I live in Richmond, VA. My doctor told me that if I ever had an emergency that I need to go to VCU Medical as they are the only ones prepared to help a lupus patient. So, yesterday, when my chest pain spikes to none, I call my doctor from work and leave a message asking if I should get it checked or if she thought it was just the very high humidity messing with me. The nurse, whom I love to death, does better than waiting for me to call her back on my lunch break. Instead, she calls me, though I did not leave my work number, and tracks me down at work to tell me to get my but to the hospital.
I am an introvert. Crowds scare the crap out of me. Plus, I have hearing trouble, and maybe a tad bit of agoraphobia. Which is all funny if you knew what I Make My Self do for work. So, after procrastinating, and I do mean like an hour of that, I finally let reason kick in enough to take myself to the emergency room at VCU medical. I don’t drive a car, I ride a scooter. As the safest means for me to get back and forth with our worry over blood guilt if I were to pass outer go lupie/fogged at the wrong moment. So it takes me a good 39 minutes to get down there.it was a very scary and painful ride. I was proud of myself for getting there.
The signs point the way to the emergency room, right? nope…that would be too easy for someone with lupus brain who is also in massive pain and can barely think straight enough let alone speak loud enough or coherent enough for help. So I pull over to what looks like the entrance and ask for parking for my scooter to go to the emergency room. The valet says that parking for me would be two blocks over. Note he says parking,not the entrance for emergency. So when I turn the corner and find a bike rack, I got excited and parked. Proud again of myself, I walked to what I thought was the entrance. Nope! It’s not. I was so frustrated. Then I tried asking the people inside where the entrance was. They just stared at me. I tried again. More stares. Nearly in tears, I tried again as a man walks toward the exit and hears me. He asks if I need help. I say yes and he insists I come sit just inside. As I am now crying, obviously upset and frustrated, barely breathing, and in pain, he tries to help. The guy at the counter understands I want to get over to the emergency entrance. I just need someone to wheel me there, but no… Befalls the ambulance to literally take me around the corner. The ambulance gets there, and this upsets me more. As I was already there!
The ambulance lady asks me what’s wrong, I try to tell her,but talking is hard. Then someone catches her attention for a howdey, and I feel ignored as I am trying my best to talk to her. Frustrated more, I am now having a panic attack. Yaya me. She explains that I need to calm down and they are going to take me to the hospital. The male ambulance guy is not sympathetic or nice. He tells me to relax, no smile, no calm voice,nothing. Just an order. Great guy…
The lady says if I don’t want to pay for a ride I should at least let her take me out and hook me up to the EKG to make sure I am okay. I finally let them do that’s. The EKG, which I figured would be, read that I was fine as for my heart. I have a very healthy hear as I am a very healthy eater and rode my bike constantly when I was in Phoenix. That was before lupus… I know, things change. But still, my heart is fine. So they give me the raading and a form of release.
Stuburn to a fault, I insist on walking to the entrance. I follow the signs, because that’s a good idea, right? NOPE! Why oh why does the building not have a big sign in red overly the ACTUAL entrance? No…l they have a sign directing me right when I should stay straight. A hospital security staff passes me, clearly seeing my difficulty in walking and breathing, all while holding my helmet,water bottle, and bag. Two nice women spot me, send him after to help, and he gets a wheel chair. Goo thing too, because 40 feet infrint of me, the directing to which I am walking, is the wrong entrance. Even though the sign says its for the emergency room.
It gets better.
The man takes me to the emergency room entrance, the right one,and checks me in. I get wheeled to the first window, where I hand over the papers from the ambulance to save me some airandenergy. They then wheel me, with out saying a thing to me, to the thrip window, task me again what theissue is.Iamconfusedas eve and say so. They look at me like I am an idiot and repeat the question. So Iplaydumband ask whyIam at this window now. Another dirty look,and I am told that this is where Ineed to tell them what is wrong. So I do.thenI get wheeled off to wait. Again,no comment to me. Shortly after a not so nice and not sympathetic nurse takes me for another EKG. Even though I gave them my EKG from the ambulance. Okay, fine…
Surprise! The EKG is good! Imagine that. Wheeled ack out to wait again, an hour goes by and they call me to check my vitals. Right,cuz I had the nerve not to die yet. I tell the lady to just say I am fine and let me go home because Ihate hospitals and I really don’t want to be there. She does not.okay…I get that one. I do. But wheeled back out and put to wait again,I get frustrated. Two hours later they take me to get registered. Yes, that’s right, it was that long until they bothered to register a lupus patient with chest pain. I am far from a complainer.ihate whiners. So if I say there is a problem,there is a freaking problem. Mind you,I not only was very nice and greatful to every single person, even not nice inches, and even cracked jokes about how cold the waiting room was.i said it wasobviouslyso we were preserved until the doctor could see us.the nurse found it funny.sodid those onthe waiting room.
By seven, and mind you I left work before 2, I was breathing better,my chest pain was down to 7, and mybackyard pain down to 6.5. I want to go home.theydont care enough to help,let me go home! I hate hospitals. I don’t like waiting. Isnot like germs. I don’t like strange people who are taking up the line wait time for a cold. They should be at a non-emergency are place, or a normal doctor.
I am there because my doctor said I should go… So I am being good. Frustrated, I want to go home. They call again,andI get hopeful. Theyjust want to check my vitals gain after hours of sitting around. So I tell the nurse how I feel and that my head and neck and eyes are on a pain level of 8. Because this frustration and pain and inflammation have now put me to the point of having eye auras and now the dreaded head eye pain that normally puts me in bed for a day or two with ice packs on rotation as I cry.
Which is exactly where I want robe and what Iwant to do. So I tell them that.she says,in a very monotonce voice “I am sorry you feel that way.” ya think? But still, I am nice,because you catch more flys with honey. Or something like that.
Well, they have no beds,and there are nine people ahead of me. So back to the waiting room I go.
Waitingisnotmystrong suit. I admit this. When it comes to waiting for hours upon hours for something that should be looked at right away, because, yak now, I could have a blood clothing my lung causing theoainandgoing to killme… Justathought,cuz thatswhathappenswiththosewho hit thelupuslotto, I think medical care should be a priority. But tht is just me, or maybe not. Yea, I feel sarcastic and I appologize for that. I don’t mean to have a bad attitude,butineed tovent. So I love you for hearing me out.
A nice man in the emergency waiting room offers to let me call my mom and insists that with my spin and obvious issues just trying to get up, let alone walk, that I wait longer. After all, he points out, I waited this long.
Listening to the voice of reason,I accept hisofferand call my mom toilet her know what’s going on. She is frustrated with me. …serious? She says she did not know where I was. Right,because that was not me who called her before leaving my job to say exactly which hospital emergency room I was going to. Nope, could not have been me.sure sure…
So I get crap from her,but I calmly remind her that I did say where I was going. She informs me that she sent a friend after me, as mom is in Phoenix right now, and thatthefriend couldn’t find me. Said friend then was sent by her to the housetocheck onthe dogs. She convinces the friend to climb through a window. Said friend falls trying to do said dumb thing.so now my friend has injured themselves trying to break into my home. She fails,and hurt herself.the poor thing!i am not happy with mom, but I don’t say so.
Instead, I ask why she is giving me a hard time when I am obviously having issues. She says she is not and tells me that she had to call all over to find thehospitalI am at and sent the friend to me. She says the friend should be there any second and to stay put.
Fine.okay. I play nice.
I thank the guy again for being so nice and appologize for taking so long in his phone, he assures me there isn’t reason to appologize. He was very sympathetic and kind.
My friend shows up,she sits down.she tells me that she was sent for my house keyto get the dogs cared for.right,because that is absolutely thepriotirynow… Right. It’ll her I want to go home and she should not listen to my mom. Lol.she tells me what happened at the house and I appologize again for all the trouble. She asks if I should just stay and how my pain is. I tell her. She insists we call mom. Who then gives me crap about going home.
Ilovemymom…but really?
Theyfinallyagree to let me go home,and my friend insists on wheeling me toward the scooter.nice idea, but she is a heart patient. So I finally put my fit down and walk the last 50 feet. After all, it’s up hill. The poor woman is going to die trying to help me. She walks slowly beside me so I don’t feel so dumb about my legs not working well.i get to the scooter, shehelpsme get it off the rack,I go home. She follows. Mom insisted she watch me like a baby. I was greatful for the help walking the dogs out to use the bathroom. The dogs were really good. 12 hours in the house alone and theyonlypeed a little.
Both were so greatful to get out to the yard, and more greatful for food and water. Shaky, unable to do much, I get food,then insist I will be fine. My friend leaves after waiting another 15 minutes to be sure. Because that is what a frend does. She and my mom where talking on the phone while she waited. And they don’t tell me what is said. I hate that.
Food in stomach, dogs cared for,one more round of potty breaks for everyone,andI take mice pack to bed.
By 10 I am asleep. By3am I wake up, feeling better and not able to go back to sleep.
And how was your day?