Well, Maw went to the E/R again and this time got admitted to the hospital. She was feeling VERY weak, dizzy, nauseated and vomited lots of liquid this morning. She couldn’t walk straight and had to grab my pants to keep from falling downstairs and as we made our way to the Mercedes Benz E430.
Earlier, we couldn’t contact one of many specialists because of the Christmas holidays. But we received a surprise call from the E/R doctor at around 12:30pm. He was more than happy to see Maw again until 19:00pm that night. We decided to leave because Maw couldn’t wait. And at 13:00pm, we were on the road, again.
We were in the E/R from around 13:30pm to 18:00pm, where she got her blood work, X-rays, CT scan, respiratory therapy, anti-nausea drugs through the IV and two bags of 0.9% sodium chloride, too.
I left the room many times (not only to leave because of the X-rays but) to inform Paw of the progress. He was watching his favorite cable news: CNN (yuch) and the recent news about the health bill. I told him he could watch and relax while I stayed by Maw’s side.
I accompanied a black guy who wheeled Maw to the CT scan room. A Hispanic guy got me a chair to sit on while waiting for five to ten minutes of atomic strength radiation, which I felt about Maw with my left `activated` palm. The Hispanic guy wheeled her back inside the ED room.
She was wheeled to one of the three towers. The layout within the `wings` is confusing and the only way to navigate is by talking to people, who are volunteers. The volunteers wear either pink or orange colored vests. I talked with Evan Tang (a young Vietnamese guy) and an old white lady while in the E/R.
She got her own room, too! And it’s bigger than my computer room! Damn!
The room has a big screen TV! We watched all the videos about the stakeholders who made the new renovations possible and time-lapsed photography from ground up over the span of five years. There are videos for safety, philosophy and other areas of amenities, such as free Wi-Fi. There are two small chairs, one lounge chair and a recliner for the most dedicated supporter of the sick patient.
The colors are soft blue paint walls and warm wooden doors. The accent colors for the bathroom doors are white and brown. The interior is excellent and full of paintings and wooden floors and wooden ceilings.
The key to get good service is: EXCELLENT health insurance, one of which happens to be Medicare (as the primary insurance) and a secondary insurance through her former employer. But most importantly is understanding.
The patient who says little but says the right KEY words will get EXCELLENT treatment. The patient who rants and raves will get a nice description on their medical records. The patient who is clear and coherent and VERY personable will get EXCELLENT customer service.
It’s always a two-way street. Smiling helps the medical professionals get through another day and process their patients faster despite the tiredness and pain behind the patient’s eyes.
Leave a Reply