Wow!!! What a ride...WOW!!! What a RIDE!!!
When I left off the last post, I mentioned that EMT, Police and Fire had arrived at the complex and all of them in my apartment. I had sat down in the chair by the computer and awaited the arrival. I had not realized that as many people would show up. I also had not realized I was going to be asked so many questions ~ some of which did not make sense. Please understand, at that time I was without any money, no resources, no insurance and no place to stay. I really didn't think there was anyone that would help me. I became at that moment completely homeless and penniless. A very interesting situation to find myself.
Finally they decided I would not be able to walk and they brought a gurney in to take me to the ambulance. This meant that I would be taken through the courtyard of the apartment complex, which was full of residents trying to find out what was going on. It was not an exit I was looking forward to but I really didn't have much choice in the matter. This involved taking me through the living room door into the office and down six steps. I was barely aware of who was there ... except for three people, one of whom I gestured to come up and I held her hand for a long time. I had no idea what was going to happen to me, and for the first time in a very long time I was very, very frightened.
There was a discussion in the ambulance about where I wanted to be taken. They suggested this very nice and very expensive hospital ~ not really an option. I wanted to be taken to the level 1 trauma center here, which also treats people without question of money and/or insurance. I finally convinced them to take me there. I realize now that I must have had a concussion of some type from the fall that created the very large gash to the bone in my forehead. The ambulance people were very concerned that I stay awake and kept asking me "stuff." I had to describe at least three times what I had done, how I did it and with what ~ all I wanted to do was go to sleep.
I have no memory of the arrival at the hospital ER room. This particular ER I had written about before last December and didn't realize how accurate it would be.
The trauma team
all wear
black shirts.
Around them
an occasional
flash of
white whirling
about.
I don't think
I would
want to wake
up surrounded
by black shirts.
There are times
my life is
black enough
as it is.
It is true, most of the team wear black t-shirts saying trauma on the back. There are memories of the black shirts all around getting me undressed ~ and damn it was cold in there. There was poking, prodding, turning me this way and that, many questions I don't remember. Finally two white coats were suddenly there. All I could remember was a very, very old song ~ "They're coming to take me away ... hee hee. They're coming to take me away ... ho ho. The little men in the little white coats are coming to take me away."
All I wanted to do was sleep ... but there were a number of forms to sign ~ I had left my glasses back in the apartment, and couldn't read any of them. There were some discussions that occurred. Finally, there were nothing but white coats around me, and all of them were concerned with the gash in my forehead and evidently the concussion. I kept trying to tell them about my neck ... and they kept poking the forehead and shining a flashlight in my eyes.
One of them finally ~ begrudgingly ~ looked at the slits in my neck. I learned a new hospital term. Ordinarily when there is a problem that is serious, the term is "Do something STAT!" I've seen it in television shows, read it in books and heard it used even in that very ER. THIS time when one of his fingers literally went into one of the slits on my neck ~ quite deeply. I got the hear the new term: "Oh Shit!" I thought it a rather interesting replacement, but who was I to argue??
---more tomorrow
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