Hospital Tips for the Uninformed (yes...you WILL be there someday)
Everyone raise your hand if you just LOVE yourself a good hospital...(My friends Mary and Karen...you can put your emergency-room-nurse-hands down!) No one likes going to the hospital, but the past few weeks have taught me so much about how to be a good support, ask appropriate questions, and survive the experience. God only knows, we are STILL going through the experience as the end is not in sight quite yet. Nevertheless , here are a few things I have learned along the way.
Keep your gas tank full: I am totally serious. When this emergency happened, I was able to jump in the car and get to the ER and then to another ER further away. Once we were driving home later that night, I noticed the gas was low. I cant imagine having to stop for gas in the midst of the stress. It’s kind of become a joke that CTD lets the gas get low before he fills it up. No longer funny.
Find humor: You laugh or you cry is completely appropriate . At the original hospital, when the nurse found out what had happened (a 14 gauge steel wire to the center of the eye), she turned around behind CTD head and gave me the, “OMG...Yuck!” Look and we both kind of chuckled. When I looked up the name of the emergency specialist at hospital #2 (no joke), a doctor came up on Google that had committed malpractice ...and went to jail!! Thank you Jesus, he was in Florida.
Always wear a bra: ok well...I had a sweatshirt on, but yes...I went to hospital #1 without a bra, a cell phone, or closing up the house. Fortunately for all of those involved, I was able to rush back to the house and regroup for 20 minutes before the ambulance to hospital #2 came. Unfortunately, there may or may not have been several young doctors who kind of looked at me like, “you poor thing...no time to take care of you?”... Hey...you do what you have to do...
Keep your cool: You don’t help anything by freaking out...and you don’t help the patient’s cause by being a jerk to the nurse or tech. It’s okay to ask questions, but try to keep your voice level down and be appreciative of what they are doing. The ambulance driver was supposed to give CTD more pain meds in his IV, but when he didn’t, I made sure he got them at the other hospital and that they took it out of his record (trust me...you WILL be charged).
The dreaded waiting room: Keep your food hidden or don’t eat anything in there! Chances are, there are patients waiting for surgery that haven’t eaten for hours. It is okay to leave the waiting area, as they have your cell number to contact you if they have an update. Beware that the calls come from unknown numbers (sometimes the nurse or surgeons cell#), so be sure to pick up. If you are taking someone in for a planned surgery, take something to work on and some comfy shoes to walk in. It’s good to get up and move.
Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO: I have always been the type to help others (middle child who likes to fix everybody), so when others offer to help me, it is actually tough to say, “YES...I would LOVE for you to help me with that, or cook dinner, or do an errand”. Your friends and family feel helpless and it is good to let them help IF it is actually helping. Having a room full of people in the ER would not have “helped” anything, but I had a couple of friends and my brother and sister-in-law there to just comfort and be a sounding board. It’s a bummer that CTD has been low on energy and talk-ability but honestly, I get it. Having friends is awesome and a distraction, but not when you feel like crud. It’s ok to say NO...that doesn’t work right now.
Use the Valet: Don’t be a budget hero. Most hospitals provide free valet services and tips are appreciated. I am now always carrying plenty of small bills. If CTD got dizzy after surgery, it would be rough trying to “catch” him. I have been here so many times, the valet guys say, “OK...VIP is here”...not sure if that is good or bad, but this morning I brought them doughnuts for breakfast and they were happy with that!
CTD is back in surgery even as I write, so I am loaded up with magazines (which I leave to enhance the Good Housekeeping I found from 2015)...Why not leave the waiting room better than you found it?
Health and Love,
CoffeeTalkMom
Sent from my iPad
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