my visit to the e.r.

well, obvious from my last blog, i was in a car accident on wednesday morning. i pretty much totaled my car (a honda accord), which is my baby. sure she was common and plain - but i loved her!

anyway, i went on to work after the accident and around 1:00 i started feeling "jammed up." i called my doctor and he recommended that i go immediately to the emergency room just to get checked out. i hate going to doctors - so i was going to wait until after work. well, my coworkers would have none of that. in hindsight, they were good to be so insistent that i go on. bblogan about scared my pants off - telling me that i could have "nicked my womanly area with the seat belt." before i could even fight it, dp escorted me down to her car and drove me all the way (bless her) to williamson medical center. this was around 2:00.

i walked up to the er sign in reception area and was attempting to sign in:

er area reception lady (we shall call her earl): in a snappy tone "can i help you with something?"
me: in an 'i thought that would be obvious tone': "umm, i need to sign in to the er?"
earl: she throws a pad of paper at me "fill that out."
me: "okay..."
earl: in a disgusted tone "what's your complaint?"
me: inside voice "we'll i have another one now" outside voice "well, i was in a car accident this morning and i just need to come in the get checked out."
earl: "anything specific?"
me: "well, pretty much my neck, back, legs and pelvic region. that's it really, though."
earl: now talking on a walkie talkie "we got one for triage out here. we've got one for triage."
me: looking around hesitantly, inside voice - "who's here for triage?"
earl: "you can go sit down and wait now..."

so, i walk away from earl still looking for the triage patient.

my mom comes rushing in - dp leaves - soon, this lady comes out of this discrete side door and says "sarah reeves for triage? (insert name here) for triage?"

i look around. inside voice "ohh, found the triage patient...what a coincidence that her name is the same as mine!" knowing the inevitable truth my outside voice says "Right here."

crap! i am the triage! i don't know what that means...but it doesn't sound good!

my mom and i walk back to the little room and tell the lady all of my information. because i am allergic to some meds, i always get a cool little wrist band along with the one that says who i am (just in case i forget). man, i love the free things hospitals give you!

she ushers us on to the "fast track" waiting room. what that is, i'm not exactly sure...but glad that the word fast is associated with it.

this guy limps around the corner...he is obviously on the "fast track" as well, although, he isn't moving so fast himself. he says that he did something to his knee or something like that. he works at nashville's maximum security prision. they have death row. he's the death row prison guard. last week he got stabbed in the side with a fountain pen. the jail says that it was his fault because he opened up two slots instead of one. he will get one week off without pay. his ex wife and his ex wife's new husband are both in prison (for un-related crimes). he says that paul reid is a jerk. he talked incessantly for over 2 hours while we waited on the fast track. the searing pain in my back and neck were masked by my anger at this man's constant chatter about the prison.

i finally get called back. it's a room where i can lay down, but basically it is just another waiting room. it's a good thing that i wasn't dying - because i would have been done for.

then i become a celebrity.

they bring me warm blankets. they ask all about my car crash. they are so concerned. they want to bring me food and something to drink. it was crazy. i was in Heaven!

they take x-rays of every conceivable bone in my body. they seriously took about 20-25 pictures of my bones. i am probably glowing right now from all the radiation. it was like the freakin' paparazzi!

i get a pain pill, finally, and fall immediately asleep. around 7:00, the doctor comes in and gives me the "okay" with a prescription for some pain pills and some muscle relaxants.

anyway, when we were walking (slowly) out all the nurses and doctors were waiting by the door and waved us on. "sarah, we hope you feel better! you're so lucky! you'll get better soon!"

i must be famous or something - maybe it was just delusions of grandeur from the accident...

after that, mom and i got in the car and got royal thai to go; gummy bears, twizzlers, three musketeers, and snickers from kroger; and a movie from blockbuster.

yum, yum. except for the movie, i didn't eat that.