Friday, November 01, 2024

Nine Hours in the ER

What a day!

Two days after her colonoscopy, Sue was experiencing some alarming pain and discomfort. She called our family doctor who had a cancellation, and was in there being poked and prodded by 10:30.

The verdict: "You could have a perforated colon, so go straight to ER for an X-ray. Do not eat or drink anything."

We were there by 11 o'clock. It didn't take long to get the X-ray, but then we waited for more 8 hours to be seen by the doctor.

I have told you that our hospital is a little town hospital that is almost more like a clinic than a hospital. The ER is a one-doctor situation. The waiting room was full. The overflow waiting room was full. We were moved to a third waiting room, which also began to fill up.

And so we sat ... and waited ... and waited ... and sat.

For more than 8 hours!

Did I mention that our little hospital has no cafeteria? Shauna offered to bring us something after work. You might recall that Sue was told not to eat or drink. While I was under no such restrictions, it didn't seem right, so I told Shauna not to bother. Sue overrode and told Sha to bring something for me regardless. In that case, I opted for coffee. I kept track of Sha through Find Friends and just about perfectly timed meeting her at the front door.

That was six hours into the wait. Little did we know that we would be there for another three hours.

Sue finally saw the doctor after more than another 2 hours, 8 hours after we had arrived. He apologized for the wait before poking, prodding. Before going off to read the X-ray, he brought us ginger ale with ice. 

The X-ray revealed no tear, so he ordered bloodwork, and we waited some more, but the results, fortunately, revealed no cause for concern.

So nine and a half hours after arriving at the ER, and more than ten hours after leaving home to see our family doctor, we were home.

All of the time that we waited, we thought about how our little ER rushed her by ambulance to the big Ottawa ER for emergency surgery. Thankfully, the worst outcome did not eventuate this time. While we are still not sure what has caused the distress, at least the big concerns have been ruled out.

On my part, I did not get around to reading your blogs or replying to your comments. Sorry about that, but life intervened.


28 comments:

  1. The American medical system certainly has its faults, but forcing patients to wait 8+ hours in that type of situation certainly isn't one of them. Usually in an emergency, your wait is measured in minutes. I hope they are able to diagnose Sue's pain and get it under control.

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  2. So glad to hear she is okay!

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  3. Considering that my son had the same test two days ago..this was important reading. I'm glad she's okay after all the waiting.

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  4. Oh no! So sorry you all had to go through all that. My friend's husband had been sick just before the hurricane sent many critical patients to our nearby ER...so she didn't push him to go to the hospital. But finally after weeks they did, and he was admitted. I'm glad this time Sue is home doing ok, and hope it continues. Our guts are so weird sometimes, aren't they? I forgive you for not notifying us from your waiting time. I imagine you thought of lots of good things to say here!

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  5. What a scary thing to hear! I'm glad she's okay, but they could have been a bit more diplomatic - perforated colon sounds terrifying!

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  6. Good gravy, man! Blogs were rightly the last thing on your mind. So glad that Sue's emergency turned out to be a non-emergency.

    Makes me laugh. A couple years back, I took a fall and really, really hurt my knee. I tend to wait things out. They'll get better or they won't, but this one didn't, so after a couple months, I made an appointment with the doctor. She ordered x-rays and I got a call a home. She told me that my leg was broken and that I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon. She said, "Do not walk on that leg." I said, "You do understand that I've been walking on this leg for a couple months now?" Long story short, as I sat in the little room staring at my x-ray, I said to Tim, "I'm no expert, but I don't see any sign of a break at all." Luckily the expert came in shortly after and agreed with my findings.

    After the last couple years you two have had, you were over due a non-emergency.

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  7. So sorry this happened. Take care, both of you.

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  8. Our ER is large , but it still has a long waiting time.

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  9. So very glad Sue is OK!

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  10. OMG. It's good news Sue is ok, but 8 hours waiting. It's more like a get-to-you-when-we-can room.

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  11. So glad it was not serious. Our waiting room in Perth is much the same. It has, in fact, had to close several times because of staffing lacunae.
    I carry a Kindle whenever I go near our ER. Unfortunately, we can't get internet there.

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  12. What a nightmare! But at least the outcome was good.

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  13. You and Sue have just moved up my prayer list. Bless you friend

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  14. I have waited in the ER for that long, generally with my mother. There were times I ate a small bag of Cheetos from a vending machine for dinner. Glad that Sue is OK!

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  15. I was only 3 hours waiting with COVID and a cough. I left. I am glad I did, after this.
    You take it easy. Visit when you can. My best to Sue.

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  16. Glad that Sue is okay and hope that she is feeling better. What an ordeal!

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  17. Oh goodness, I had no idea that was a risk after a colonoscopy! Thank goodness that wasn't the issue, but I do hope she's on the mend and the problem mysteriously goes away.

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  18. So sorry that you have to go through this mayhem. It is best to be safe than sorry

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  19. Wow. Sorry about Sue. Our emergency room if just a few stitch or something. They usually send you off to somewhere else.

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  20. Not a fun day. Glad it ended decently.

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  21. A long day…waiting on medical personnel is miserable! Glad it work out well after all. Feel better, Sue.

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  22. Life has a way of doing that. I'm grateful that Sue is Ok but that is very puzzling. What a grim day! By the way, you may know this or changed your settings but you are now showing up as a no-reply blogger. It's happening to almost everyone I know whose email usually shows up. Gotta love that blogger, always messing with us!

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  23. Oh geeze. You don't need to comment and read my blog at all. I am just relieved that Sue is okay. That wait was crazy. Funny they didn't have someone scan her right away with that dx suspected.

    That said, we spent 2 hrs in the ER after being sent there from the clinic upstairs on Monday for my hubby. Our local rural hospital has gone from being the worst place to go in 1996 to a 100 top rated places in the states for care even though it is a tiny hospital and clinic.

    So she has recovered right? Phew. Those scopes can produce pain in the abdomen...I'm grateful Sue is okay!

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  24. Hello John...I know you dropped me years ago as a friend because of my political views (Republican) but I still read you...Just wanted to say I'm so glad Sue is alright.
    Hope you both have a peaceful weekend.
    Donna

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    1. Oh no! I don’t think so. I think you stopped blogging for awhile, and I didn’t pick you up again.

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  25. Emergency room interminable waits: I feel your pain. Glad it was a false alarm and hope that's the end of it.

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  26. What an unpleasant and worrying experience. You both must have been so tired by the time you reached home again. I'm pleased to hear that Sue is fine.

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  27. Good gosh! That is just awful. I'm so sorry for the both of you to go through that long wait and terrible worry. Please don't worry about visiting. I certainly can't keep up with my blog with the things we're going through right now. It's life, I'm afraid. I hope Sue is totally back to normal.

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