I went to the emergency room at the Elizabethtown Community Hospital in Elizabethtown, NY on…read moreFriday, June 30, 2023, complaining of intense pain in my back. I was quickly taken to a room, then left alone for several minutes. A nurse came in to insert an IV, but I told her I have a history of being difficult to stick, so asked her to please put the IV in my hand. She immediately left and brought in another nurse, who listened to my concerns, but told me she had to try my arm first. After three unsuccessful attempts, and numerous complaints by me, my husband, and my mother, she brought in a paramedic, who was apparently the only other person capable of inserting an IV.
When he came in, my husband calmly requested that he try it in my hand, making it clear that we know from past experience that is the only way to successfully put an IV in me. The paramedic immediately stood up and berated my husband. He immediately turned defensive and escalated the situation in an inexplicable way. The paramedic yelled at my husband, stating 'DO NOT TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB. I HAVE 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOU TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB.' To which my husband calmly said "I'm not telling you how to do your job, I'm telling you about my wife.' The paramedic yelled and said 'DO YOU WANT ME TO GET THE DOCTOR?' To which we obviously said yes. Instead of the doctor, another nurse came in and told us they have to use a tourniquet, to which we told her we know that and that's not what our complaint was. So, the paramedic came back in and tried again to stick me in the arm. It didn't work (as we knew it wouldn't). We told him to leave and he sent the other nurse back in. She was much kinder, but still attempted 4 more sticks before simply trying my hand. She gave up on the IV and just drew blood from my hand (which was a success, as we knew it would be).
The doctor had come in previously and examined me for 1 minute, barely listening to anything I said. I went back for a CAT scan, then was brought back to the room and ignored for a while, as I'm writhing in agony. The doctor then came back in and said 'You have a kidney stone. It should pass on its own.' and started to walk back out without giving any more details. We practically had to stop her from walking away so we could ask questions. She told me the size of the stone and that I won't feel it pass. I asked for pain meds as I was in excruciating pain. She immediately responded with 'I don't prescribe opiods. Take ibuprofen.' I didn't ask for opiods, I asked for pain meds; there has to be something inbetween. So I asked how much ibuprofen to take and she said "I don't know, 400 mg. Whatever the normal dosage is. Just make sure you eat when you take it." Then she left. No empathy, no kindness, nothing. Also, as a side note, I asked for water when I walked in as I was quite thirsty; they said no one had the authority to give me water. I finally got some after asking 3 more times, at which point they were surprised no one had given me any yet.
I am from out of state, so I spent the next day driving the 16 hours home, crying the entire way due to pain. I went to an urgent care in my home state yesterday and they were absolutely shocked at how I had been treated. They said it's standard protocol to give a toradol shot for the pain, a prescription for toradol, and a prescription for flomax to actually help pass the stone. They also were able to access my scan results from NY and told me I actually have two kidney stones and an inflamed kidney. I was only told about the one stone in Elizabethtown (they didn't say anything about the inflammation). The doctor in my home state was able to carefully walk me through my scan results, answer all questions, and told me I will indeed feel the stone passing.
I am beyond disappointed in the treatment I received. I was not treated in a humane way and am traumatized from my experience of being stabbed 7 times to get an IV (I recognize I am absolutely a hard stick, but it's never taken more than 3 times, and it turns out the IV wasn't even necessary anyways). I honestly doubt the medical expertise of the doctor who treated me and would like to ensure no one else is ever treated that way. The doctor told me that was their third kidney stone patient of the day; I pity those poor souls who don't have access to a real, empathetic doctor who actually treats ailments in the commonly accepted manner. Between the aggressive paramedic and uncaring doctor, this was the most absurd experience I've ever had.
