... as I think back on the most recent flying trip to Valdosta to try to prop up/intervene on the behalf of the auntie when she was at the mercy of the EMS guys transported to hospital. I was so steamed by the failure of my effort to get to the ER when I was stressed, speeding, steaming the whole three hour drive, pushing the envelope and the speed limit. Making my best effort to arrive in order to try to help both the befuddled auntie, and the equally confused and bemused staff at the medical center. She has to be even more stressed, fearful, confounded than her normal state when she is transported by men she does not know, to a place that is as rigid with rules and unfamiliar as the emergency room must be.
I was hoping to get there in order to run interference for both the auntie and the medical personnel who were attempting to provide care, even though they did not really have an understanding of what the problem might be. I expect they are constantly trained, routinely accustomed to dealing with true 'emergency' situations, expect every person who comes barreling through the swinging doors to be in full trauma mode. It is understandable that they would be short of patience with patients who show up repeatedly/frequently with what appears to be relatively insignificant complaints and health issues that could be managed with over-the-counter medications. As well as unwilling to take the time to try to meet the vague needs of some one who was brought in by EMS, with little or no explanation of the reason for being transported.
I was so frustrated by my inability to arrive sooner, to be available to help the medical staff understand her needs and assist from both sides in finding a solution, I made a call to the home health nurse who has been seeing the auntie. My history makes me very reluctant to phone anyone at an hour that I consider 'late': any time after about 8:00. But there I was placing a call to the nurse well after 9:00 p.m. Needing to vent as well as an understanding of why I felt nothing was done to actually help improve the problems the auntie was delivered there to get resolved.
This is a condensation of what the nurse reported: EMS guys can be wise-acres. She was not generalizing and did not say they all have inflated egos, but said the ones she met with before the auntie was loaded up seemed to feel like they already knew everything there was to know. Because they were not interested in getting the story on why this frail, frightened individual was in need of care, they likely did not fully grasp the reason they were called to transport. Or have the courtesy, common sense to pass along essential information to the personnel at the medical center. The following quote is by no means the word the nurse used in our late night conversation, but something I inferred from hearing her version of the send-off story as auntie was being loaded up:''cocky". The definition, in my opinion, is a word that can often be applied to young guys who seem to be have an overdose of self-esteem, full of confidence in their skills to the point of thinking they already know it all, so you cannot tell them anything (sort of like teenagers?)
I know it was a frightening experience for the auntie, who has absolutely no short term memory, so anything the staff, EMT, caregivers, nurses, techs, doctors would tell her would not have the desired effect of providing understanding or helping to calm her anxiety. I am still regretting I did not leave home fifteen minutes earlier, to arrive sooner and try to pave the way for greater understanding, and possibly patience on the part of the medical personnel. Plus very thankful to know she does get some marvelous, compassionate care at the place where she resides. They seem to take a personal interest in her well-being and willing to do all the can to provide comfort and care to help make her life easier.
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