Sending hugs!!
I can remember one long night my dad and I spent in the ER waiting room after I had an episode that the ER docs and my doc finally determined was my version of a panic attack (legs go numb then get heavy and I’m not hyperventilating or struggling to breathe, but I have to consciously think about it for a few moments - I never do anything “normally”). I was clearly - and rightly - pretty low down on the triage totem pole. While we were waiting, someone brought his mother in with chest pains - clearly more important than anything else in the waiting room, but one guy who was with someone waiting for something higher up than me but not as severe as chest pain almost beat the poor man up because his mother was being taken back first. When they finally called me, we were walking back and heard someone say “We have a GSW to the chest coming in…” and were about to head back to the waiting room on our own but the ER worker taking us back stopped us and said “No. You’ve been so patient. I’m putting you in a bed for the rest of your wait.” We we’re very grateful - and knew that the person coming in was much more important.
Thank you for all you and all HCWs do!!
