It was recommended strongly that I go to the emergency room since my saline level was dangerously low. Reluctantly, I called a friend to come and get my little dog and called 911. The paramedics were very kind and carted me off to the nearest hospital emergency room. I won’t name the hospital so as to give them the benefit of the doubt. I remained in the ambulance while they hunted a cubicle to put me in. Nightgown and robe were discarded for a gown and they brought me a blanket. An EKG was hooked up and a drip was to give me a liter of saline solution. I couldn’t find the call device so had to wait until a nurse came in. Twice I stressed that I needed a potty chair (with COVID they wouldn’t let me leave the room!) I waited and looked around the room. There was trash on the floor including an empty vial of something. I was told to use the potty chair and put the “paper” in the red bin. When I lifted the lid to do so, there was a bedpan in there with someone else’s excrement in it. Egad! Let me out of here!
My saline level came up from 123 to 130 and the ER doctor pronounced me fit to go home. While my oldest son, the nurse, in Simi Valley argued with the doctor over keeping me overnight, she disagreed. Now how to get me home? I didn’t have anyone who could come and get me at 9:00 pm. The shuttle wouldn’t take me due to COVID; they were trying to find a taxi voucher for me when my daughter, who was in Las Vegas for a conference, said “I’ll take care of it, Mama.” She called UBER and in my nightgown, robe, and slippers, I rode home in a black Mercedes Benz! I sat quietly in the back seat with my mask on, but I did tell the driver I wasn’t dressed to ride in his pretty car! I was safely delivered home with my daughter following our progress on her phone. I hope I don’t have to go to the emergency room for some time!!
Photo by Paul Brennan from Pixabay
