Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Waiting

You don't want to be there, even if it is for something simple, like making sure you are A-OK.  But I was there for someone else.  I was there for hubby who had fallen off of a ladder...not far...just five feet.  He landed on his butt, but since he is missing the back side of 5 neck vertebrae from a serious operation years ago and the little bit of whip lash from the fall left him a bit stunned, even he agreed with his doctor that time in the emergency room of the hospital was a trade off well spent.  So we were waiting to be called.  We were number 3711, they no longer use last names.

The waiting room is designed really well, since you can hear the nurse at the front hall as if she had a microphone and she is just calling in a medium voice.  When she leaves it is pretty quiet except for the whispers of the half dozen people waiting.

The man in the wheel chair with the oxygen tank and beard and long white hair looked at me suspiciously when I sat down across from him.  His son said something to him, but he was hard of hearing and missed it. 

The two others were women, one in the early stage of pregnancy and in a bit of pain and just finished being put on IVs and the other woman closer to my age in a wheel chair and nursing a banged up leg, surrounded by her entire family that must have been at the Sunday BBQ at her house from the way they were dressed and acting like this was a continuation of the afternoon party.   They cleaned out the snack machine, checked their phones and spent the rest of the time telling jokes.  One son looked a little like a younger version of Willie Nelson with a navy handkerchief over his head and a wiry beard.

In about 30 minutes hubby was called.  He was called ahead of the man in the wheel chair.  I went outside to the garden and took some photos.


Flowers and flowing water surrounded me and were certainly there to relieve stress.  I was not stressed as hubby was in just a little pain and had been taken for triage, but I knew this might have eased some minds on other days.

I had my point and shoot camera and caught this lovely butterfly, a common buckeye on the black-eyed susan.

It was hot and humid, so I returned to the air-conditioned waiting room after about ten minutes.

The man in the wheel chair had moved to a chair but was at his last bit of patience and stood to tell his son he was going home.

"I have been waiting  two  #$$9ing hours and I am %^&-da*?%$ sick and tired of this!"

I agreed with him as they had taken hubby before him.  Son tried to calm him but they were almost shouting since he was so hard of hearing.  Within a few seconds a tiny ball of energy weighing no more than 90 pounds herself with the sweetest smile and little notepad came in front of them and began asking questions.  He was not in the mood for her charm, but she finally got him calmed down while she left to see where he was in the grand scheme of things.  In about 5 minutes she returned. took his arm and they walked through the automatic doors into the triage area.

I continued to wait.  I read my Kindle, slept some and even watched some obnoxious ESPN channel where a loud-mouth was telling us how much he knew about some player and how everyone else was stupid and so wrong.

After two and half hours hubby was released with drugs, feeling no pain and getting good news about his neck.

Unfortunately we were hungry and made the mistake of stopping for a light dinner and ended up driving home in the worst electrical storm I had ever seen...we were following the front south and right under all the lightning.  Hubby was on Oxycontin and very casual about the 4 and 5 lightning strikes every few minutes.  I was trying to see the car ahead of me. (We were slow enough at one time that I grabbed the camera and shot through the windshield.)


We got home to find absolutely NO RAIN in our yard.  It had stopped just a few hundred feet before our neighborhood.  What a bummer.  No glorious sunset either just the last of the clouds above the trees.

But I am not complaining one twit as this was a very nice visit to an emergency room and it could have been so much worse.  Do not even get me started about hubby on a ladder without me!!!

22 comments:

  1. It's like you had a cloud over you all day. Glad he is OK. I wouldn't even let him stand on a step-stool!

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  2. I can only imagine the frustration that the old man must have felt. ERs are never fun, but I am glad your trip there turned out somewhat better than most.

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  3. Tabor, my heart beat rapidly as
    I read your post.
    Familar with falls - is this one.
    A warning
    You know that
    Please urge him and also you
    take care.
    Thinking of you in a special way this moment...

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  4. Tabor, my husband and I have a pact that neither of us gets on a ladder without the other nearby. We had a similar incident with an attic ladder, that they build so poorly.

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  5. Glad he was okay. Falls can be scary.

    We had a storm this week-end that involved thunder and lightning and lasted about 4 hours which was a lot longer than we usually see up in this area. Not the worst I've seen but definitely a reminder of nature's power.

    Every time I have been in an ER I still remember. Sometimes it was a for a kid, once a grandkid, once for my mother to be told my father had died. They are places I never want to be :( for all the reasons you enumerated.

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  6. An adventure we don't want to have - a trip to the ER. Glad your hubby came through it OK. I've heard of so many people falling off ladders - mostly men, actually. (What does that mean?)

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  7. Quite a roller coaster ride of a day. I try not to be on ladders when I'm home alone. Just isn't worth the risk.

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  8. Oh my, oh my...I'm not saying what I am thinking. So glad he is ok and that you made it home intact. Our news is showing us how many folks were struck by lightening...just glad it wasn't you.

    Yes, a Herman Miller. They are on sale right now too.

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  9. Oh My Gosh.. Glad your hubby is okay. I always have a huge fear of my George falling off of the ladder--when he climbs WAY up... Makes me nervous wreck.

    Your ER trip really was better than some/most--but it's hard to wait and wait. You got some great photos outside. Glad you had your Kindle with you...

    Make hubby BEHAVE....
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. While i love a happy ending, this one shouldn't have had a beginning! If you know what i mean. They need to remember they aren't kids any more.

    Also, if you needed the rain, i'm sorry you didn't get it. If you didn't particularly need it, i'm still sorry you had to drive in it.

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  11. Well, as ER visits go, your's turned out Ok, and you got some great photos!

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  12. Geesh. Sounds like a full day to me. So glad your husband is doing well. Love your photos - as always.

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  13. Your events would have been a perfect mix for a migraine for me. After such an ordeal at the ER, the driving home in that storm - I would have had a doozy when I got home.

    I hope this episode does not cause discomfort in later years.

    Beautiful catch of the butterfly.

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  14. I was always with Ron through every ER visit. They let me stay right by is side except when they took him for x-rays or something like that, then they brought him back to the ER cubicle with me waiting. I could never have sat patiently in a waiting area for 2 1/2 hours not knowing what was going on.

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  15. You certainly took it all very calmly, and I hope he's okay in the aftermath. ERs can be a pain, but yours actually doesn't seem to be too bad compared to ours sometimes. Driving in lightning is scary.

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  16. Whew, must feel like a close call. Hope he sees the point in teaming now, or maybe getting someone else to go up the ladder.

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  17. I sure hope he is doing better today. Hugs at both of you.

    Yes, I don't understand why bloggers won't reach out on "links." It's like they are afraid to do it. "Oh I don't have time now," too. The one that stopped working for me is Prosebox. I kept a mirror blog there for many of my old friends from OD. Now I can't sign in nor will the blog owner respond to my queries. Grrrrrrrrr...........

    :)

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  18. Photo op at the ER there! Pretty butterfly macro shot-
    Glad it all turned out ok!
    Great pics n not a total lost day at least!
    Time to find a neighbor kid to pay for going up that ladder!

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  19. Reading this I actually feel quite thankful that my son recently confiscated my ladder and even threatened to remove all my wooden chairs if I don't learn to ask for help with some chores. I'm glad you had your camera for company and that your ER visit wasn't nearly as bad as they can be.

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  20. I really enjoyed your trip to the emergency room. It's so much fun to read blog posts like this, with your wonderful photos.
    Every time my husband goes up a ladder I cringe. He never does that, though, unless I'm at home.

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  21. What a day! The butterfly shot was a bright spot.

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  22. Oh boy!
    Life is an adventure, isn't it? Or maybe it IS a box of chocolates. You never do know what you're going to get.
    Wow.
    So glad the fall wasn't worse and that you are both back and home safe (wow what a storm!).

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Take your time...take a deep breath...then hit me with your best shot.