The Veg!

 Little did I know as the ambulance pulled up to the ER bay at Sunrise Medical Center what I was in for. Rolled in on a stretcher, a staff of people began to immediately take vitals, told me I was still in A Fib and looked for a room. Wheeled into trauma room 12 to be dealt with I was thinking well this will go away and I'll be back at the hotel in no time. Across the hall was a lady who was not happy she was there and let the nurse know in no uncertain terms. The nurse, Aurora, with the patience of a saint took my blood and a chest x-ray and all the time dealing with the lady who was demanding Tylenol every 5 minutes. I was not really scared, tho Max's Mom was, cuz ya know I am indestructible (haha). Hours went by and it became apparent I was going to be stuck there for a long time. This place was a madhouse. Then it got madder and madder until it appeared to be Arkham. 

The lady across the hall was wheeled out of the room as they had a patient coming in with life threatening problems. A nurse came in and closed the curtain so I couldnt see out into the hallway. The insanity began as a man on a stretcher was wheeled into the room with a paramedic on top of him doing emergency CPR. I heard a conversation right out of the Pitt. Adrenaline, Epi, CPR, blood pressure of 47 over 21 and the inevitable time of death call. The man was found on the toilet and was there for 20 minutes I guess. He was obviously dead from the get-go. It was very freaky to listen to. 

Ya think that was all? Nope. I was wheeled out of my room into a hallway. A friggin hallway with about 50 people also laying there. I had a view of the ambulance bay for hours. I saw what was coming in. It WAS the Pitt. It was ER. Migawd those shows are realistic. The place was so full, the ambulance crews had to wait their turn, turning the ER into a traffic jam. The ambo folks brought people in so often we saw the same ambo crews numerous times. Yes we there that long.

A man was brought in by a male and female paramedic. He began to hit on the female.

"Hey baby you got a boyfriend?"

"No I have 3 girlfriends"

" Wow now that's a party, I wish I had 3 girlfriends, Imagine all that pussy"

"Hey now no P words"

He eventually was wheeled in to sober up I assume. 

A man was brought in puking very loudly into a trash bag. It never seemed to end until he was wheeled into the ER to sober up, I assume.

A female in a party dress was wheeled in counting from 1 to 4 constantly. She was flirting with the very same female paramedic who the drunk man was hitting on. Eventually when was wheeled in to sober up I assume. 1 2 3 4 she eventually got all the way to 10. The male paramedic asked her what lesson she learned this night and she blurted out " not to drink after 7". I had no idea if she meant the time of day or the number of drinks.

A man was wheeled in hitting himself in the face. The cops were with this guy. Eventually he was wheeled in to go to jail.

A woman was wheeled in with a bloody face. She had been beaten up by I assume her significant other. She was eventually wheeled in to probably go back to the son of a bitch.

Remember the woman across the hall who was taken out to make room for a dead guy? She was laying in the hallway right within my eyesight. The nurse, who was also my nurse, who said her name was I don't know it sounded like RageAgainstTheMachine gave the Tylenol lady a shot of Ativan. Within a few minutes suddenly the Tylenol Ativan woman fell out of her bed and face planted as she seized. Allergic to Ativan, I guess. I reacted with an "oh shit".

There were so many people wheeled in it was just like seeing a Vegas show, but the cover charge is way too expensive.

Ok back to me. I laid in the hallway, with Max's Mom all night long. In the hallway of a Vegas ER. Drunks, homeless, heat strokes, domestic violence victims and the mentally ill seemed to be the norm. AND THIS WAS A TUESDAY NIGHT! What must it be like on Fridays or Saturdays? I was laying there in front of the nurse's station where I heard the graveyard shift complaining about other departments, doctors, nurses, and patients. They love their job as much as most people. They don't. The swearing was intense. Fuck you.. I'm pissed...he's a motherfucker ...all came out of these nurses' mouths. It amused me.

Meanwhile a young man laid on a bed in front of us in a hospital gown. He was very polite to everyone. But when he got up to go to the bathroom it was ass crack city. He tried to hold it shut behind him but failed. He apologized constantly. My suggestion was he should pull his black boxers UP so his crack would be gone. He did not.

I am not kidding when I say the Pitt is not preposterous. It's truth. I didn't have a hospital gown; I was still in my sweaty clothes. I hope my ass crack didn't show up but I cannot guarantee it.

My room eventually came thru at about 7 in the morning, so I'd spent 15 hours laying in the hallway of the Sunrise Hospital ER. Hey, I aint any better than anybody else so I didn't get too frustrated. I saw how busy these people were treating the sick people no doubt worse off than me. But man, if this health care system is the best we have, we have failed miserably. It sucks. I do not know the answer, but basic health care should be at least a goddamn right. In this nation it's a privilege and luck of the draw for the rest of people. That's wrong. We can do better.

My inpatient stay was uneventful. Private room in the heart unit. Bland food. Constant attention from nurses named Nikki and Briana who were great and constant doctors explaining my problem to me. But I was there way too long mostly due to the fact I am not special, nor should I be. They finally let us go around 7 pm or so. So, 15 hours in the ER hallway, and 12 hours in a private room. As frustrating as it was, I appreciated the care and dedication of these damn saints. They do the work, they put up with me, and they do it with a smile and jokes. THEY are the greatest. The system sucks.

Anyway, after a silent UBER ride back to the hotel, we crashed. Vending machine pizza, subs and a piece of cake (Yes, the machine made the pizza, and it was good as was the sub) we bought some water and caffeine and zoned out. 

One more day in Vegas to redeem itself.

By the way, this is a picture of the Sunrise ambulance bay on a Wednesday night at 6pm,