Thank you to everyone who has prayed for my cousin Anne before. She has been in the hospital fighting for her life this week. I believe I will be hearing from her daughter any time now, with news that she has died. They are in New York, and I am in Kansas, so I am limited to communicating by phone.

My cousin Anne fell and broke her hip last Saturday. She also has significant heart and lung issues. Because of the broken hip, Anne was placed on the orthopedics wing. What is perplexing me is that my second cousin, Cindy, told me the other night that her mother was in so much pain, she was wailing.

They had not been able to operate yet, b/c Anne was in congestive heart failure.

I understand that Anne's heart and lung issues limited what she could be given for pain, but to have a patient crying out and waililng in pain sounds barbaric to me.

Anne suffered a severe stroke in the middle of the night on Thursday. The medical staff were unaware that this occurred, and her daughter unfortunately is the one who found her unresponsive the next morning, when she came to visit.

It sounds like my cousin might have received better care in a non-orthopedic setting. Does anyone else have any experience with a situation like this?

I thought pain care was more advanced than this.

I have many wonderful memories of laughing with my cousin on the phone over everyday life events to hold in my heart.

EJ