Christmas Report (转载)# LeisureTime - 读书听歌看电影
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发信人: NWWolf (西北の狼), 信区: LoveNLust
标 题: Christmas Report
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon Dec 26 14:22:52 2011, 美东)
'Twas the morn of Christmas 2011, which turned out to be exceptionally
warm and sunny even by southern California standard. All was calm, all
was bright. Amid the Christmas carols being played endlessly on radio
and TV, and just as we were getting ready to head out for some Christmas
fun, my 81-year-old mother-in-law suddenly stopped talking, and just
stared at everybody in a very strange kind of way.
Fortunately, my wife is a registered nurse, and she knew exactly what was
going on and what to do about it. Also fortunately, the hospital where she
works is only a five-minute drive from my house, and if we take the back
road, there is not a single traffic light to worry about en route. To be
sure, there are a couple of stop signs, but you all know how we deal with
those here in California. So, rather than waiting for an ambulance, we
decided to take her to the ER by ourselves. After all, more than one person
who had witnessed how I handled heavy traffic on the road had assured me
a bright future as an ambulance driver if the current gig does not pan out.
Fifteen minutes later, my mother-in-law was settled in a bed in the ER.
When the nurses at the front desk heard the word "stroke," the doors
practically flew open to let her in. Immediately, all kinds of medical
equipment converged at her bedside, and within ten minutes, she was on
her way for a CT scan.
We complain about the quality of medical care and the notorious long
wait at the ER all the time, but I am glad to report that when it really
matters, the system does seem to work quite efficiently. The last time I
was in the same ER, it was because my little daughter developed a high
fever in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, and we received
the same priority treatment. Of course, when I checked myself into an
urgent care clinic with the flu a few days ago, it was a completely
different story.
By the time the nurses were rolling her bed to the radiology lab for the CT
scan, my mother-in-law was gradually coming out of it. While she had
not been able to answer any questions posed to her before, now she had
plenty of questions of her own: "Where are we? What is this place? What
are we doing here?" Under any other circumstances, questions like these
would themselves be reason enough for concerns. At that moment,
however, they were nothing short of music to everybody's ears.
A couple of hours later, after reviewing all the test results, the attending
physician confirmed my wife's initial diagnosis: My mother-in-law indeed
suffered a stroke, albeit a rather minor one. That was further confirmation
of what a blessing it is to have a medical professional in the family when
the need arises. Who else would be able to comprehend and respond to
all the lengthy medical terms that everybody in a hospital uniform keeps
tossing at you? But it goes beyond simply speaking the same language.
When the nurse in charge was having trouble finding the thin veins in my
mother-in-law's arms for IV, guess who stepped in and got the job done?
So, that was my Christmas report for this year, and that was how we spend
this Christmas Day—the first half in the ER and the second half in the
observation unit of the hospital. Your Christmas may be pleasant and fun,
but I bet it did not have nearly as much drama and excitement. Ultimately,
of course, the good news is that the stroke was really very minor, and may
not leave any lasting effect on my mother-in-law's physical conditions.
The other good news is that, after sampling the offerings at a wide variety
of prestigious restaurants and many different households over the past
three years, my daughter has finally found what she considers the most
delicious food in the whole wide world: the pasta from the hospital
cafeteria.
发信人: NWWolf (西北の狼), 信区: LoveNLust
标 题: Christmas Report
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon Dec 26 14:22:52 2011, 美东)
'Twas the morn of Christmas 2011, which turned out to be exceptionally
warm and sunny even by southern California standard. All was calm, all
was bright. Amid the Christmas carols being played endlessly on radio
and TV, and just as we were getting ready to head out for some Christmas
fun, my 81-year-old mother-in-law suddenly stopped talking, and just
stared at everybody in a very strange kind of way.
Fortunately, my wife is a registered nurse, and she knew exactly what was
going on and what to do about it. Also fortunately, the hospital where she
works is only a five-minute drive from my house, and if we take the back
road, there is not a single traffic light to worry about en route. To be
sure, there are a couple of stop signs, but you all know how we deal with
those here in California. So, rather than waiting for an ambulance, we
decided to take her to the ER by ourselves. After all, more than one person
who had witnessed how I handled heavy traffic on the road had assured me
a bright future as an ambulance driver if the current gig does not pan out.
Fifteen minutes later, my mother-in-law was settled in a bed in the ER.
When the nurses at the front desk heard the word "stroke," the doors
practically flew open to let her in. Immediately, all kinds of medical
equipment converged at her bedside, and within ten minutes, she was on
her way for a CT scan.
We complain about the quality of medical care and the notorious long
wait at the ER all the time, but I am glad to report that when it really
matters, the system does seem to work quite efficiently. The last time I
was in the same ER, it was because my little daughter developed a high
fever in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, and we received
the same priority treatment. Of course, when I checked myself into an
urgent care clinic with the flu a few days ago, it was a completely
different story.
By the time the nurses were rolling her bed to the radiology lab for the CT
scan, my mother-in-law was gradually coming out of it. While she had
not been able to answer any questions posed to her before, now she had
plenty of questions of her own: "Where are we? What is this place? What
are we doing here?" Under any other circumstances, questions like these
would themselves be reason enough for concerns. At that moment,
however, they were nothing short of music to everybody's ears.
A couple of hours later, after reviewing all the test results, the attending
physician confirmed my wife's initial diagnosis: My mother-in-law indeed
suffered a stroke, albeit a rather minor one. That was further confirmation
of what a blessing it is to have a medical professional in the family when
the need arises. Who else would be able to comprehend and respond to
all the lengthy medical terms that everybody in a hospital uniform keeps
tossing at you? But it goes beyond simply speaking the same language.
When the nurse in charge was having trouble finding the thin veins in my
mother-in-law's arms for IV, guess who stepped in and got the job done?
So, that was my Christmas report for this year, and that was how we spend
this Christmas Day—the first half in the ER and the second half in the
observation unit of the hospital. Your Christmas may be pleasant and fun,
but I bet it did not have nearly as much drama and excitement. Ultimately,
of course, the good news is that the stroke was really very minor, and may
not leave any lasting effect on my mother-in-law's physical conditions.
The other good news is that, after sampling the offerings at a wide variety
of prestigious restaurants and many different households over the past
three years, my daughter has finally found what she considers the most
delicious food in the whole wide world: the pasta from the hospital
cafeteria.
