Day 9 - ER musings

Spent a few hours in the Emergency Room (ER) today. The son has caught a nasty virus and he was in respiratory distress. Took him to his pediatrician and she sent us to the ER.

Have I mentioned before that it is a crime to fall sick in this country? And the medical system is the #1 thing I hate about this country? Well, if I haven't, I now have.

I've had the pleasure of visiting the ER a few times, either for myself or for others. And rarely it has been a pleasant experience. Today was frustrating, initially, but we came across a really nice physician who thought on the same lines as I did, and agreed on a treatment plan that I proposed, and somewhere, by doing that, he kept a hope alive in me that there are always a few good individuals in every bad system.

Frustration #1 - From the moment we checked in, it took them 90 minutes to get my son his first breathing treatment. I could have done this myself with the nebulizer at home in 10 minutes. The reason for the delay? No one told the respiratory technician which medicine to give. So he was hanging out with us waiting for an order to be placed. I mean, really? People are that lame and slow when a 15 month old is waiting to receive treatment at the other end?

Frustration #2 - His charts said that he had already been checked for flu virus. They do a nose swab these days to check if he tests positive for influenza. But I clearly remembered that a nose swab was not done. My friend A concurred. So we brought it up to the physician and he sent a technician to do it. Another lesson for US folks - ALWAYS find someone to be your advocate when admitted to a hospital - ER or otherwise. I have nightmarish personal stories to share.

Observation - Except for one female nurse at checkin, all staff we encountered was male. And I always thought female nurses far outnumbered their male counterparts.

Observation - They don't keep kid friendly snacks around. Thank God our home is close by and we were able to stock ourselves with food, water, milk and supplies. But if not, all they offered to my child was "apple juice from concentrate" which he has never tasted in his life so he would spit it out for sure. I mean, how much does it cost to keep a few goldfish crackers, cheerios, nuts, or fruits like bananas and apples?

Observation - You REALLY feel alone when illness strikes you in this country. Unless you explicitly make a phone call and tell someone (or post a FB update which I prefer not to), they would not know what is going on. Whereas back home, you go missing for an hour unplanned and people look out for you. I remember when my daughter was hospitalized for a day during my last visit. My 74 year old bapuji dropped all his work and came to spend time with her. She enjoyed his company SO much - they read books, talked, slept, ate, and had a great time.

I feel very blessed to have my friend A. He not only came with us to ER and helped us manage both kids, but he also cooked dinner for us (organic veggie stir fry with baked tofu) after we returned home. It cannot get any better than that. So, contradicting my above statement where I said you really feel alone - sometimes, all it takes is one individual to pull you through a tough situation. I'm glad I had that someone today.

I'm watching my baby breathe heavily as I write this post. He is fine, but still sick. We will be home with him for the next few days to help him get better. Thankfully, he is still very perky, and playful. Just a while ago, we woke him up for his breathing treatment and he was roughhousing with me. I hope he gets better really really soon. Please please pray for him!

A Day at the hospital

So if you read my previous post, you must have read about my weekend plans. Life seldom goes as planned. This weekend was just another example.

My dad passed out - three times - fell down and injured himself - in the middle of the night on Friday....and we had to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He has epilepsy, which means he has a history of seizures. He also takes cholesterol medication, coz genetically my entire family produces more cholesterol than average...and so is always at a higher risk for a stroke. So with these two risks, he was admitted for a full checkup at the hospital to make sure it was nothing serious.

I was in constant consultation with my cousin who is a cardiologist over the phone, and his tips were very valuable.

We were all anxious throughout Saturday....tests kept running but results were pending. When we finally got most of the results, we were relieved to find out that nothing major was going on. The neurologist also visited late in the evening and diagnosed it to be a minor issue.

But he still had to spend the night in the hospital - coz you see, most seizures for him occur in the middle of the night. So they had to monitor him for 24 hours to make sure this episode would not recur.

Dad was admitted in the same (the only one in town) hospital where I spent 4 days recently when I delivered the baby, so it was all too familiar.

This time around, the emergency doctor and other staff were quite good. But the communication channel between them and the regular hospital staff is kind of broken, so its very important to be your own advocate.

After spending about couple hours in this environment, the sound of all the monitors gets to me. I think babies must feel this way with white noise. It numbs the brain.

The patients in our ward were all seniors. Most of them were frustrated, and wanted to leave as soon as possible. One particular guy was walking around with an IV and each time he met me, he told me he would leave the hospital at noon, whether or not the doctors discharged him.

When I think about or observe the nurses at the hospital, I always wonder how they manage to work 12+ hour shifts. Especially when it's the graveyard shift. They also have family and kids just like all of us - and they would have had to adjust so much to be able to work. It is indeed a noble profession to be in.

The picture at the beginning of the post is of dad undergoing an EEG, where 25 electrodes are placed on his head, and a couple on either sides of shoulder. The technician who did this test has been doing this for 25 years, and is the only one in our town qualified to do so. She has great job security :).

We spent about 36 hours at the hospital, after which we were happily discharged. I hope we have a clean bill of health for the rest of the year, and beyond :).