1 post tagged “stinky people”

So I'm in the emergency room, which is where I spend most of my life these days.  I was sent directly here because I'm losing so much blood again today.  The next step will be to admit me but I still need to go through the process.  There's at least a 3 hour wait but they'll get me in sooner because of the critical nature of my reason to be here, or so they say.

I've done this so much I could do it with my eyes closed.  I know what's about to happen.  There's nothing for me to do except to watch the people around me.  They're getting on my nerves, btw...  The things that people consider an emergency amazes me.  Because of them, this emergency room stays packed.  There's a grandma who just rushed in with her 2 year old grandbaby.  The mother was already here waiting for the Grandma to get here with her child.  She needed a nebulizer treatment (the mother) because of her asthma.  This could be serious, I know so I don't begrudge her much.  The thing that gets on my nerves is that this 2 year old baby stopped eating and drinking a couple of hours ago.  THIS, my friends, is the emergency with this family.  I don't know about any of you but my kids, quite frequently, stop eating and drinking for a few hours at a time.  The Grandma is shouting at the intake nurse that her baby needs to be seen now.  I'm hearing the intake nurse ask about this baby's medical history.  I'm SURE there must be a medical history for all this drama.  There is not.  They didn't even call the pediatician before they came here because they just knew there's something terribly wrong.  Meanwhile the baby is running around acting like a normal 2 year old.  She' yelling and playing and running.  She doesn't want to be held by the grandma.  The mom of the baby looks like she's about 15!  She has nothing much to do with the situation except to yell at the triage nurse that her nebulizer treatment isn't working.  She YELLED this so I'm guessing that the nebulizer did indeed work.

The next thing on this family's agenda is to start shouting back and forth to each other, "Mom, did you call Matthew?".  I'm assuming Matthew is the dad.  Matthew has indeed been called and he's taking off work to come into the emergency for the big family drama.  The Grandfather and the great aunt have been called too.  Everyone will be here soon.  Now the Grandma hass decided that her knee is in terrible pain because she had to walk across the parking lot holding the 2 year old.  She may need to be seen too, she tells the intake nurse.  Before she, too, can be triaged, she called her son to bring her som Naproxen.  She's very loud and sitting across from me so I can hear her conversation.  "You may need to take off work to go home and get my Naproxen.  My GD knee is KILLING me because I had to carry Autumn across the GD parking lot and I'm about to die now son".  Now she tells him there's no hurry but she's in so much pain that she doesn't know how much longer she can take it.  Nobody is watching the baby. 

All this because a 2 year old hasn't eaten or drank anything for a couple of hours?  I'm hoping that I'm missing something!  These things keep me occupied while I'm in here for my own 3 hour or so wait.  Maybe I'm getting bitter in my old age but these people stink AND they get on my nerves.  I'm wondering when they've had a bath last?  I can guarentee you it hasn't been within the past few days much less the pst few hours.  Blech.