a distended abdomen and could hear hyperactive bowel sounds. in addition, the woman had abdominal tenderness, mostly on the lower left. Given these symptoms the hospital physician had her get. The scan found a mass in the sigmoid with metastasis. Two weeks later the patient underwent surgery to take out the 4.2 cm mass. The surgeon found that her cancer had spread throughout a variety of organs. She began chemotherapy for stage 4 colorectal cancer. She died a little over four months following her surgery.

The womans family initiated a lawsuit against the family doctor and gastroenterologist. The law firm that represented the family was able to resolve the case with a settlement in the amount of $2.0 million. The law restricts the time you have to file a lawsuit so if a family member died of advanced cancer and you think they were the victim of medical malpractice you ought to contact a lawyer immediately to establish whether you may have a valid case.

Even adult children returning home to a blended family benefit from some rules and boundaries. Adult stepchildren graduating from college today face a tough job market in which to succeed. College kids are returning home, for a place to stay until they can launch their careers. Even tougher, are the kids who return to a blended family, one with a new step parent and step siblings.

Boundaries and rules established and agreed upon, before adult stepchildren return to the nest, are essential for the successful blended family. Adult stepchildren can function well living at home with stepparents when presented with clear expectations.

Focus on the positive in your blended family
Focus on the positive when adult children ask to return home. Adult children, in most cases, don’t want to ask biological parents if they can move in with a stepfamily, and you might consider it a compliment to your successful remarriage when they do. Clearly, your adult child feels comfortable living with the stepparent, and that is flattering. Stepmom or stepdad needs to acknowledge the compliment, and make sure to let the adult stepchild know you are eager to spend more time with him.

As well, after the biological parent and stepparent agree upon a set of rules and boundaries, biological parents should lead a discussion about them with the adult stepchild in advance of the move-in date. Adult stepchildren are often willing to comply with rules when they know biological parents and stepparents are happy to have them around.

Rules and boundaries should be reasonable and consistent
Adult stepchildren are, technically, adults, and should be treated as such. However, the adult stepchild who has returned home and is dependent upon the biological parent and stepmom or stepdad, should obey and respect parental authority. Rules and boundaries agreed upon in advance could include guidelines for
o dining and laundry
o a discussion of career plans
o an agreement to actively search and find a job by within a set period
o housekeeping chores
o an agreement to pay rent after six months
o an agreement to a raise in rent after 12 months
o guidelines for guests
o an expectation of quiet after a designated time or else a curfew will be established
o and an expectation that adults will be treated with respect.

Other discussion topics could include the use of an auto as well as guidelines for gas, insurance, and upkeep; smoking, drinking and girlfriend or boyfriend visits; as well as private time for parent and stepparent. Adult stepchildren who bend or even break established rules should be held accountable with another scheduled family meeting.

Road to independence should be paved with love and encouragement for your adult child
Adult stepchildren moving home is not unusual in light of the job market, and he or she should not be made to feel as if they have failed at adulthood. This won’t help a stepchild and it certainly won’t bode well for the blended family. Once rules and boundaries have been agreed upon in a stepfamily, welcome and encourage your adult stepchild into the remarriage. Make sure he spends individual time with his biological parent and offer positive support in his job search.

Stepchildren, especially adult stepchildren, need their own space, and should be afforded privacy and respect of their belongings by other stepkids. Adult stepchildren who return to the home may need extra help on the road to independence; stepmoms and stepdads who are part of that journey pave the way to a smooth stepfamily existence.

Adult stepchildren who return home are an unfortunate result of the economic downturn, but it doesn’t have to be a miserable experience. Biological and stepparents have to discuss and agree upon rules, before the adult stepchild moves in. An adult stepchild is usually amenable to parental guidelines when the discussion is led by the biological parent and assisted by the stepparent.

Adult children who return home to a blended family can find success and independence within a remarriage when expectations are clear and rules are well planned.