Minor (VERY MINOR ) vent

I've known for a few days that I sort of over scheduled myself for today. But it is just one day and most of it is DOGGIE stuff, so I could cope, right?
- Sugar and Lacey to the groomer for 8 AM
- Marlin gets a bath here at home
- Dad and I go to vote
- Lacey has her last Beyond the Basics class this evening (a sort of a graduation, hence the trip to the groomer)
- Following that, she has her Agility class.

Had a few errands planned for yesterday to make today easier.

Just as long as nothing went "wrong." I needed to be in bed reasonably early to get up on time and keep on track.

HA!

Yesterday, at 5 PM, I find Dad collapsed on the floor in the kitchen; he is breathing but unresponsive. So I call the ambulance and EMTs. (For those of you who may not know, calling the ambulance is unfortunately a common occurrence. In a 'good' year, we have them here 8 times per year. One year I felt like they had to go on my Christmas card list I saw them so much!) I suspected that his blood glucose went too low (he is diabetic) but I couldn't get a reading to be certain.

The EMTs arrive, it was his blood glucose and once they gave him the glucagon shot he was OK. They are required to take him in to the ER when this happens.

Now for the 'interesting' bits.

BOTH hospitals we use are diverting, their ERs are overflowing. So we have to go to Rhode Island Hospital (this one is not allowed to divert ambulances only walkins.) We spend the next 6 hours in a hallway with loads of other non critical folks. In a hospital we have not been to before (I have lived here long enough to know what it is like.) Dad says there were more guards than nurses in the ER! He is right. Between the hospital guards, the police, state troopers and prison guards, the place was full of security. They have cameras in ALL the hallways, and no one is permitted to walk around freely. Each time Dad or I needed to use a restroom, we had to wait for an escort. (By comparison, the 2 hospitals we use are more like luxury spas, and we walk about like we are at home!)

We watch prisoners come in from the prison with handcuffs, or ankles cuffs, 2 where in shackles and security guards. If the prisoner is in cuffs, there are 2 guards, if in shackles, there are 3 guards. We learn that they 'routinely FAKE' illness to get a trip outside! Of the 6 we saw only ONE was actually ill. The guy who 'allegedly' swallowed a screw? The x rays showed he made it up. The rpisoners always get high priority, to get them through and out of there.

We see 2 suicide attempts come through. One was a woman who overdosed on sleeping pills; the other a man who tried to knife himself.

A three car accident, first 2 cars hit head on and the third car slammed into the rear of one car, flew up and rolled over. All teenagers and miraculously, NO serious injuries, no broken bones! (Even the ambulance crews bringing them all in were amazed, they had SEEN what the cars looked like.)

Drunks and druggies galore. One woman said "I remember I was drinking, then I fell down in the driveway." She broke her nose and her whole face as a mess. One man said "I want rehab," and promptly passed out. Several of them were unruly and required wrestling to a bed and restraints.

All these had priority under triage as they were in more serious condition than Dad. Once his blood glucose level was stabilized, he was basically fine. There was a woman next to us who had been to her doctor that afternoon. The doctor called the ambulance to pick her up at the doctor office and bring her in due to heart issues. She had been waiting in the hallway since 2:30!!!! She kept phoning her children, telling them she was OK. I finally hollered into the phone, "LISTEN! One of you get over here and help your mom!" A son showed up shortly after. She refused to talk to me after that, he he. I DON"T CARE! She was in her 80's and needed SOMEONE. Shortly after that, she went in for her heart procedure. Surprise, surprise! Her son did thank me.

I finally went up to the reception station and talked with them, went over all his readings (everything was normal the entire time we were there) and said I would check him out without a doctor. A critical care doctor flew by in the hallways, reviewed the chart, nodded and signed so we could get out of there. (I bet that is going to cost us $200! We get a bill from the ambulance, the hospital, the lab and the doctor. Sometimes we get bills from others as well. I have to keep tracked of who we talk to as the billing does occasionally get messed up.)

It was after midnight by the time I got to bed. Two of yesterday errands never got done so they MUST be done today.

Sugar and Lacey were "ONLY" 15 minutes late this morning. However, that puts them almost last on the service list, so they will be there a while. Sigh. Sorry, girls!

Doesn't your day suddenly seem peachy? he he he.


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WOW!! :eek:

I'm glad your dad is okay!
I'm sure the girls will forgive you!
{{{{{hugs}}}} to you!
I hope the rest of your day is MUCH MUCH better!!

WOW! What a day that had to be. Is your dad OK? Goodness. I would've been high-strung if I had to wait forever at a hospital like that; or even leave.

Dad is fine, thank you much. He seems to bounce back from these episodes fairly well. We try to keep them to a minimum for MY sanity. As he says, he is out of it, so it doesn't bother him one bit. :rolleyes:

It was a peak at how the other half live, and something I could have lived without seeing, thank you very much. That is an inner city hospital, the only one in the state which deals with prisoners. They rotate the staff every 3 hours, as it is high stress for them as well. One nurse I spoke with told us she LOVES getting people like us who are polite, don't swear, and ask for guidance immediately rather than waiting until we have a full blown swearing fit. She also said Mondays are known for being the worst in these type ERs. And if Monday is a holiday, it is the Tuesday which is the worst.

Glad to hear your dad is ok, Sounds like you need a lazy day too.


I've got so much respect for nurses and doctors. They do an amazing job and don't ever get enough credit for it. I've been in a few time in A&E and have always seem someone else screaming or swearing at them.

I have much respect for Dr's and nurses - especially after the year I've had.
Sandie, I don't know how you do it! I am sending you some puppy and kitty hugs, since I know for sure you do *not* want my flu ridden ones... but the critter ones should be okay!

Glad to hear your dad is alright.

I am glad your dad is okay! That sounds like a hell of a day. I hope everything went well for your busy day TODAY.

What a day!

Years ago - probably 15 years ago by now, I somehow was the "ambulance" for our department at the newspaper. One day my assistant slipped with an X-acto knife and knicked a vein in his palm. Well, blood went everywhere. He made it over to his desk next to mine, we commandeered supplies to make a torniquet around his wrist, gave him my watch to keep track of how many second so he could release it a bit every 30 seconds, and bundled him into my 13-year-old beat-up car and off to the hospital. The whole way there - maybe three miles - he alternated between apologizing for bleeding on my car, and saying he felt faint, and saying he felt like he was gonna throw up. We got to the Emergency Department, me saying "Don't pass out, you're bigger than me, and I don't know if I could carry you" and there at the desk, he was looking paler and weaker.

The admitting woman kept asking question after question, seeming to be purposefully delaying things, and finally when she slowly asked "Now, was this an accident, or ..." I realized because the tourniquet was around his wrist she thought it was a suicide attempt. I snapped at her, and said "Listen, he's lost a LOT of blood and is about to pass out. Can we get him to a bed and take care of the paperwork after that? I know he has insurance, and it was NOT a suicide, that's a tourniquet!"

She looked at me, startled, and said "Oh, uh, come with me, sir," and got him to a bed and a triage nurse, looking kind of embarrassed the whole time. I was glad he was taken care of, but furious at her assumption - and besides, even if it WAS a suicide attempt, should someone with blood all over his shirt and a tourniquet applied be seen right away?

You do have to feel compassion for the hospital that have to take everyone, and are understaffed and overburdened.

Glad you dad is fine. I just saw this thread or I would have posted sooner.

Wow sounds like a "fun" adventure! :eek:

Hospitals creep me out and I would have been a panicky mess in a couple of hours. I admire you for being so calm! I'm glad your dad is ok :)

WOW! What a day you had! I'm glad you found your dad and got the EMTs there quickly. It's too bad you had to go to the hospital since you have been down that road before. What a waste of your time and money. *sigh* It does give all of us reading your post a real appreciation for what the staffs of the ERs all over the country go through. It's not as glamorous as it is portrayed on TV.

Years ago I had a stomach virus - the worse I ever had. I was throwing up several times an hour for 7 hours straight (also had problems at the other end :o - I know TMI!!) Well, finally hubby called an ambulance because I was getting weak and spacey and was obviously dehydrated. I was lucky enough to be seen almost immediately (slow day in the ER) and put on IV and up and out within about an hour. The worst part for me was getting the bill for the ambulance!! It was $400 for a 5-6 mile ride. If we had known that hubby would have taken me in one of our cars even though it might have needed a good scrubbing afterwards! :o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pam

It does give all of us reading your post a real appreciation for what the staffs of the ERs all over the country go through. It's not as glamorous as it is portrayed on TV.

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That is one of the reasons I posted. It was such a 'learning' experience, and an eye opener.

Thanks everyone. I KNOW that in part, BECAUSE Dad was OK, that is why we were able to 'observe' so much of what was happening around us. On the other hand, if he had been in more serious shape, we wouldn't have remained in the hallway, we'd have been transferred to a room for care and treatment.

I often have to remind D: if I had wanted a medical education, I'd have gone to med school. :rolleyes:

I don't know how those RE people even do it! Especially the inner city ones where it is gun shot, over doses and preventable stuff.

All they do is put a band aid on something and send you home anyway, telling you to see your regular doctor tomorrow.

When Mama started pouring blood, Sis took her to ER and they told her "Yep, she is bleeding from her rectum and you need to call her regular doctor tomorrow" and discharged her. There they had a 80 year old woman who had just loss a massive amount of blood and they sent her home?! :eek: She was hopsitalized the next day and that is when we found out she had cancer.

I am so glad your father is ok, and I am also glad that you are home now and away from that hospital! :eek:

My husband used to be a prison guard(on the swat team in MAX security), and he said inmates would actually take deadly spiders, make them bite them, just to get to go to the ER. I hope tomorrow your day will be better. *HUGS* to you and daddy :D