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From ER to ER

First let me begin with some good advice, if no one answers after 25 rings you might as well try back later! I sat in the ER with a friend suffering from a terrible migrane last night. It is amazing how much more aware I was of the noise level. I really haven't (thanks be to God) spent very much time in the ER in my short lifetime. I hope to continue on that path. The ER sucks. If you're not suffering from a virus you are exposed to them, while you're their. Boy sometimes I wonder if we would be better off with doctors making house calls. I tried to keep quiet, calmly crocheting for another friends coming baby. When that annoying phone kept ringing unanswered for at least 25 rings I got up to do something about it. I thought about just picking it up and setting it back down. Another thought was to answer it and tell the caller there was no one there to take their call. Instead I ended up going to the triage nurse and asking her to answer it, she did very nicely comply :)
We heard all about the severed toe of the man across from us while he spoke loudly on his cell phone. A little girl came in crying from a split lip that ended up leaving after she ran out of tears and her lip quit bleeding. I guess she ran into a wall. It was very sad to see her knock on her head, split lip, and frantic mother trying to get assistance, from those I thought were very helpful and she obviously didn't by the choice words she chose to when referring to them, when her Metallica ring tone went off every couple of minutes. A woman in hysterics came in with a severed thumb. She had blood all over her face and her arm was wrapped in a towel. My friend who frequents the ER said that woman needed a couple of /valume/ (however you spell it) to calm her down. We were infiltrated by a cigarette saturated gentelman who stank up the ER waiting room so bad that they opened both of the double doors to give us some fresh air. I heard all kind of calls and conversations including talk of Mariah Carey's several award nominations for an album I didn't know she'd put out.
I will have to say though that once we got into the actual ER, behind the curtain it was pretty calm. There was a worker changing the sheets as we approached the curtain which would provide us with some privacy. Before leaving she decided to change the garbage as well and when she moved the can there was a small puddle of yellowish color. She said, "Orange juice spill." I wasn't convinced, but didn't want to think about what it. In no time at all I saw a hand, connected to an arm reach underneath the curtain from the outside and wipe up the puddle, leaving behind a lysolish scent. I was pleased. The most distracting sounds I heard were from the television behind the curtain next to us and an occasional moan from the lady with the blood covered face and severed thumb.
My friend's significant other got there shortly after I covered my friend with the warm clean sheet left by the worker after she changed the fitted sheet, before she wiped up the "orange juice." I gave a high five like I was tag teaming him in exchange for entrance to behind the curtain. After inquiring whether he needed anything, I ventured home. I got home just in time to wash my hands, prepare a bedtime snack, help with teeth brushing, say goodnight to Victoria, and watch ER. It was much busier, noisier, and well everything was dramatized, but I guess that's what keeps me coming back to watch week after week, for what's been years now. ER used to be the only show I would turned the TV on specifically to watch, until I've recently added LOST on Wednesdays. If you aren't watching you should. Part of me was relieved to have the drama to watch almost as a barrier between my time in the real life ER, where the waiting room was much more intense and my life in which I have blessed only have had to visit the ER a few, short, very intense moments myself.
Oh, and as a side note I am running again. I ran 3.6 Wednesday, clocked on our new GPS watch and had a 3.2 mile run on the treadmill today followed by .6 walk. I figured I'd run until I'd burned according to the treadmills counter, 300-400 calories. I ended with a little over 400. It's good to be running just for the heck of it again, no pressure, at lest until Febuary :)

posted by MrH @ 1:01 PM