The ER is a Disaster...

Being a cancer patient requires me to be vigilant. More vigilant than ever. I have to be more vigilant because I can't allow anything outside of this tumor to hinder my treatment plan. So, I have to be aware of my surroundings. I have to wear masks because common colds can be detrimental to my health. Someone's sinus infection can cause my almost non-existent immune system to disappear. So, last night when I started feeling chest pain, I needed to contact the on-call doctor to make sure I wasn't experiencing anything other than just basic lung irritation. She sent me to the ER because she wanted to rule out blood clots which is a side effect of cancer treatment.

Now...I work for the hospital. You would think there are some perks to being an employee. There are. You get some extra food in your cafeteria container. Some things come at a discount. What you don't get is ER preferences. I thought being a cancer patient as well as being an employee they would allow me to see a doctor so I can go back to work....uhhh no. I had to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. Did I say I had to wait? Yeah, I had to wait among people who had been waiting for a lot longer than I had. I was sitting close to a sister who had blood drawn at 2:30 and was still waiting when I got down to the ER at 6. Let that sink in. She was waiting to be seen again which means she was already waiting long before her blood was drawn. I was told there was an 8-hour wait. Yeah, let me say it loud for the cheap seats. The wait was 8 hours before you saw someone. I thought maybe because the on-call doctor was scared of blood clots you would prioritize the situation. Again, No. So I sat and waited. She was eventually seen not long before I was at 9.

While waiting I saw some very interesting things. A man who was shot was driven to the ER in a Tahoe while being surrounded by the Police. Shout out to our boys in blue who never miss a doughnut!!! ER personnel came out with the stretcher, nurses were running around as well as the first responders. I felt like I was in an episode of ER. They got that man out of the car and wheeled him in with quickness. Again, shoutout to those who get all the attention and overshadow those who actually help them do their job from afar! Yeah, I'm a little salty that nurses and doctors get perks, and our lab week gets a blip on the internet home page. You know I don't expose myself to the human body's nemeses every day trying to make sure the doctors and nurses look good in front of their patients. You know I have to play with patients' shits that explode because nurses can't be diligent about making sure there is air in the container. It's okay Lucy. Everyone has their hierarchy.

Moving forward. There was a man who was in so much pain that he sat in his wheelchair moaning and groaning. I get it. I understand you are in pain. I also understand that nurses cannot push pain meds thanks to the over-indulged, affluent children who love to pop pills and cause an opioid crisis in this country. I get allll of that. What I don't understand is why you didn't see him for hours, let him moan and groan, and allow a woman whose pain level wasn't anywhere near close to his go back almost 30 minutes after she was checked in. Hell, even I wouldn't have cared if you wheeled him back before me but that woman wasn't anywhere near as bad as that man, yet her vitals were taken, and she was wheeled back before any of the dozens of people waiting to be seen. Yet, I sat there. Watching and waiting. It wasn't just the woman. A man who looked like the proverbial golfer was taken back immediately. A young, college frat boy who probably had too much to drink was taken back. Yet, some people were under the 8-hour restriction and were purposed to wait for their healthcare.

I am just a woman. I am a woman with insurance. I am also a woman with cancer who happens to work for the only "#1 Level-1 Trauma Center" in the city. I don't want preferential treatment but there should be a better way to triage the people of this city. You expect that treatment in the South because hey long live Dixie! They don't want to give up their way of life! This is the Midwest where opportunities should be afforded to all. Last night was a reminder that the South can infiltrate, and my cancer isn't considered a priority unless I am in the Cancer Center. Which sucks because what if I had a clot? What if what I was experiencing was detrimental to my health? What if my wait time contributed to my conditioning worsening? We will never know because my three-hour wait time proved that it was just my lungs being irritated by something in the air. I came home about 6 hours later after I came down to wait. Which means I did manage to make it under the wait time, but some folks were there long after me, and that in itself is disappointing.