Adventures In The ER

D has been having horrible back trouble since Saturday, he apparently did something at work. Monday, he stayed home from work & we took him to the chiropractor. I say "we" because D couldn't sit in the car, so Mom took us in her SUV. She & I put a futon mattress in the back & Rocco road along for moral support. wink wink
The Dr told D he couldn't go back to work until Thursday. He was feeling a bit better on Tuesday, but today was awful. I have never seen D is so much pain. It made me feel helpless, because I couldn't do anything for him. He finally said, "Take me to the ER." So, off we went. I was thinking it being the middle of the week & late afternoon, that we wouldn't have to wait so long. When I pulled up in the parking lot, there were no parking places & I knew then we were in for the long haul.
I was in shock at how crowded the waiting room was. We were in the waiting room for 3 hours. By the time we went back, D was in tremendous pain again. The Dr finally came in & said he either has a ruptured disk or sciatica & it's pinching a nerve in the leg. It's so bad, he can't even feel his foot. They gave him an IV & loaded him up with all kinds of drugs. Which was funny, watching his eyes rolls around. And he couldn't seem to find his mouth to drink out of his water bottle. He also had a x-ray. If he's not better by Friday morning, we will need to back for him to have an MRI. We were in the ER a total of 6 hrs. Mom came up there, so D could ride in the back of her SUV & while on the way home, sitting at the red light, I noticed the Dr forgot to sign D's work excuse. I went on home, got D settled & went right back to the ER, for the Dr to fill out that form. Poor D, he hadn't eaten all day, as sure sign he was in tons of pain. I got his tummy full & he's now sound asleep. Be praying he gets better, is pain free, that he doesn't have to have an MRI & that he can return to work on Monday. Bless his heart, he's had to use his vacation time in pain.

Here are some "highlights" if that's what you want to call them from our ER trip.

~I normally read from the book I take, it was so entertaining this time, I didn't need a book. Every redneck in the county seemed to need medical attention today. Quite interesting folks.

~They said there were no beds in the entire hospital & trauma after trauma was coming in. Even the helicopter made a stop by.

~I had a nice conversation about back pain, with an elderly gentleman in the waiting room.

~The girl in the room next to us, screamed for about 30 minutes. She apparently fell out of a window & it cut a main artery.

~On the other side was a woman, who was getting her big toenail taken off. She showed me. While I was talking to her in the hall, her aunt walked up & had just been discharged from the ER as well. The woman's aunt was there also because her soon to be ex-husband beat her. The Aunt was walking with her arm close to her chest. Sad...Very sad.

~The lady that came to take D's info, was super nice. We chatted about the hicks that live in these here parts. :) She told us a few stories that were hilarious.

~When the Dr came back to see D, D was wearing a Superman shirt (of course, since that all he owns) & the Dr said that Superman wasn't supposed to be in the ER, it shows his vulnerability.

~2 people passed away in the ER, during the 6 hrs we were there. One of them, we saw the family as they came in & were just devastated. It was awful.
The other death was this sweet little old lady, that walked with a cane. We sat by her in the waiting room, when we first got there. She was so cute, her daughter bought her a Mountain Dew & the daughter couldn't open the bottle, so she asked D to open it. When the little lady took a drink she said, "That tastes like candy." She made me smile. She was so precious. It has really affected me too. She thought she had a pulled muscle in her tummy. After they got her back to her room, she was talking & fine. Her daughter left the room, to make a phone call, so she was left in the room alone. One of the receptionists happened to walk by & the little lady was dead. That quick. Her life was gone. She was fine, talking, smiling, then gone. It just breaks my heart. I'm crying as I type this. You just never know when a life will end. I sat right next to her & saw her in the last moments of her life. She doesn't know, but she surely made an impact on me. That's the thing about life, people pass us along the way, even for a second that can teach us, if we are only willing to learn. Take the time, to look at who comes across your path. It could be anyone, at anytime...Just open your eyes.