"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Hey Freepers, if you ever go to the ER with a real emergency situation, either pass out in front of the reception desk, tell them you're on Medicaid or an illegal alien so you can get some service.
Excellent post, wish there were more like you.
Correction to my headline: "Room." I don't know how spellcheck missed that. Sheesh. Sorry, folks.
Yea I know about this. It happened in Chicago. Give the family the expected $900,000,000 and forget about it.
A few years ago, I went to the ER with chest pains. They treated me ASAP. Turns out my heart was/is great, but I had a gallbladder attack of the highest order. They took it out on the same visit. Sure glad I didn't have socialized medicine like Canada, UK.
Exactly my thoughts on the matter.
Good post and everything you said is right on.
This cannot be emphasized enough. Wednesday night my brother experienced this and called his girlfriend to get him some Tums. He refused to let her call an ambulance. A short time later he was DOA in the emergency room.
Worth repeating 100 times. I had these symptoms at work a few years back (age 39), decided to go to the emergency room down the street. 10 minutes later I'm having an angioplasty. Better safe than sorry is what I say. :)
Thanks for your post. Sad for those touched by this situation, but you maybe have saved a life here, could even be that of a looney lib that's lurking!
FR folks listen up.It feels like someone is leaning on your chest.You can't get comfortable, arm shoulder pain....
Happened to me 3 years ago and I was 36. I am a EMT ( emergency medical technition) so I knew the symptoms. I will say I still walked around denying it for 10 min. before I called 911. Screw embarrassment, when I called I knew who would be coming to my house! This is not a time to be prideful just call and let them take you.
I will tell you why, the faster you get in the less damage you will have. I went in on a monday, had a stint put in wednesday out thursday and went camping in yosemite on saturday. No joke. Cardiac medicine has changed so much in the last 20 years. If I decided to sleep it off most likely it would have been a funeral on saturday.
Dont be a prideful SOB, just call and if you are wrong everyone can be overjoyed... if you are right you will live to see another day, Lord willing.
Being in the medical field, I agree with your analysis, but I would rather think it "gross negligence". Doesn't homicide require some malicious intent beforehand?
I was only having palpitations one evening and being brought straight back in the ED immediately at the age of 38.
There is no excuse for what happened to that lady, the only other scenario I can think of is that she may have been a frequent flier in the ED , so they didn't take her complaints seriously. Still no excuse. You treat it as an MI unless the tests rule it out conclusively.
Doesn't this mean the Governments of France, UK and Canada should be tried for murder for all the poor folks who died waiting for medical treatment there?
This was pure negligence, and a sign of the times when our ERS are over filled with patients, mostly illegals to tell the truth. No excuse for this however.
Sounds like the local VA.
I was in an ER twice today(allergic reaction-myself/pain and nasal bleeding-someone else). While I was there there was a sign saying that everyone will be seen on a need basis and not in order of arrival.
Apparently the ER screwed up and downplayed some very serious symptoms. I don't agree with jailtime but I fully back a civil suit.
In my mid-30's I went to E.R. with chest pains and shortness of breath (not the nausea) and could not even get checked in. The place was a madhouse (California of course, but in the suburbs), no nurse would even look me in the eye. After standing there crying for 10 minutes, I finally walked home. Next day saw my doctor, who ran no tests, telling me I was too young for a heart attack, and instead said it must have been a panic attack. I still have never had any sort of a heart exam, although every doctor visit I do report that I intermittently have chest pains. I've been told that maybe if they become worse some futher testing should be done. This has gone on over a period of 8 years now, so I guess I don't have heart problems or I would be dead.
Good advice 60Gunner. I am shocked that this could happen, since as you say, the vast majority of ER treat chest pain and other such symptoms VERY seriously. In fact, they will insist on keeping you for observation no matter how good you feel later. I have seen this happen to a couple of people I know who went in for what turned out to be reflux and anxiety.