A Visit to the ER and My Weekend on Codeine
Hello all (or really, my one faithful reader, Cooley). On Friday I went to the ER for the first time by myself ever. It was terrifying to say the least, partly because you only go to the ER because you don't know what the hell is wrong with you. Don't get worried though, I am fine. I was having excruciating/unbearable/immobilizing back pain that no OTC painkiller would ease, and I thought, I should probably go see someone about this. I went to the ER, and they told me to pee in a cup. I was like, ok, but in the back of my head I'm thinking, umm, shouldn't you give me an X-ray since I have a history of back problems? Then I waited for a very long time, and then they came back and gave me my test results. I wasn't pregnant, nor did I have problems with my kidneys (had I known that kidney problems can cause back pain I probably would have been a little more worried). I had a UTI. I've had these in the past, and they're kind of obvious when you have one, but this one wasn't. So I've been on this high dose antibiotic and the pain is finally easing. But the doctor gave me some Tylenol with codeine in it to help me handle the back pain :-D
While in the hospital, I met a few characters. Ok, I didn't actually meet them, rather I laid comfortably in my hospital bed listening to other patients and their interactions with the doctor and nurse.
Character #1: Louis Vuitton Lady
Louis Vuitton lady came to the ER because she thought her rib was broken. I listened to her explain to the nurse that her rib had been broken in a massage, and she demanded an X-ray. The nurse calmly explained to her that no matter how rough a massage, it would not be able to break one of your ribs. Instead, she was taken to get a cat scan to see if she had kidney stones. I call her Louis Vuitton lady because of her interaction with the paperwork lady. The paperwork lady comes around to the different hospital beds and gets your insurance all settled so you can leave promptly when you're done. Paperwork lady, just making sure that the info was correct (which NO it was NOT), asked Louis Vuitton lady if her insurance was under her husband's name, as that is what the computer showed. NO. The insurance is under HER name. SHE is the one who works for Louis Vuitton. Poor paperwork lady.
Character #2: Hit by Taxi Man and Friend
One man who came in had just been hit by a taxi. Don't be too worried, it was just his foot that had been hit, but he was in a lot of pain. He had been loading up a car for his friend, hanging partly out of the car, when the taxi driver hit his foot. The taxi driver claimed that the man had stepped out in front of the taxi (unless you were suicidal or blind you would never do such a thing), but his friend was there to make sure he could gather enough evidence to file a lawsuit against this taxi driver. The friend rushed around, bringing people to Hit by Taxi Man's hospital bed, getting a camera so he could take pictures of his foot, getting water for him. He was so loud, talking obnoxiously about how it all went down, and how they have to take pictures of his foot, and getting the whole story together. It couldn't have been too bad because I saw Hit by Taxi Man walk out of the ER later on. Limping, yes, but he was walking.
So that was my visit to the ER. The next day I went shopping in Soho, and boy, was it fun. Minus the pouring rain of course. I brought my special Tylenol (Tylenol #3 it's called) with me, and had a glorious day emptying my bank account. I have very many cute clothes now, I even had to go out and buy more hangers for them. So onto Monday....more listening in on Katherine's phone calls, more mailings, and less days of work! And my new assignment! I can't wait to see where they'll put me next...
While in the hospital, I met a few characters. Ok, I didn't actually meet them, rather I laid comfortably in my hospital bed listening to other patients and their interactions with the doctor and nurse.
Character #1: Louis Vuitton Lady
Louis Vuitton lady came to the ER because she thought her rib was broken. I listened to her explain to the nurse that her rib had been broken in a massage, and she demanded an X-ray. The nurse calmly explained to her that no matter how rough a massage, it would not be able to break one of your ribs. Instead, she was taken to get a cat scan to see if she had kidney stones. I call her Louis Vuitton lady because of her interaction with the paperwork lady. The paperwork lady comes around to the different hospital beds and gets your insurance all settled so you can leave promptly when you're done. Paperwork lady, just making sure that the info was correct (which NO it was NOT), asked Louis Vuitton lady if her insurance was under her husband's name, as that is what the computer showed. NO. The insurance is under HER name. SHE is the one who works for Louis Vuitton. Poor paperwork lady.
Character #2: Hit by Taxi Man and Friend
One man who came in had just been hit by a taxi. Don't be too worried, it was just his foot that had been hit, but he was in a lot of pain. He had been loading up a car for his friend, hanging partly out of the car, when the taxi driver hit his foot. The taxi driver claimed that the man had stepped out in front of the taxi (unless you were suicidal or blind you would never do such a thing), but his friend was there to make sure he could gather enough evidence to file a lawsuit against this taxi driver. The friend rushed around, bringing people to Hit by Taxi Man's hospital bed, getting a camera so he could take pictures of his foot, getting water for him. He was so loud, talking obnoxiously about how it all went down, and how they have to take pictures of his foot, and getting the whole story together. It couldn't have been too bad because I saw Hit by Taxi Man walk out of the ER later on. Limping, yes, but he was walking.
So that was my visit to the ER. The next day I went shopping in Soho, and boy, was it fun. Minus the pouring rain of course. I brought my special Tylenol (Tylenol #3 it's called) with me, and had a glorious day emptying my bank account. I have very many cute clothes now, I even had to go out and buy more hangers for them. So onto Monday....more listening in on Katherine's phone calls, more mailings, and less days of work! And my new assignment! I can't wait to see where they'll put me next...