The ER
Been meaning to post an entry about this. But I've been so busy and tired and everything.
So yesterday night I had just gotten into bed and was drifting off into a peaceful sleep when my phone rings. It's my friend Sarah, telling me that she is considering taking Val (he roommate, also my friend) to the Emergency Room. I get dressed and go down the flight of stairs to their room to find that they have decided that she needs to go.
Val has been having chest pain since this past January, when she went to the ER for the first time. The doctors gave her pain pills, anti-inflammatory drugs and a diagnosis of chest wall pain. Last time about six people went to the hospital with her. The pain has been back for awhile, and she's been having trouble with it since the beginning of school. She's been to a clinic doctor who gave her stronger pain pills and steroids with some more anti-inflammatory. The pain has still been getting worse. She ran out of pills and went back to the doctor and he gave her vicodin(which she was scared to take). The night that we decided to go to the ER the vicodin wasn't working.
So I go out and get my car and bring it closer so that she won't have to walk very far. I drive 20mph the whole way to the hospital because I'm scared of jostling her too much. We get to the ER, sign in, and wait. only one of us can go back with her at a time so Sarah and I decide to take turns. By this time it's 1:30am. Sarah goes back first so I get out a book and read. When Sarah's turn is over we decide that we're hungry so she and I go to Taco Bell while Val gets some testing done. By the time we get back and eat it's 3am. I go back for 45 minutes to sit with her. It's been three hours since we've been at the hospital and all that's happened is she had an EKG and had to pee in a cup. Sarah and I switch. Sarah stops a nurse and finds out there has been a mix up. Val gets blood work, an x-ray, and several more tests done. Sarah and I switch. Nothing happens while I'm in the room. Sarah and I switch. The doctor comes in and happens to be the same doctor that Val saw last time she went to the ER. He tries to give her the same diagnosis and medicene as last time which we know doesn't work. We also know that it's not chest wall pain because the pain travels to other joints in her body. So he gives her another false diagnosis and a prescription for valium. By this time it's 6am.
We waited 5 hours for a false diagnosis.
We leave the hospital and head back to school. We're all exhausted. It was truly an adventure. Val's dad has come to Sherman from Houston (a 5 to 6 hour drive) to take care of her. Sarah and I both decided to skip our 9:30am class so I send a quick e-mail to the professor explaining briefly what happened. We go to sleep and wake up at 11. Have lunch, find out that Val is going in for a CT scan and has had no sleep. Sarah and I go to the professor of our 1:30 class and explain the situation (we had a paper due in that class and had no time to work on it that day). She extends our deadline and gives us permission to skip class. I go back to sleep while Sarah studies for a statistics test. Val comes back from the CT scan and gets the first chance to sleep for the day. We still don't know what's wrong.
We need Dr. House.
So yesterday night I had just gotten into bed and was drifting off into a peaceful sleep when my phone rings. It's my friend Sarah, telling me that she is considering taking Val (he roommate, also my friend) to the Emergency Room. I get dressed and go down the flight of stairs to their room to find that they have decided that she needs to go.
Val has been having chest pain since this past January, when she went to the ER for the first time. The doctors gave her pain pills, anti-inflammatory drugs and a diagnosis of chest wall pain. Last time about six people went to the hospital with her. The pain has been back for awhile, and she's been having trouble with it since the beginning of school. She's been to a clinic doctor who gave her stronger pain pills and steroids with some more anti-inflammatory. The pain has still been getting worse. She ran out of pills and went back to the doctor and he gave her vicodin(which she was scared to take). The night that we decided to go to the ER the vicodin wasn't working.
So I go out and get my car and bring it closer so that she won't have to walk very far. I drive 20mph the whole way to the hospital because I'm scared of jostling her too much. We get to the ER, sign in, and wait. only one of us can go back with her at a time so Sarah and I decide to take turns. By this time it's 1:30am. Sarah goes back first so I get out a book and read. When Sarah's turn is over we decide that we're hungry so she and I go to Taco Bell while Val gets some testing done. By the time we get back and eat it's 3am. I go back for 45 minutes to sit with her. It's been three hours since we've been at the hospital and all that's happened is she had an EKG and had to pee in a cup. Sarah and I switch. Sarah stops a nurse and finds out there has been a mix up. Val gets blood work, an x-ray, and several more tests done. Sarah and I switch. Nothing happens while I'm in the room. Sarah and I switch. The doctor comes in and happens to be the same doctor that Val saw last time she went to the ER. He tries to give her the same diagnosis and medicene as last time which we know doesn't work. We also know that it's not chest wall pain because the pain travels to other joints in her body. So he gives her another false diagnosis and a prescription for valium. By this time it's 6am.
We waited 5 hours for a false diagnosis.
We leave the hospital and head back to school. We're all exhausted. It was truly an adventure. Val's dad has come to Sherman from Houston (a 5 to 6 hour drive) to take care of her. Sarah and I both decided to skip our 9:30am class so I send a quick e-mail to the professor explaining briefly what happened. We go to sleep and wake up at 11. Have lunch, find out that Val is going in for a CT scan and has had no sleep. Sarah and I go to the professor of our 1:30 class and explain the situation (we had a paper due in that class and had no time to work on it that day). She extends our deadline and gives us permission to skip class. I go back to sleep while Sarah studies for a statistics test. Val comes back from the CT scan and gets the first chance to sleep for the day. We still don't know what's wrong.
We need Dr. House.