A hospital visit pt 1.

I've been pretty MIA lately, if you haven't noticed. That is because my roommate has spent the last 5 days in the hospital with...E. coli. (No, it doesn't seem that I have it too...only my poor roommate). And here's the story of the hospital experience...the names have been changed to protect the guilty...
Kimberly checked into the hospital when we were out of town. One minute, she was sick but tolerable...the next minute, she was saying she was in the hospital... Yikes. So we called all of our friends and asked them to go visit her...which they lovingly all did. :) By the time we arrived, she was admitted in the hospital and it seemed the worst might be over...

But even though the worst was over, it was not meant to be a quick recovery or a walk in the park. Kimberly spent 5 days in the hospital, battling the little bug until she finally defeated it. I spent a lot of time with her because I thought it was important that she wasn't left alone (and she didn't want to be left alone)...

I will never again complain about an american hospital! While the bill was exceedingly cheaper than an American medical bill (all her tests, room expenses, consultations and meds under $1,000), the care was next to none.

One time,the first night I stayed, Kimberly had an allergic reaction to her antibiotics. I called the nurse. "Look! She's having a reaction to the meds."

"Oh, madam, we will call the doctor and be right back."

Ten minutes pass...no nurse. So I ring the bell again.

"She's having an allergic reaction to the medicine."

"Oh, I will call the doctor."

20 minutes go by...by this time, the rash has finally started to go away (thank God)but she was feeling light headed. So I called the nurse again. Same thing.

Finally, I go out into the hall and watch for her...she makes eye contact with me, but avoids my room at all cost. Finally, I call her again...same scenario. So one of my South Asian friends tells them to call the doctor, stands there and watches her until the doctor is called.

The doctor and someone else come into the room...

"You don't look like you are comfortable."

"No, I'm not comfortable! I had an allergic reaction to the medicine, and no one did ANYTHING about it!"

"Well, you shouldn't have had an allergic reaction...you had an allergic reaction the first time we gave you the drug, but not the 2nd...so it shouldn't have caused you to break out this 3rd time..."

"Well, it did, so could you please, give her something for it! She's feeling light headed."

"Oh of course....right away."

10 minutes later, they finally gave her something for the reaction...if it had been something that caused her to not be able to breath or something with her heart, she might not have made it. Morbid, but true. Thank goodness it was only a rash...