The ER cannot turn anyone away so this is the medical
system for many. We went there last night because
Robert was very ill. He had been given meds for his
gout and had taken too many, as it turned out. He
was following instructions. He was scared and I
was, too.
The ER was very crowded and we were not given
much hope of seeing a doctor for at least 2 hours.
We waited.
What drama...people came in and most were just
left to sit; an occasional one got lucky. I assume
they were sick enough to be danger of death! One
guy had a snake bite and was in absolute agony.
No help for him. An ambulance finallly came and
took him away..after he had been begging for
help for an hour.
After that, I felt we were wasting our time. Robert
was feeling a little better and clearly if we wanted
to see a doctor this was not the way to do it. One
lady informed us that you never walked into the
ER if you had an emergency. You call 911 and they
come get you and fly past all these folks and see
a doctor right away. I figured we'd go home and
if Robert got worse again I'd call 911.
He is still miserable, but better. Hopefully, he'll
be better still tomorrow. I have made arrangements
so that we can stay here, although in a different
room through Monday if need be. That is very
comforting.
The weather has been great and everyone has
been having a good time, except Robert.
I've walked on the beach a little, but stayed
close to R. most of the time. He has had a
rotten time.
4 comments:
So sorry to hear of your troubles. As a veteran of emergency rooms (I'm always taking in people who are injured here at the stables), I would agree that it's no way to get quick service. If this happens again, I would suggest trying a walk-in clinic -- although the wait there can be long as well. Or, as your friend suggested, dialing 911. Hope Robert is better.
WOW! I am so sorry to hear, and glad that Robert is fine now. The ER is hit or miss. We always seem to end up having our emergencies when Urgent Care is closed. I am happy to say that we had a very good experience at Boulder Community on Sunday night. We were the only folks there! So come back home and have your emergencies here. Better yet, don't have any more at all!
My heart and thought are with you.
Since going through all this with my mom in 2001-2002, I have had fear and hatred in my heart for every aspect of the broken U.S. medical system. ER is the worst. But the entire system is driven by insurance and nothing to do with medicine. No message travels more than twelve inches unaltered. No urgency is urgent enough. No consideration is given for age; quite the opposite--they all hope you'll just drop dead, you old prune, whoever you are. Gaaaaaak. I'm so sorry you've even touched the maelstrom!
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