Visit to the ER

Ok, so the hospital we picked does not resemble Seattle Grace as in Private Practice. It is more on the lines of ER after a tired 10 seasons or so. Danielle called me crying on Thursday night. After a long day at work, I was just pulling out on Telegraph Road in Southfield anticipating a long drive home, when my cell phone began vibrating. I looked at the caller ID and saw Danielle's name. That is odd as she rarely calls me. I answer the phone to hear her crying and telling me that she was doubled up in pain and I tell her that I am on my way home and to call her sister and see if she can come over and sit with her or take her to the emergency room if needed.

The rest of the drive was not pleasant. On a good night I can make it home in 50 minutes. I have no idea how long it took me that night. I called Stef to see how Danielle was and if she thought that she should just take her and I could meet her there.

Well, I won't go into detail about Danielle's problem but just enough to say that she is having some tests and will find out next week exactly what is going on.

The hours I spent waiting for her at the hospital were unbelievable. I felt like I was in an episode of ER actually. I was waiting for the car to come crashing through the glass or someone to wave a gun at us or a love affair to break out among the disgruntled employees. None of that happened. However, just the people watching was quite entertaining. There was the tatooed lady that talked to herself. We had the young heavyset girl in the wheelchair with her mother. The girl said her brakes failed and she hit her chest on the steering wheel. The mother relayed this to the father on the cell phone and proceeded to look down her daughter's top to check for bruising or swelling I imagine.

The two couples with newborns I did feel sorry for. One had a fever and cough and won't eat. The other baby had a reaction to a formula and that family responded by hauling the grandparents into the hospital too to wait with us. They compared formula and feeding problems with the first baby family and we all got to listen.

The mom and the teenage daughter looked and acted normal. The mom must have sprained her ankle and the daughter was bored stiff. Finally the dad came with the brother so that the daughter could go home. I was happy for her as she almost ran out with the brother. We checked in with them later to make sure everyone was getting ready for bed. (Or at least the father did that. I just listened).

The mom with the 2 little boys was interesting. They spent a great amount of time checking out the snack machines. I don't know why as all she had was a $5 bill and no machine took anything larger than a $1 bill. The youngest boy held his penis the whole time. Never did go to the bathroom.

I also felt sorry for the young normal couple that waited a long time. The woman looked like she might be pregnant and held a small child's bucket in her lap the whole time. Every so often she took her bucket to the bathroom. When the husband sat down he looked around the room like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

There were lots of older people wheeled in by attendants. Some were moaning. Some didn't know what day it was. It makes me thankful that I am who I am and I am glad I can't see into the future to see if one day I might become one of those people.

Danielle finally came out and we left. I had lots of text messages to return by this time, not to mention calling my husband to give him the latest. Not a fun way to spend the evening. Glad Danielle has insurance.