I got a CT scan today because my last round of IVs didn't really improve my PFTs like we had hoped. I still don't feel like I have an infection so we decided to do a little investigating. My last CT was 10 years ago so it seemed an appropriate time to try again. Even though it has been a while since my last CT I remember it being a super simple procedure. I assumed I would be in and out in about 30 minutes so I came without a book or anything to do. Did I mention this CT took place at the hospital? Has anything ever been as simple as in and out at the hospital? Seriously, what was I thinking??
It is a Saturday so for some reason I figure they won't be busy. As I approach the waiting room my suspicions seem to be proving true. The receptionist looks up upon my arrival and quickly shoves her book aside. She apologizes for reading and explains that it has been so dead all day that there really is nothing left to do. All I can think is, awesome I will have this done in no time! So I sit and wait...and wait...and wait. I have no internet in this part of the hospital so I fiddle on my phone and clean out my old contacts (seriously, who are some of these people!?), delete old pics, and change my phone wall paper. I then clean out my purse. Still waiting...I tried to nap, but failed to do so sitting up. I asked the receptionist how much longer she thought the wait would be (I mean it has been dead all day, right?). She went in the back to check and told me they had one patient ahead of me and it would be soon.
(fast forward through a bunch more waiting and the receptionist checking one more time)
They finally call me back and at this point I am annoyed. I waited 50 minutes in a completely empty waiting room! The nurse took me back and was rather rude which made me more annoyed. To make matters worse when I was finally brought back I was horrified that I still wasn't actually getting my CT scan. The nurse pointed to a chair in the hall and said it would be a few minutes. Sigh!
As I am sitting there annoyed that everything at this darn hospital seems to take hours the door to the room opens. And finally, someone is being pushed out of the CT room in a hospital bed. As the nurses push the bed around the door opening I see the body of a very very young unconscious child with no hair on half of her head, no older than my own daughter waiting at home for me. A few tears came to my eyes and I thought how selfish I was for being annoyed that my appointment was pushed back. I realized how lucky I am to have a perfectly healthy and vibrant child running and playing and being silly at home with her daddy. How lucky I am that I am sitting here waiting for a scan for me and not for my little Kay. How lucky I am that my child doesn't know what it means to be sick.
Ohhhh - life is so tough/weird/confusing sometimes! Don't be hard on yourself - it's sounds as if the people at the hospital were not communicating with you properly. I'm sure you wouldn't have gotten huffy if you knew what was going on with that poor kid. The hospital staff dropped the ball. Plus, I'm sure you were uneasy, on pins and needles, about getting the damn CT in the first place. Hope your test results are good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, life can be so confusing at times. I wish they would have told me they were with a patient since from the waiting room it seemed nobody was around and I would have for sure been more understanding.
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