The Busted Pipe Chronicles, Day 2: The Hospital Visit

I, like many Texans, had their pipes burst and home flooded with water. Here is my story.

I'm transported to the hospital about 20 minutes away from my home. It really only takes about 10 minutes to get there but we're on a hill and the driver had to slowly creep down the hill because the maintenance crew wasn't there to remove the snow/ice from the driveway. (These apartment managers are starting to piss me off). Now, going to the hospital is nerve racking already and going to the ER is even more stressful. But going to the Emergency Room in the Covid Era is a absolute nightmare!

I arrive, I fill out the questionnaire giving out my information and just stand around at a wall in front of the door. Even though I have my big coat on, I still felt that cold breeze head on every time those doors opened. You got people here on crutches, in wheelchairs, sitting on the floor, laying on the floor and ignoring that whole 6ft thing because there's too many people in here to follow it. One woman who was here for like four hours was about to leave but the guy at the desk told her she only has one person ahead of her. I don't know if she had a herniated disc or something but she was nearly in tears from sitting in the wheelchair and pleaded with him she needs to lay down. He later told her that she's next to go to the back so she relented and got back in the wheelchair until her name was called.

One guy who was in a wheelchair said he needed to pee but he needs help doing it. He says he's been here waiting for two hours to see someone about his chest pain. The desk guy said others have been here for six hours so he's not special. They argued for a good 15 minutes about how he could have a heart attack or cardiac arrest at anytime and die in the restroom. A big guy from the back walked into the waiting room and pushed the guy into the restroom. A couple minutes later the man wheeled himself out of the restroom while the big nurse went back to the back. Another woman was brought in on a stretcher and placed in a wheelchair. She was practically motionless for about 30 minutes until she woke up screaming in pain and threw up.

A hour later, I finally get called to the back where I stayed in a room for another hour before a nurse told me I was gonna stay overnight in this consulting room since the hospital is full and the roads are too dangerous to drive on. So there I slept on a bench while my phones and tablet charged next to me. At least I'm out of the cold for the night so I have nothing to complain about.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 3: Back At Home in The Busted Pipe Chronicles.