ER

I was called and told that Charles, for whom I have Power Of Attorney, was taken to the Emergency Room. I immediately went to the hospital. Charles and I had been there for an hour when a nurse finally drifted in and took a case history. It was simple, Charles couldn't POOP! He had been to the ER for the same problem two other times. This time, we waited and waited and WAITED! Of course I knew that the ER handled patients depending on the seriousness of the condition and as unpleasant as it was, Charles just couldn't POOP!

We we situated directly across from the Nurse's Station. I kept the curtain open. During the first hour I was there, nobody came to check on Charles or to take any specimens. Shortly after I arrived, I saw a young woman hurriedly escorted to a room with a door on the right side of our space. I soon saw someone whom I recognized from The Victim Witness Program go into the room and a Deputy Sheriff soon arrived and also went in the room. It was obvious to me that this was a rape case. After about an hour the young woman left with another woman whom I assumed to be her mother.

The doctor and the nurses were at the Nurse's Station and I could hear their comments and they were doubting the veracity of the rape victim. I went to the Nurse's Station and said, "You must not realize that I could hear everything you just said about the rape victim." Although they looked sheepish, none of them even bothered to apologize for their unprofessional behavior. I continued, "You shouldn't be making remarks like that!"

It was nearly two more hours before the doctor approached Charles' bed. He did not bother to ask Charles' name. Of course he recognized me from criticizing him and the nurses. He said, tersely, "You have a UTI and I've given you a prescription for Cipro." I said, "Excuse me, how could you make that diagnosis?" He flipped the chart around in front of me and grandiosely circled a section and said, imperiously, "Because that's what the lab results show." I said, "You must be looking at the wrong chart because there have been no specimens taken." He looked at the top of the chart and started to turn away and I said, "Wait, aren't you supposed to follow a protocol to find out to whom you're speaking? I thought that was the purpose of the wrist bands!"

The doctor ignored me and instead went to the cubicle beside us and I heard him say, "You have a UTI; I'm giving you a prescription for Cipro." He left that area and I went to the cubicle and there was a young woman there with her mother and I asked them what they thought about the doctor. The mother said, "I don't know how he could tell that--he never even looked at her pussy!" I nearly fell on the floor laughing!

It was rather humorous to see the looks on the faces of my husband and brothers when I told the story because I'd never used that word for female genatalia in my life but I had to say it out loud it to give the full effect of her outrage!

I wrote a letter of complaint to the Board of Trustees.

Charles was at the ER another time and when the doctor came to see him she immediately checked his bracelet and asked if his name were the same as on the band. Charles stuttered with his answer and stuttering is a symptom of his condition. The doctor then began directing her questions to me: "Is this his first stroke?" I said, "He hasn't had a stroke." She said, "He has many of the symptoms." I said, "He's diagnosed with Lewy's Body Dementia and I told that to the nurse." The doctor said, "Oh, I wondered what that note was; I've never heard of that." I said, "It exhibits symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, but it's a separate diagnosis, according to Dr. Fahey, his neurologist." She said, "I've never heard of it!"

The doctor left and returned about 15" later and said, "I called a colleague at the Cleveland Clinic and it IS a separate condition." I felt like saying, "Well, DUH!" but I contained myself and instead, answered, "Estelle Getty, from "The Golden Girls" had the same thing."

The doctor said, "You must know a lot about medicine." I said, "No, I'm abysmally ignorant, but I do listen to the doctor!"