Emergency room

Emergency medical professionals — some do it right and some do it wrong. I met both kinds yesterday.

A sharp, escalating pain in my left arm, accompanied by numbness and tingling in my left hand had me on edge about whether or not I was experiencing the onset of a heart attack. Symptoms lingered through the night and into the next day. My apprehension grew.

I hedged. I debated.

And as I was weighing the pros and cons of getting it all checked out (and paying the bill if it turned out to be a false alarm), I flashed back a few years to my younger brother's near-death experience. He was out for a walk and felt similar symptoms. He walked back home, drove himself to the hospital a few blocks away (bad idea, but the only option at the time) where he received a check over. Shortly after that he was admitted to the ER, where he arrested. Thankfully ER staff and equipment were both close at hand, and he survived, I believe, because of his quick, decisive, cautionary action.

So I grudgingly and fearfully headed for a professional evaluation, which of course was the only smart choice. Unfortunately, the care I received over the next five hours ran the gamut from embarrassingly poor to surprisingly excellent.

The greeting at my first destination was casual, sloppy and unprofessional. The diagnosis I received seemed to waver and contradict itself from one sentence to the next. I spent most of my time there in tears, not over the pain, but over the clumsy care. And no, I won't ever be going back.

My second destination should have been my first. I was received and treated calmly, quickly, efficiently, and with precision. The medical team communicated with each other and with me clearly. They obviously had a plan, and I was in and out of the Thompson Health Emergency Department — multiple test results in hand — like "buttah."

I liked what I saw and experienced, and even if the outcome had been bad news, that's the team I'd want to hear it from. I'd go back in a heartbeat, literally.

What's the outcome? I'm not completely healthy — but I'm not having heart issues. So I'm grateful, because now I don't have to wonder. I talked with my brother and said thank you for inspiring me to take care of me.

Thanks Thompson ED staff for taking care of business and treating me with respect and dignity at the same time. I hope I never see you again.


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