Senior Health: Emergency Room Challenges
Georgia tells Rosemary that she has been given some pain medication that made her more dizzy and tired. The nurse tells Rosemary and Georgia that they are now waiting for the results of the x-ray, and to let her know if they need anything while they wait. Georgia refuses more pain medication because it made her feel funny. Now they wait.
Georgia needs to go to the bathroom. Rosemary steps out of the room to look for Georgia’s nurse, everyone is walking so quickly and not making eye contact. Rosemary goes back into the room. She does not know what to do but Georgia is desperate so Rosemary goes back out of the room to find someone. Rosemary stops a woman wearing a white coat who ends up being a doctor, the doctor states she will send someone in to help. Rosemary goes back into the room, Georgia still has to go to the bathroom; Rosemary holds her hand to try to comfort her. After what seems like a lifetime, a nurse comes into the room to place a catheter for Georgia so that she can go to the bathroom. Georgia is not allowed to get out of bed. Rosemary is sent out of the room for this procedure. She feels uncomfortable standing in the hall and tries not to be in the way of the stretchers and the multitude of people rushing by.
Rosemary is let back into the room and the nurse rushes off. Rosemary notices a bag hanging on the bed nearly full of urine. Georgia makes a face about having to have a “tube put in her bladder” but she admits that she feels better. Now they wait and Georgia dozes.
Emergency Room – What is taking so long?
Most people have visited the emergency room at least once in their lives, if not to seek care personally, then to visit someone else. You may have wondered what is going on in there and why it seems to take so long. Accessing emergency care can be confusing, stressful, and scary. Here are a few things to debunk some of the mystery.
Six common misconceptions about the emergency room
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Seniors at Home: The Value of Support from Family and Friends
Rosemary arrives at the emergency department. She is looking for her friend, but how on earth is she going to find her? As a senior living at home, she often must navigate unfamiliar territory on her own. There are a lot of people wearing hospital uniforms, but they are walking fast and looking busy. Rosemary sits in the waiting room for a while to see what happens. A very nice looking young man in a police uniform or maybe a security uniform, walks by and she asks him how to find her friend in the emergency room. He directs her to the triage booth, but they are busy so they ask her to sit down. Rosemary gets her turn and insists to the staff she is not sick but wants to see her friend. They call Georgia’s nurse and Rosemary is walked back to see her. Rosemary enters Georgia’s room to find it empty, the nurse states that Georgia is in x-ray right now and will be back in about 20 minutes. The nurse invites Rosemary to have a seat in the room to wait for her.
Rosemary sits on a very hard, cold folding chair, watching television in the room. Rosemary cannot figure out how to change the channel and is too short to reach the television on the wall, so she watches a sport fishing program. Georgia is wheeled back into the room and starts to cry when she sees Rosemary. Rosemary is concerned, but Georgia states that she is so happy to see her and she is not in too much pain as long as she does not try to move her leg. Rosemary suspects that Georgia is trying to be strong for her.
Support from Friends and Neighbors
Family members and adult children of seniors do not always live close by. Seniors living at home often rely on friends and neighbors for support in the event of a crisis until family members can arrive.
Rosemary is a close friend to Georgia and although Rosemary does not make medical decisions for Georgia, she is there to provide company and support for Georgia. If a patient arrives in the emergency room unconscious the presence of friends, family, and neighbors can assist the staff in innumerable ways. Friends and family provide medical personnel with information such as medical history, medications, and background information about the patient. Being present with a friend or family member in the hospital also provides a second set of ears for the multitude of information that is passed to the patient. It is a lot to take in when the patient is under stress, in pain, or if they have received pain medications that may alter their ability to think clearly.
Rosemary Goes for a Drive
In the afternoon, Rosemary feels like she should get out of the house and go grocery shopping to replenish the juice and soda that was used at the party. No one is scheduled to visit, but Rosemary wants to be ready just in case. Century Five Market is only two miles away from her home, but Rosemary feels like it is getting farther away. She drives a 1983 Ford LTC station wagon; it was top of the line when her husband purchased it. The car still runs well and it has very few miles on it for its age. Rosemary’s son pesters her to get a new car or let him drive her to the market. She likes to drive and does not want to bother her son with a silly thing like grocery shopping. Rosemary is concerned that she may need to take him up on his offer to drive her to the store; it seems like she is playing the lottery every time she takes her car for a smog check. Her car reminds her of her husband and the time that they spent together. Buying a new car would end that chapter of her life. She does not want to tell anyone this, because she will get the “it is time to move on” lecture. She still misses her husband.
Rosemary feels that she may need her son to drive her to the store in the future, but she wants to be independent as long as possible because her son is so busy. Secretly, Rosemary would like to know when her son is coming over next so she can plan for it.
Rosemary finishes her grocery shopping after a conversation with an acquaintance. She gets in her car and begins to back out of the parking space. Someone is honking at her. There is a car waiting for her spot and they seem very anxious to have it. Rosemary feels a little rushed, but backs out her long station wagon safely despite her short stature and inability to see over the back seat. Rosemary heads home driving slowly.
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