Archive for the ‘life in the ER’ Category

You know how sometimes we experience foreboding in a movie? We sense something’s about to happen. Our pulse races. We grab the arm of the person next to us whether we know him or not.

But it’s a misdirect. Foreshadowing. The bad thing doesn’t happen. PHEW!

Relieved, we sit back and enjoy the movie until later when we’re totally caught off guard, WHAM! Something really-really-really awful happens.

Writing on the Wall

That foreshadowing actually happened to me. And I wasn’t in a movie (if only…)

Two months ago I was at one of Niles’ catered parties when the Chef choked on a piece of steak.  Other Guests and I gasped as a Server Heimliched him.  It wasn’t working. Time was Ticking. Stunned, we were afraid to interfere with the Server who seemed to know what to do. We were paralyzed over what felt like an eternity.

I yelled, “SOMEONE CALL 911!”

The Chef bent over the kitchen sink and tried Heimlich himself. No luck. He dropped to the floor, doubled over, and gagged as he tried to dislodge the obstruction in his airway. At last he coughed up the meat while the Caller reported to 911 on the phone.

We all realized the magnitude of what had almost happened on our watch. The Chef was shaken, but able to leave. It was a good ending… on that night.

Deja Vu

Fast forward to last Saturday night when I was on my Volunteer shift. Paramedics rushed in a 60-year old fit, otherwise healthy Man who’d choked on piece of steak. He’d been at the steak restaurant with his wife… the steak restaurant they’d go to every Saturday night. The Man had tried to get the piece of steak up himself and even left the table to go to the restroom so he wouldn’t make a scene. He returned and collapsed on the table. No one even knew to call 911, until too much time had passed..

When someone did, Paramedics arrived at the scene 8 minutes later, but the Man had been without oxygen to his brain for 15 minutes. Now at the hospital as they tried to revive the Man, the Wife still held out hope… until Dr. Adams broke the devastating news to her.

I watched through the curtain as Dr. Adams with tears in his eyes, tried to console her.  Together they waited until the two 20-something kids arrived to say “good-bye” to their Dad before pulling the plug. This family had planned to celebrate Father’s Day the next day. The Son had planned a hike with his Dad. The Daughter had been looking forward to her Dad walking her down the aisle at her wedding in October…

Ever since, I’ve been telling everyone about this story (leaving out names and personal details of course for Patient Confidentiality). Who knew that the odds of one dying from choking on food is around 1 in 2,659. That’s scary!

It’s probably a good time for each of us to learn or re-learn the Heimlich Maneuver.

What else can we do? Well, we can remember to cut up and chew our food carefully. And when we see someone choking, we must act without waiting. Heimlich and  call 911, STAT!  The time we save may be the difference between life and death.

Be careful out there… xo/Evie

There’s so much to freak out about these days, and much of it is beyond our control: the SAG/AFTRA strike, worldwide climate calamities, a Congress-stalled government, a deeply divided country, a North Korea/Russian alliance, the war in Ukraine, gun violence… I could go on and on, but why? It just adds to anxiety.

Smiles are contagious —

I can’t believe I’m admitting to this, but volunteering at the ER is actually calming during these tumultuous times because it gives me a reason to wake up in the morning and an opportunity to make the world a less combative place.  It’s like working in the United Nations of the hospital where we treat everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, sexual preference or political party, exactly the same. We must hear what patients are saying and respond to them in a way they can hear us. If only our politicians could do the same.

All Patients Think They Are The Priority —

Priority in Triage isn’t about who you are or who you know, it’s about who has the most life-threatening issue. Chest Pains, Asthma, Stroke symptoms, and life threatening injuries get to go to the head of the line. And everyone understands that. Or they need to. But sometimes they’re in pain or their loved one is in pain and that makes a tough situation even tougher.

I may not have control over the strikes, the climate, Congress or Putin and Kim Jong Un, but I do have the power to help ease the stress of everyone in my path at the hospital, so I’m going to focus on that… one person at a time.

I know, I know – it seems like I’ve been MIA, but honestly this is the first moment I’ve had to myself. See, my dear Niles, hairdresser to the stars and my rock ever since my Mom died, had a scary fall and I’ve been “Nurse Evie” ever since.

Coming to the rescue for family…

Thankfully Niles lives in my building, and after a party of too much flying from who knows what, he slipped and landed splat on his marble bathroom floor, Speedy Evie and two cute paramedics flew to his rescue. As we sped away from the condo in the ambulance, they gave him Fentanyl (yikes!) and told me he’d broken his hip. I asked how they knew and apparently one leg looked longer than the other, plus some bone was sticking out the wrong way. Poor Niles!

I was so relieved they were willing to drive to my hospital, because volunteering in the ER does have its perks. Everyone in the department hopped-to when they saw me. They understood Niles is “family” me.

Dr. A was thankfully on duty when we arrived around midnight and I’m sure he expedited things because in less than an hour and a half, Niles was admitted upstairs and more comfortable in the hospital bed. Dr. A also called a badass ortho surgeon he knew (Dr. Snow) who came to Niles’ room first thing the next morning. Dr. Snow patiently answered our questions about the hip fracture, surgery and recovery and slotted him into her schedule for later that night.

Waiting while Niles was suffering was so stressful. I can empathize with family members who must play the waiting game. You have to wait for tests, for doctor input, for surgery, to be discharged.  It’s really hard. Star Volunteer Mira, was so supportive. She knew just what to say through all of the hours of not-knowing and brought me Kreation organic smoothies to keep me going.

The surgery went well though and as long as Niles didn’t move much he was okay as long as he got Oxy every four hours. I was a little freaked out  about Oxy… I mean, I saw DOPESICK…) Niles was feeling good about it though. He even joked about what he called his Elephantiasis due to swelling. Meanwhile they kept pumping IV fluids into him, making him even more bloated.

Getting out of the hospital is harder than getting in…

He was ready to be done with it all but whenever the Physical Therapist would stop by to access him daily, he’d get light-headed and his blood pressure would drop so they’d have to stop.

After a few days, I ran down to the ER and asked Nurse Chan, if he had any suggestions because at this rate it looked like Niles would never get out.

“Stop with the Oxy because it makes blood pressure go Ziiiiip! Try Tylenol for PT”

Luckily that and a quick blood transfusion (because Niles was anemic) did the trick. I was able to take Niles home as long as he wouldn’t be alone.  A cute PT guy came 5 days a week and I practiced with Niles in between.

Niles has been a superstar. He aced the walker, graduated to a cane and is now pretty much cane-free except when it comes to big stairways.

The whole experience makes me a appreciate Niles even more. I’m so glad I could help him in his time of need. Niles has always been there for me. I’m grateful that this time I could be there for him.

But how do I know if we’re both wearing masks?

The vibe’s different now. Covid’s basically under control and the staff isn’t freaking out about Monkey Pox, but MASKS are still required.

I miss SMILES… connecting with SMILES… getting feedback from SMILES… I especially miss  smiling with Dr. Privacy and seeing HIS smile. I hadn’t realized how important smiles were to my ER life because I took them for granted.

Sadly this is so not happening!

Mira says I’m totally overthinking this. She insists that he can see my eyes smile, but Mira’s like the ideal volunteer who always says and thinks the perfect thing — she’s like Mother Theresa’s daughter. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see smiling eyes. No, I see a fugly mask that goes yuckily with my fugly hospital smock. Guess I should be happy none of my fans can recognize me. WAIT! Do I even still have them?

Conundrum: How can I #BeAuthentic if I’m masked?

FACIAL FEEDBACK shows friendliness (or not) —

Facial expressions help us read and understand each other. If I can’t see someone’s face and vice versa, I go into a funk. It’s kinda like going to an audition where the CD has a blank face. If I can’t see someone’s facial expression it’s hard to get a sense if I’m nailing it or failing it.

I feel like masks zap the warmth from everyday life at the hospital. It’s impossible to look cute with a mask.

I guess I can try to be the reason someone smiles today… even if I can’t see it. But it’ll be a challenge, trust me.

I know — I’ll study up on body language before my next shift. I’ll make eye contact and mirror Dr. Privacy. Maybe that’ll  bring back the spark we felt before Covid — or was it just me? Maybe I’ll start with the patients — they’ll be more receptive.

Aha! I just sneaked one in. Removing my mask is the NEW NAUGHTY!

It’s so hard to get back to —

• Love Connections
• Work Connections
• Friend Connections

It’s as if we’ve been on another planet for what feels like almost two years now that we’re rounding around the holiday bend.

Everything and Everywhere feels DISORGANIZED

I just got back from Austin where a friend had a film premiering at the Austin Film Festival. He was so hopeful about premiering there, but sadly the fest was short-staffed, overwhelmed and underprepared. Some of the panels were really interesting, but the festival “directors” gave  a lot of mixed messages without the proper prep and support. It looked like crowds were light. It was my first time in a movie theater, so I’m sure others were a little scared to go to a film festival after being so careful. I talked to a producer who said it’s been like that for all of the fests recently. She said “SXSW” was a disaster. Guess you can blame it on Covid.

Luckily productions are picking up, so I’m hoping-wishing-praying that some acting gigs are in my future. But the tragic news about Halyna Hutchins puts chills through anyone who’s ever been or will be going on a film set. Sloppiness about protocols, an overwhelmed and underprepared cast and crew… a tragedy that could’ve been avoided…  If only there were more people paying attention. I want to go back, but I want to be sure people are paying attention.

Who knows how long it’ll be before we recover from all of the effects of Covid — not just health-wise but people-wise.

Just got an email from the hospital where I volunteer asking if we want to come back, if we’ve been vaccinated, blah, blah, blah. We’ve been furloughed for-covid-ever, but it looks like we’ll be going back sometime in the near future. Yay! At least I can help people-wise at the hospital and do some good. I need to get back to some sense of normal.

Can’t wait to connect with friends in places other than on screens. Enough with the Instagram, Zoom reality!

I don’t know if I’ll ever feel a sense of normal again. Get me to the hospital STAT! I need a dose of Dr. A to find out, haha!

help is here!

Great news! Volunteers at my hospital get to be in line for vaccinations. Yay!

I just filled out a “Covid-19 Vaccine Interest Questionnaire” answering questions like :

“Do you come in contact with patients where you’re less than 6 feet apart? YES.

“Do you work in areas where there are known active Covid-19 cases? YES.

Not sure how long the list is, but it’s exciting to be on it. Dr. A and Anthony Chan got the vaccine yesterday and feel great.

Hope it’s like the flu vaccine where it helps to relax your arm when you’re getting it to avoid later aches. Will do my best.

I told Charlayne I’m ready and excited to come back and help! It’s a weird feeling to want to come back, but I do. I really do. Read the rest of this entry »

At my hospital ER Volunteers are still on “Pause” for Covid, but this week we all got emails saying it’s time to come in for Flu Shots. It’s a mandatory situation for anyone working in our hospital, so we always get them.

Gotta be honest, going back to the hospital after 6 months forced leave felt a little eerie, like walking into a black-and-white Twilight Zone episode where things seem normal but not. Fewer, quieter people walked through the lobby. Hardly anyone was sitting. No Volunteers behind the Information Desk. Just a guard.

Masks are mandatory in the hospital, even on outside bridges. I avoided elevators, wore rubber gloves to open doors and skipped using the restroom.

A nurse whisked me through the vaccination process – I barely had time to fill out my form. Probably was there eight minutes tops, and that included a short, socially-distanced wait in line.

Thinking about everyone in the ER…

I took the outside stairs down to the ER and hung out by the automatic glass doors just long enough to wave to Anthony Chan, wearing a face shield over his mask, triaging a patient.  It didn’t feel right to walk in, yet…

Dr. A’s car was the parking lot, so I left him a cute note on his windshield. I wonder when he’ll find it…

I miss all my friends/co-workers — Dr. A, Anthony Chan, Mira, Tyrell, Miguel — even Charlayne.  I miss the patients and their families, the EVS workers, the paramedics, the doctors, the nurses. I miss helping. I miss giving hugs. I miss being in on the action. I even miss the bad coffee in the employee lounge. I especially miss the non-paranoid, non-mask-wearing me.

Who knows about Covid, but at least I won’t get the flu…

I’m glad I got my flu shot at the hospital because I’ve definitely built up a lot of anxiety about the place. It felt less scary than I’d anticipated. But not going-back-to-work comfortable yet.

So strange, these times. Fears get magnified. The known feels unknown. Normal feels like an unattainable dream…

Frontline Workers will be among the first to get the Covid vaccine. Is an ER Volunteer a Frontline Worker? Google doesn’t have the answer. If Google doesn’t have the answer, what’s the world coming to?

I sometimes wonder… a lot actually…

(I wonder how he liked the note…)