Ahhhhhh, the emergency room. Havens of panic, distress, and ultimately (hopefully) healthy resolutions.
I've frequented this emergency room twice: once for myself, and the other time for my sister when she had pneumonia, and have found the staff there warm and efficient enough considering I'd popped in at busy times.
I admitted myself two hours before my graduation ceremony because I was having difficulty breathing and thought I might have contracted an infection from a recent trip to Sydney. Turns out it was only a nasty old panic attack.
If you've never been in an emergency room, the actual 'emergency' process begins with entering a cordoned off area, where you describe your symptoms to a nurse. Then you enter the actual emergency ward.
In the ward I was attended to by a cute male nurse, who did the regular check ups (blood test, urine). The doctor came after a half hour wait. He was lovely and understanding and gave me the option of getting a chest x-ray now or later (for peace of mind) depending on whether or not I was up for it.
I made it to my ceremony in time, but before I left the male nurse gave me his number and told me to call him! My life became Grey's Anatomy for a split second until I remembered I was dating someone at the time. read more