ER...........THE REAL ONE, NOT THE TV SHOW

C v. Nasty Stomach Bug.  And, the winner is………..Nasty Stomach Bug.  Nearly 48 hours of puking will leave one dehydrated with the dry heaves and a seriously cramping stomach.  So, Friday night just before 9, I convinced her that writhing on the couch is not treatment for what ails her.  Off to the ER to get rehydrated. Arrived at 9 and got back home at 2:30, as in A.M.  In that time, we sat in the waiting room for 2 hours, listened to what had to be the most patient ex-husband in the world get bitched at by his ex for taking their small girl to the ER on Friday night.  I have no idea why she was so pissed, but I wanted to snatch that Bluetooth out of his ear and tell her she was being a royal bitch.  I mean, taking a kid to the ER is nothing like going to the movies, you know.  The little girl was clearly not feeling well, as the dad was kind of wearing her as opposed to holding her – she was draped across his chest and quiet as a little mouse, while he named the pediatricians he had called to her mother and calmly told her that he had texted her they were going to the ER as soon as he made the decision.  He said, “I’m not trying to ruin your evening.” I think the telling part of the conversation was when he said something to the effect of, “You are always angry I just try not to talk to you.”  Well, I’D like to have a few minutes with her.

Then, the very old woman in the wheelchair with the oxygen canister on the back was wheeled in.  No one had covered her legs and it was cold.  It wasn’t clear that she knew where she was.  I felt badly for her and C thought maybe she was dead.  She wasn’t but that’s not living, either.

After 2 hrs. we get a room.  There is a lot of waiting to be done in the ER.  This I know from WAY too many previous experiences.  This time, I was grateful to be there for such a easy fix.  It has not always been thus. It was DAMN COLD.  If they wouldn’t keep the hospital at a temperature that would allow one to hang meat safely in any room, I’m thinking there would be some big savings to be had in medical care costs.  A very scruffy (but in a cute way) doctor stopped by to give a listen and a poke and say IV fluids were in order. C knew his name from scripts brought into the pharmacy where she is a tech. Two bags of saline, some meds for nausea, stomach cramping and pain and soon C was sleeping peacefully for the first time in a couple of days.  Well, after the nurse made good on her promise to bring heated blankets.  I sat in a chair with C’s jacket over my shoulders and her t-shirt draped over my knees.  It must have been 40 degrees in there.  Just after 2 am, the bags of saline had run dry and the blood tests were all normal.  Show us you can drink some water and keep it down and you can go home.  She performed admirably and we were released. Driving home, we turned on the heated seats and the heater!  

Oh, and BTW, the room is empty except for a bit of stuff in the top of the closet that will be emptied today. J came over and muscled the computer armoire out the door and into our bedroom – that was the piece that was worrisome.  Thanks to some ingenious invention called “Moveables” it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.  Little saucer-like things fit under the corners of the furniture – slick and convex on the bottom and with a kind of really dense foam on the top that keeps the piece from slipping.  You just push the piece where you want it to go.  The window sill and window frame has been Q-tipped within an inch of its life awaiting an appt for an estimate for plantation shutters. Paint has been and will be purchased, later today. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, things will be better, but between now and then, there’s a LOT to do.  So, off to get some Gatoraide for C and paint and, since I can’t paint the room, some strawberries and raspberries – Fannie and I need to replenish the jam stash.