Archive for the ‘life in the ER’ Category

“EMPATHY” is this week’s buzzword for everyone except (ahem!) Donald Trump. To the shock and horror of the eloquent Mr. and Mrs. Khan (parents of the fallen U.S. Armed Services hero, Captain Humayn Khan) and other Gold Star Families, Democrats, Republicans-brave-enough-to-speak-out, and just about all compassionate Americans old enough to understand, there seems to be no end to the continual insults flowing uncontrollably from the big fat unfiltered mouth of TOUCHY TRUMP.

Trump is our MOST EMBARRASSING Presidential Candidate EVER!

Maybe Trump should try volunteering at my hospital for a crash course in Empathy 101, but there’s no way (NO WAY!) he could intelligently interact with the diverse population of patients and family members who freak out as they deal with physical and mental pain, while stuck in limbo, waiting…

Trump could learn a lot from our ER Staff though…

Boy, what I’d give to see our tightly-wound, uncompromising Triage Nurse Anthony Chan monitor King-of-Tantrums-Trump when his diarrhea-mouth attacks a stressed-out someone who accidentally pushes his buttons. Rule-stickler Anthony Chan may be small in size, but he’s big on principle. When Trump loses it, Chan will lash out at him, wash his mouth out with Purell and ban him from the ER. (Wish he could ban him from the U.S.) Read the rest of this entry »

Labor & Delivery… interesting…

Hospital Stories —

Wednesday afternoon on my ER Shift, a British woman, “preggers with twins,” comes in to deliver. As I wheel her upstairs, I ask if she’s nervous and she says — with out-stretched arms —

I’m a little scared about being strapped to the gurney during my C-Section!

Whaaaaa?!

Apparently her friend who had twins (at another hospital) told her that she had to be restrained during her procedure. So I say —

Uh, no – not in this hospital – unless you’re a mental patient.

She laughs —

Well that explains it!

Read the rest of this entry »

The voice to listen to is YOUR OWN.

Listening in the ER –

It’s last night and quieter in the ER than usual, so I have time to actually get into a conversation. I select a fellow-Pisces, an about-to-be-high-school-graduate, who’s sitting in Triage, waiting and looking nervous.  Alone in her own thoughts, “Isabella” has been stressing about college, where to hang out after the prom, and whether or not she’ll get home in time to finish the semester project she’s put off till the last minute — typical senior problems.  Oh, and she’s worried about her mom getting treated somewhere in the ER.

I go in the back and find Isabella’s mom in Subacute getting stitched after accidentally slicing her finger, instead of the bagel she was preparing for the child she nannies.  When I come back to Triage, I reassure Isabella that her mom’s doing fine and is in good hands (Dr. A’s.)  So Isabella decides to focus her freak-out on picking the right COLLEGE.  I mean, what better time to concentrate on such an important decision than when you’re in the Triage waiting area, surrounded by screamy-meemies, bloody bits, and patients and family members growing more and more impatient, right? Read the rest of this entry »

At least I’m consistent!

Mistakes… we all make ’em.  We stress and horrible-ize about ’em BIG TIME — reprimanding ourselves relentlessly, wishing we could do-over, say-over whatever we are currently torturing ourselves about. We need an Ap for TAKING THINGS BACK! If only…

Second-Guessing

As life plays out in the foreground, our brain blames us in the background.  Recently I had a meeting with a team of Casting Directors at a major network and for some unexplainable reason at the end of it I hugged one of them instead of shaking her hand.  Granted I’d worked with her before, but after I left I couldn’t believe what a weird choice that was. Afterwards in the car I kept thinking about it — in the shower I kept thinking about it — as I tried to go to sleep, I kept thinking about it. Crazy, right?  And almost to the point of a migraine — over a hug. A dumb hug!

While volunteering in the ER I make mistakes (shhhhh!) like taking a patient to a room before it’s ready, or taking specimens to the wrong lab,  but the ones that bug me the most are the personal ones – the ones with certain staff members — one hot one in particular.  Like why in the world did I tease him about whatever he does every Thursday at 2:00? He looked at me like, “Why are we talking about this, and why do you even know about it?” (What’s the matter with you, Evie!)

How about a Do-over???

Read the rest of this entry »

chicken wire + glow-in-the-dark paint = stylishly spooky

Thankfully I don’t have to wear a hospital mask on October 31st  (thank you, Mira for covering for me!) so I’m prepping for the big night.  I know, I know — once I passed the quarter-of-a-century mark I thought I’d have to give up on my passion for pumpkins.

But after spending Halloween in NYC recently,  I realized it’s actually cool to be into Halloween. Seriously — just ask any New Yorker!

Anyway isn’t working in the ER scary enough with the Ebola-factor or having to deal with Triage Nurse Anthony Chan, who clearly doesn’t need a costume to totally freak me out?  And though Dr. Crush hasn’t done anything horrific, I’m trying to think of him as DEAD-TO-ME because he’s become such a Passive-Zombie lately. Is there a cemetery where I can go bury my feelings for him so I can stop feeling them…?

In an attempt to distract myself from my LIST OF LACKS: Jobs, Auditions, Romantic Sagas — I’m sharing a few more Halloween ideas.  And btw — my favorite source for GLOW — Glow Universe is having a final HALLOWEEN 15% off sale so if you need any glow sticks, check ’em out.

GLOW GHOSTS —

Balloons + Green Glow Sticks + Cheese Cloth = Tada!

 BLOODY MAT —

Roll of white paper + Red Paint + Feet = Ewwwwwuuu

GLOW DROPS–

Balloons + Orange Blow Sticks + Nylons to hang from trees= a romantic Halloween? if only…

SCALE-Y SKIN–

Fishnet Stockings + Green Make-up Base + Your Head = A new look for Auditions? HA!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope your October 31st has just the right mix of treats + scary. Be sure to stay out of ERs though, k?

xo/evie

Normally I dread mandatory meetings for Volunteers, but I actually was a little curious when we went to one about Ebola. Volunteering in the ER is a little scary when you think about it. Volunteers are often the first to come in contact with Patients as they walk through the door. We’re like the “first responders!” I mean I’d like to be a famous actor, but not because I’ve caught Ebola, yikes!

How in the world are we supposed to know if someone has the flu or food poisoning or Ebola? Early symptoms are the same: weakness, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting.

Separating Facts from Fiction —

learn the facts

Charlayne says transmission occurs only through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of patients who are ill from Ebola – or contact with needles or syringes that’ve been exposed. But what if someone sneezes on you? Does that count? Or what if you sit on a toilet seat that’s a little wet but you don’t know it till it’s too late?

Fear of the Unknown —

Niles says that the panic over Ebola reminds him of the paranoia around Aids in the early 80s when people were dying, but no one knew how you could catch it. That was before they knew about infected blood transfusions and all of the hows-and-whys of sexual transmission – so scary. Not-knowing is almost the hardest part.

Now people are really freaking out about Ebola — and with good reason (Did you see Contagion?) Imagine being on the flight where a coughing-hacking-guy announces to passengers, “I’ve got Ebola, you’re all screwed!” Imagine having someone take your temperature at JFK, or O’Hare, or Dulles Airport and then command you to, “Please come this way…”

Helping Patients with Ebola —

We’d all like to just live in our own bubble, but — if you have a family member or friend who’s exposed to Ebola, don’t you want to get him/her to a major hospital STAT? Wouldn’t you want to help? What if you were exposed? Wouldn’t you want someone to help you?

In our meeting they basically told us to “Purell” constantly + protect ourselves with gowns, gloves, face shield, mask, booties, shoe covers, leg covers if we “come in contact” – but the bigger question is: “How do you know when you’re coming in contact?” How can you help those who need it, if you have to put yourself at risk? Read the rest of this entry »

we’ve all got ’em

Life deals us HUMPS.  No one can escape them. No one gets off scott-free (even Tony Scott of Scott Free.) Some humps are kept hidden — like they were for Robin Williams. Others are out there for all to see — like for Gabby Giffords. Yep, struggles, challenges, humps are part of the human experience. The only alternative to giving up is facing them as best as we can.

Volunteering in the ER is an up-close-and-personal view of humans dealing with humps:  scary tests,  bad news,  challenging outcomes, embarrassing situations, and PAIN: Physical pain, emotional pain and the anxiety of waiting, waiting, waiting which is a pain in the ass. Oh and don’t forget the pain you get in your bank account when the hospital bills arrive… and arrive… and keep on keeping on.

Dealing with Pain —

facing fear

I’m amazed that so many people can handle humps with acceptance, grace and even humor.

Like –

• The 85-year-old grandfather now without quality of life thanks to an operation gone wrong, stuck with two long tubes coming out of his kidneys, rushed into the ER by paramedics after he tried to slit his wrists.  As his daughter tries to explain to police officers interviewing him that he just got bad news, the old man cracks jokes — (“May I borrow your gun to finish the job off?”) (“Not now Dad, they’ll have to lock you up!”)
• The 90-something great grandmother who suddenly discovers she has lung cancer with 3-6 months to live — (“It is what it is, guess I can go off my diet now.”)
• The Teen surfer disappointed when he learns his broken leg will keep him out of the water for the rest of the summer, who suddenly grins at me — (“Think I can drum up some sympathy sex?”)

Read the rest of this entry »