Hospital emergency and tornado warning. That was our day in summary. Let us bring you up to speed...
Hans has had headaches on and off for a couple of days, mostly confined to a specific area to the right of his forehead. Today, he also woke up with a tingling feeling on part of his right lower leg. Now, some of you may recall an unfortunate case of cellulitis at the end of last year, caused by a leech. The Doctor's advice at the time was that the cellulitis may return and since then has made Hans paying attention to any sudden redness or pain. This morning's tingling effect is just above where the leech did its business 7 months ago. The consistent headache and the tingling effect may or may not be connected, but it was time to have it investigated.
So, after a bit of research, we were in the car to Beverly Hospital as the most probable address for same day medical analysis. Here is a photo of the main entry not long after we arrived.
Note the valet parking provided by the hospital, for a $5 per car fee. Di parked our car nearby for free (why spend $5 to save a 100 meter walk?)
As we talked through Hans' situation with staff at the main reception desk, they suggested heading to the emergency ward, just next door. We checked in and Hans was triaged by a nurse. He was not dying any time soon and therefore we expected a long wait...
BTW, this part of the Beverly Hospital is only 5 years old and very nice and modern indeed. Even the staff refer to it as the "hotel".
Here is Hans waiting... and waiting... and waiting for his turn. Not bleeding, no difficulties breathing, no chest pains and not unconscious means pretty much last in the priority order.
Hans got equipped with a high tech bracelet after an interview with a nurse (i.e. he was admitted to hospital but still had to wait to see a doctor).
Eventually (3 hours later) Hans was admitted to the emergency ward and given...a bed in the corridor. And then... waiting... and waiting... The staff apologized often for the wait and like most hospitals seem to have a hectic Monday morning. Lots of people entered on stretchers and in wheelchairs.
Di emailed our travel insurance company of our 2nd potential claim after the deer "incident".
Here is Hans in the corridor being a "stoic patient" (he no complain) and he had already had several tubes taken for blood tests and his blood pressure taken a few times (it was abnormally high).
Di was unimpressed when Hans admitted he had been having headaches for 4 to 5 days now! Di thinks there is a difference between being stoic and being stubborn - guess which one Di thought Hans was... And let's not go into detail about the unsympathetic conversation which followed...
Now listen...
Meanwhile, Di had seen some TV in the waiting room and while we knew that rain and thunder was forecast for the afternoon, by 2.30pm this had spiced up to "a tornado warning".
We figured there was no where better to be during a tornado than on the ground floor of a big hospital building. The fascinating element of this was a staff announcement around 3pm for a "severe storm warning procedure being in effect". Di checked this out - staff were stationed at the front glass doors telling people that they should not go out (ie: stay, don't leave now).
After blood tests, Hans was sent for a cat scan due to the headache and also the spike of a very high blood pressure. Well, after all the tests and scan (and even liquid morphine via a drip) Hans is given "the all clear". Blood pressure had come down, blood tests were normal, cat scan revealed nothing sinister and so we don't know blood pressure spike caused the headache or whether it was the other way around. No plausible explanation for the leg tingling. Bazinga!
Hans was discharged around 4.30pm after given a prescription for migraine tablets for dealing with the headache and advice to check out the blood pressure regularly over the next couple of days. We did not pay anything nor get an invoice but they have our details and our insurance details so we figure somebody will pay for this experience - just no idea how much. "Free" is good for now...
As we left the emergency ward and walked into the lobby, it appeared that the tornado had passed but the rain was still "collapsing" to paraphrase the Australian band The Whitlams. We hung around in the lobby for a while until the rain had almost stopped. Hans also ate a few crackers and drank apple juice to get some energy back.
On the way back to our motel, we stopped at CVS to pick up the prescription tablets. Cute packaging...
Hans' blood pressure was hitting 190 over 100 earlier today, but that had gradually come down during the day and was now very reasonable as you can see... If you believe the apparatus (sounded lower than usual).
CVS also provided guidelines for what is considered high in the US.
Back to our motel after 5pm. Hans lies down - he is still tired from his day's "adventure" and Di cooks up some sludge because she was hungry - not much time or interest in food. A little tiny bit of sludge for Hans who was still not very hungry.
Di is spending the evening updating her hair color (a la packet from CVS). The work in progress...
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