Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Being Still





Radio silence, eh?

Yesterday was just a very long day.
I went with my friend to her appointment and she was in the back so long that I finished a New Yorker and read most of a two-year old Marie Claire and when she finally came out, she was shaking like a leaf and pale and in shock. The exam had hurt her horribly and the practitioner at that clinic was throwing possible diagnoses around like rice at a wedding and said she needed to get to the ER. Now.
Of course my friend had not eaten all day and the NP advised her not to because surgery might be needed.
Okay, this is not what you want to hear.
I got her a Sprite and we headed to the ER where they checked her in and her sister came and then May and Michael came and I headed over to Lily's to take over boy-care from Hank and then he went to the ER and people took shifts there with her and AFTER SIX HOURS IN THE WAITING AREA she finally got called back to a room. At first they were sure she was going to need surgery but after an ultrasound, decided that no, she did not, it was just a very bad infection. They gave her antibiotics and sent her home at three in the morning.
Which I am most grateful for but I am absolutely sickened by the fact that she sat there in pain, scared to death, knowing nothing, without eating for twelve hours before they diagnosed her.
Sickened.
This is the hospital that has a fucking billboard which electronically lists wait-times before seeing a doctor if you go there and I seriously doubt it has ever once said, "Six hours."
I hear they were slammed. People bleeding and screaming and I get that but Jesus, it was a Monday afternoon and this is what our health care system looks like.

Well. I am so grateful that she doesn't need surgery and that she did finally get the medication she needed.

By the time I got home, I was a zombie and all I did was sit and wait and then play with my boys for a little while and go to the grocery store on my way home. I slept for about ten hours and am still waking up this morning. I plan on being a domestic goddess today, washing sheets and making chicken and dumplings for Jessie and Vergil and black beans and rice for me and Mr. Moon.

I am not fit for the world at large today and so I will be the one who keeps track of the coming of spring, the comings and goings of the orange cat, the the whisper and blowings of the breeze through my house and in the trees, the small stir of the wind chime tinkling, the way three warm brown eggs feel in the palm of one hand.

In short, the miracles which do exist in the midst of it all.


12 comments:

  1. ooh ...I want to feel three warm brown eggs in the palm of my hand!!x

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  2. Oh you wonderful people keeping that friend from being alone! I hope that as she heals she will remember the good that happened more than the bad, for the good was all around her! I look forward to the joys of eggs from my yard girls as they feel the lightening of the days and the warming....the chickadees are really working on their mating calls and the snow fleas have put in an early appearance, testing...

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  3. What a day. What an awful day that thankfully everyone got to go home. An ER waiting rooms are not a fun place to be. Everyone is stressed and tired of waiting and fearful of the waiting and what might happen. Hospitals in general are an unpleasant place as the only joy that comes of it is a baby's birth, good news of recovery and getting out.

    Sure glad everyone got to go home and sleep. Enjoy your domestic Goddess day! Truth be known I enjoy days of simpleness like that. I guess because I know it will be quiet and I can set the pace. And there is only two of us here now so the load is smaller.

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  4. Ohh I hate that for your friend. And you and I wonder why we hate going to the doctor? I'm SO glad you were there, and the kids too. I wish I could be home today too, I'm in a quiet mood and I'm just waiting for 5:00! Love you. Keep a good eye on that Maurice.

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  5. Hospitals are full of stress. It oozes from every door. It's good that you and your friend are home again.

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  6. When oh when will the staffing at hospitals be adequate and compare to the cost of being there! My friend had bypass surgery 4 months ago, $ 100,000 dollars. My chemo injections every month $13,000. Thank God for medicare and a supplement. It's gotten so out of hand. That said from a retired R.N. who worked where staffing was almost never adequate.

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  7. Health care in this country is just fucking shameful.

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  8. Oh. Mary.
    Crappola.
    The last time my mom was taken to the ER, it took 9 hours to get a bed.
    WTF. Your friend. OMG.
    Take care.

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  9. I am so sorry for your friend and what a beautiful family you have to keep her surrounded with your love. It's such a given now. I was adopted by you once and want to remind you of that. If I had that kind of love I'd, well I'd blossom in your backyard. I'd bring you squirrel brains like Maurice if you'd like. Speaking of cats, mine wandered into my closet, got locked in there and decided to take a smelly poop. I must vacuum and get back to work now. Just FYI, my floors are hard wood so no smelly residue on carpet or anything!

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  10. True friends you were helping her through that ordeal. Sigh! Here in the UK we had the marvellous NHS now in shreds thanks to our evil govt. The rich richer the poor poorer. I have had horrific experiences in hospital in recent years. The world gets crazier but you Mrs Moon tell us what living a good life looks like despite the odds. I can almost taste those dumplings. Maggi x

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  11. Holy cow. That is scary. I mean, an infection is nothing to sneeze at, but at least she didn't need surgery. The six-hour wait time is INSANE. I have been to an ER a couple of times and, knock on wood, I have never had to wait that long.

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  12. I hate that I have spent many hours in the ER. With others who were in pain and confused or having a psychiatric break. Thankfully, I have only had to be there once. And I got taken right away because I was throwing up in pain. Not a fun place to be.

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