10 hour emergency room visit aarrrgggg!

[Swimmer]

Couple of days ago the wife calls from work, a hospital mind you, and says come pick me up I really dont feel well. I make appropriate arrangement at work and screw. She tells me on the phone she is going to the Good Sam emergency room. She WORKS AT THE MORTON HOSPITRAL, but she has to go to the Good Sam, because our doctor has priviledges there, not at the hospital she works.

We get to the ER and I never saw so many sick people in my life. Just after we sign up I hear the lady say six hour minimum wait to see a doctor. I almost chit. It took us two more hours to just register. Wife says to me go home and I'll call you when I'm ready. Something like that occurred once before when she went to the oncologist because it was on her way home instead of coming to get me first and then going. We got some very bad news that day, but that was then and this is now.

Anyway, we sign in at 2 p.m., register at 4 p.m., and get called in to the E.R. at 8 p.m. To make a long story short she got sick the first week of December, same old sinus stuff we thought. Her/our doctor treats her over the course of the next eleven weeks with seven other anti-biotics that never made anything clear up. Two days after each script was done she felt like you know what again. She had blood tests and chest xray as a matter of routine before seeing E.R. doctor. We explained her course of treatment over the last couple of months and also her having a wisdom tooth out a week ago. We figured at that point that was the problem. Continually reoccurring infection under a tooth where some food had lodged.

No, the wisdom tooth did needs to come out, but the source of her problem was the friekin pnuemonia she has had since December her physician negelected to check for with a simple xray. I mean hey what the hell, seven scripts for various meds that didn't take care of her "cold".

The post script to this is new primary physician will be south this week. And it may have been inordinately busy, busy the employees of the hospital were great to us and everyone else. I felt bad for all the people by themselves with no one to turn too. By the way the turnaround see a doctor wait the day before was 17 hours.

[Raider Ronnie]

Hope your wife is ok Frank
Hospitals suck!

[Swimmer]

She pretty strong and good natured about this stuff. I am sure she'll be o.k. thank you.

[justplugit]

That is the pits, hope she feels better soon.

[Slipknot]

WOW sorry she had to go thru all that. I'd be more than a little pissed at her doc.

Glad you are picking a new primary doctor, but get one that won't make you go to Good Sam.

I would never go there or bring any family member there, even if I have to change insurance or whatever it takes, I hate that place.

Hope she gets well soon and is on the road to recovery, that is too long to be with pnemonia

[chris L]

thats too bad she and you had to go through that at the Hosptial . There is nowhere worse to have to wait . I used to work in a Hospital and kinda still do . I hate having to spend my time there .

I hope it all works out well for your wife frank

[Raven]

all those scripts ..........and a cold still is present

i hope she feels better soon...
=======================================
some Doctors try to be superhuman (or greedy)

and then try and manage way to large a

client/patient load and then all the patients

suffer a lack of "quality care" the same way
as over crowding
in schools reduces effective education...

glad your switching primaries...

i'm in that process as well

[Rick Ackley]

Must be why they call it "practicing medicine?"

[gone fishin]

Chalk up another one for our great healhcare system. The hospitals are so overwhelmed with complaints that they cannot keep up with the demand. The only time you get immediate treatment in a emergency room is if you are carted in by an ambulance. And sometimes that is iffy.
I had an occasion to bring a neighbor to the hospital after a surgical drain that was put in misfunctioned and she was bleeding. When we arrived I was told not to ever take anyone to the ER, but to call for an ambulance. They have first preferance. Makes sense, but what about the pneumonia case?

[Swimmer]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

Chalk up another one for our great healhcare system. The hospitals are so overwhelmed with complaints that they cannot keep up with the demand. The only time you get immediate treatment in a emergency room is if you are carted in by an ambulance. And sometimes that is iffy.
I had an occasion to bring a neighbor to the hospital after a surgical drain that was put in misfunctioned and she was bleeding. When we arrived I was told not to ever take anyone to the ER, but to call for an ambulance. They have first preferance. Makes sense, but what about the pneumonia case?

My wife has worked in a hospital for 33 years and knows what is going to be treated first, based on severity of illness and so on. She wouldn't take an ambulance to the ER unless she was absolutely bedridden. Its not fair to the people who were worse off than her. I just wished she got treated at her own hospital where she works. It would have been mush easier. The high powered antibiotic (levaquill ??) she is on is giving her tremors, nightmares, and anxiety though. She is better today. Her primary says to her in his office yesterday, this is after he missed the diagnosis since December, "I'd like to see that xray, I'll bet you don't have Pneumonia!" His arrogance/ignorant manner is is detestable to say the least.
Just get through this with him and then he is toast.

The ER wait was 17 hours the day before we were there. Like I said I felt worse for the poeple who were sitting there by themselves with no one to turn to.

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by Swimmer

..... Her primary says to her in his office yesterday, this is after he missed the diagnosis since December, "I'd like to see that xray, I'll bet you don't have Pneumonia!" His arrogance/ignorant manner is is detestable to say the least.
Just get through this with him and then he is toast.

Do I smell a malpractice lawsuit here?
His reaction sounds like he's trying to cover his own a$$.
Depending on how this works out (for the best I hope), my parting words would be "...after we consult with our attorney".

[johnny ducketts]

I can't get in to see my new dr. for an initial visit until June 24th, I made the appointment in November!!

[pmueller]

She needs to see a speacailist. It the guy is a GP or internist, get her to someone else PDQ.