...Continuing...

I have only had one other journey that was in an ambulance and do not remember the beginning or end of it.  In that case, once help arrived, I just gave into letting others take care of me.

I did that this time, sort of.  Mark warned me that we were not putting on lights and siren, in my book a good thing, but just the lights.  Had they used the siren they must travel at a faster speed (life is threatened) and, he said, I warn you the roads in Broward are terrible and the ride will be very rough, speeding would make it worse!  

He also said, when we get back to the hotel (that was promising) check for bedbugs and described how to do that!  Lift the fitted sheet, or bottom sheet, and look for black spots!  He shared that they pick up people all the time from that location that are badly bitten and need emergency services!  He had one just the week before that missed her cruise because of the severity of her condition due to the bites!  (We had already decided not to go there again.  I had been there once before and forgot that it wasn’t convenient, just cheap and did not plan to go back but there I was!)

Mark had asked why we were at the hotel, were we going on a cruise?  When I confirmed we were sailing the next day, he said, “We’ll get you there!”  The first thing he said at the entrance to the ER was that I was going on a cruise.  Again I was asked when is it and again reassured that they would get me there!  Every person we encountered, Elva stayed with me all the way, asked when the cruise was and commented that they would get us there!  I was not so sure.  By now my right hand looked like a catcher’s mitt and my head was swathed in gauze!

Broward Medical Health Center, part of the Broward County Hospital system is amazing!  I think they have 28 beds in the ER and there were also beds in the halls which may or may not have been ER patients but might have been hospital patients going for tests, but I doubt it.  I fell just after 8:00 p.m. and think hospital patients are probably all done with services by then unless they have taken a turn for the worse.

As Mark and John wheeled me to a cubicle, made up that bed, and transferred me, Melanie, who had met us at the door, got all the pertinent information.  When then waited maybe a half hour or more, maybe 45 minutes but I was shaking more and more violently and really needed to go to the bathroom, conveniently located right next to our space.  But of course, not gonna happen right then.

I saw a doctor very quickly after Elva went to the nurse’s station to say I could not stop shaking.  And I still shivered and shook violently.  My hand was on ice and when the doctor came in she had the nurse, whose name was Teddy, help take me off the board.  I didn’t have a cervical collar, just wedges so that seem reasonable.  

 Shortly they took me for an extensive series of X-Rays and then a CAT Scan.  When I say shortly, that is definitely a relative term.  Elva was tracking progress with a series of photos,  I had asked her to do that even back at the hotel.  Really, I was thinking it would be a good story, but later it occurred to me that having a record might come in handy later down the road.


After all the tests were done, and my blood pressure returned down to a reasonable number, Lauren, a P.A. stitched up my hear.  We think there are eight sutures above my right eye.   Turns out after the fact that she was a student P.A.!  I hope she did a good job because it never crossed my mind to ask for a plastic surgeon to do it, but then I might have, indeed, missed my cruise. 
 
The interesting and embarrassing thing about Lauren is that I commented to her that her mother or no her grandmother, must have like Lauren Bacall.  She asked, “Who is that?”  Turns out she was born in 1990!  I guess she isn’t into TCM and old movies!

I remember Nigel; He brought his computer around and got all the rest of the detailed information needed and chatted for about 45 minutes while the tests were being read.  Beds all around me were being cleared for either people to go home or be admitted.  Elva and I like Nigel – a lot.  I, by then, had been given pain medication which indicated to me that there were not going to be more tests, and was quite interested in the stories about his father.  Nigel’s dad was a professor at home but could only find a job, back in the day, at an all white business.  (My memory may not be perfect – remember – I hit my hear- HARD!)

One night, at wherever it was, he was sweeping up because there were some things spilled and he just took care of it.  Some of the workers came in and saw him do that and were making fun of him and spilled stuff on purpose.  He cleaned it up quietly.  I wonder how they felt the next day when the boss said to them, have you met Jackson?  He is the new supervisor.  They said no, they didn’t think so.  The boss replied, oh you would know if you did.  He is a big black guy!  Don’t you wonder how that first meeting went from there?
Nigel needed lots of info which I could remember.  Of course, who has their insurance info memorized, not me, for sure.  Since Elva and I travel together, but are not related, she didn’t have it, although I had made sure she had all the girls phone numbers!  In the brief time we had been at the hotel I had reorganized my carry on stuff and so didn’t have my drivers license or insurance card in my wallet.  I did have my passport copy with me as ID.  Not sure why I had taken the others out.  So while sharing stories with Nigel I all of a sudden remembered that I had not made a paper copy of my credit, license and insurance cards for this trip as is necessary for foreign travel piece of mind, but I did take a photo with my phone!  That literally saved the day!  I recommend that, but really a paper copy as well in case you lose your phone or it is stolen.

The most interesting thing that Nigel told us was that They are very used to speeding along cruise ship passengers.  Broward Center ER is a Class One Trauma Center.  They see 15 to 20 cruise ship passengers a DAY!  This is the hospital that you are evacuated to if you have a need from any Eastern Caribbean sailing cruise ship!  Yes, 15 to 20 a day, pre, post, and during cruise accidents!  

It seemed a long wait after Nigel left…

 … but then as my release papers were being signed by the second doctor I saw, the first was called away on an in hospital emergency, Beth came to say we could leave.  When Elva asked how do we get out of the hospital since we were not familiar with it, she actually walked us out.  First she made sure we had a paper copy of the pain medicine prescription and looked up the 24 hour pharmacy between us and the motel.  The in house one, even she was surprised to discover, was closed.

When we got the lobby she did not leave us on our own but called a cab and escorted us out.  Beth let me cling to her, no wheelchair, I guess you only get those if you had a baby.  She stayed with us.  Very calming but she also said the hospital was in a weird place.  A few blocks one way was the worst part of town and four blocks the other way was the very nice area!  This was in response to the question why there wasn’t a bench at the entrance to rest on. When the taxi arrived she wrote out the pharmacy address and asked him to wait while we got it. We had decided that was the easiest and probably the cheapest in the long run. She wrote out the Days Inn name and address.

I commented to Beth, as I had to Mark, and Nigel, and Lauren, and Elva that I was pretty sure they would be glad when we left because I had talked continually from the time I first face-planted.  Actually, the medical people said that was a good thing because it helped to verify there was not a concussion since I was making sense and could answer all the questions.  Elva was just exhausted and wished I would shut up!  But Elva was happy that the cruise was going to happen because she did not have trip insurance and wasn’t sure she wanted to go on her own.  I knew my niece Amanda lived down the road in West Palm Beach and one of the girls could quickly come join me if they needed to.  Gladly all the tests showed no broken bones.  They examined my head and found nothing!  Go ahead and laugh, but that is a good thing when you have a four week trip ahead.

The driver was indeed very nice.  We felt quite safe and relieved that this adventure was nearly over.  I went into the CVS where the pharmacist was completing filling a prescription and printing off the label.  He said he would be with me in a minute which opened up the opportunity to say I had a cab waiting so I would appreciate that.  BCBS computers were down, so he asked, would I pay for it or get it tomorrow.  Thank you, I will take it with me.  Standard 15 to 20 minute reply. As I sank into a nearby chair I asked if he could expedite that as I had a cab waiting and my ordeal had exhausted me.  He said okay. I think it was about 10 minutes.  Elva came in and reminded me that I should also get Neosporin to change the dressing.  Lauren had left us with all the extra gauze and tape from the bandaging she had done after the stitching.  I knew I had some with me but wanted to be sure to have enough.

And only 5 hours 35 minutes after the fall we were back at the hotel.  The night clerk had the security doors closed but let us in.  She didn’t seem to know at first what to think when two old women, one obviously beaten up, approached the sacred entrance for which she was responsible.  It is a tricky ethical question in reality.  Do you keep yourself safe or help save someone else.  I learned a lot from Mr. Larry Guichard at NMTC in my Business Ethics class!

I told her I needed to make sure n incident report was filed.  There was one started, she added the general idea of the treatment, and the time we returned.  I told her my glasses were broken and to add that to the report.  They had had a wild trip of their own across that lobby floor!

Back in the room, while Elva got ready for bed I pulled back the fitted sheets and we determined it was safe enough to go to bed and not sleep dressed  on top of the covers.  I knew I would only sleep if I took a hot bath and so I did, and read for about an hour, turning off the light at last at 1:55 a.m.!