tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post3134253972403035594..comments2024-03-28T22:15:17.067-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: ‘Code yellow: Trauma in the emergency room’ Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-15049024888390355812019-10-07T20:55:05.600-05:002019-10-07T20:55:05.600-05:00When I had my stones, blood stains were the farthe...When I had my stones, blood stains were the farthest thing from my mind. Had I known I would spend 4 hours alternately feeling like I was stabbed in the back or dry heaving from the nausea, I would have cut myself to speed up my treatment. Not Mt. Sinai, but St. A in Hoffman Estates. They ignored me while suffering but wouldn't let me drive home in the morning after the crisis resolved. Still haven't forgiven them.JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08613528527379198505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-57524536909390720812019-10-06T15:41:54.368-05:002019-10-06T15:41:54.368-05:00Very good insight as to what goes on in ER’s and t...Very good insight as to what goes on in ER’s and the people who work there. It is true that the ones who can deal with the daily stress tend to stay a long time. It is not because they become “hardened” to what they see. In fact, I believe they become more sensitive. The stress then dissipates. Only the challenge remains.<br />What happens to those who stay is that they learn that this is life. This is what goes on every (goddamn) day but only those who treat the sick or injured are the ones who see it. The rest of society stays in the dark. It’s why violence is so shocking to those who remain unaware.<br />Having worked as a paramedic, I saw those in the ER do their thing. As with the fire department, it seems that most of the best like to work the busy places. Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16679840606511726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-73683722286222032062019-10-06T12:01:33.440-05:002019-10-06T12:01:33.440-05:00This column is one of the best articles I've r...This column is one of the best articles I've read anywhere in a long time. Visiting Mount Sinai is almost like going home, in that my siblings and I were all born at nearby St. Anthony Hospital, just across Douglas Park. My parent's primary care physician was Dr. Christine Veres, who became head of the Geriatrics Department at Mt. Sinai Hospital. I took my Dad there once and Mom twice, each time passing through the ER. Neil describes perfectly what it is like there. Code yellow, lockdowns, now I know what the chimes are about. For my Mom's second trip at a family get together at a restaurant, lifting my Mom I carelessly managed to put a nasty gash in her forearm. A neat thing about driving a Mercedes is it has medkit as standard equipment. I patched her up and everyone met at the Mt. Sinai ER. Only one visitor at a time is permitted to be with a patient. Just beyond triage is the ER waiting room. We did our part to be helpful. Letting someone else visit Mom, find my sister who worked at UCLA Med Lab, had organized games for the children there to help them pass the time. Back with my Mom a doctor unraveling the bandages gave me a quizzical look, and asked if someone in the ER bandaged the wound? Later a nurse bandaged my Mom, and only had tiny pieces of gauze to place on the wound. Did they run out of the good sized Vaseline impregnated gauze? A few years later in the Jewel parking lot I was doubled over with excruciating abdominal pain. Didn't want to risk losing consciousness while driving so called a cab, out of habit requested Mt. Sinai ER. I think it was bay 15, pain was receding, and looking around saw blood spots here and there. Flagged an orderly over and told him I don't mind, but there are people who freak out at the sight of blood. He mopped them up. The diagnosis was kidney stones, they eventually passed. Stopped eating Tums like candy for stress, hasn't happened since. Berniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17157600812959885192noreply@blogger.com