Last night my friend got taken to the hospital by 4 EMT's. We were talking about an occurrence on Monday night - at the site that filled while I worked, and I was thinking, this is pathetic and hilarious. I'll need to share that at DKos tomorrow.
Then I started telling her about the "I'm not your babysitter lady." And she said, I'm listening, I've just got a bit of chest pain," placing her hand over her sternum and wincing.
"Let me get a coordinator," I said, observing that she wasn't sweaty & her color looked good. So when she said, "Give it a minute... my primary doctor gave me a bunch of free samples, including Aleve. I took one last night and one this morning, but my cardiologist has said not to take it." Except she always says collieologist, and damn if I don't always think of Lassie with a stethoscope around her neck.
So we sat about 2 minutes, me asking questions, her replying. She told me she has nitroglycerin in her bag in the car, and usually one under her tongue would make this better. And she didn't need water.
It still wasn't better, so I said, "I don't want to upset you, but I am getting the coordinator. They can send someone out for your pills." I got up and went over to the check in table and told Erica what was going on as we headed back to my friend. Erica asked whether I knew her husband. I looked over the men's pads, not seeing him at first. Ah, he was on the back wall.
I waved, he tilted his head. Oh good, he saw me. I nodded and motioned "come along" until he stood, then I walked over beyond the curtain blocking the women's section to my chair across from my friend. She wasn't better, but she didn't look worse. Erica was saying sweetly, "don't you think you should keep those pills with you just in case?" My friend grabbed at her left forearm for the first time.
Her husband came at a quick trot, was brought up to speed and then sent for the nitroglycerin. He made that trip even more quickly. They went through the bag, only to discover that she was out of nitroglycerin. So, holy crap. She took another pill that was for her heart.
This new pill took up to 30 minutes to provide relief, as opposed to seconds for the nitroglycerin. Erica was all ready on the line with 911. She answered a bunch of questions... at some point I said, "are they on the WAY?" And she said yes.
My friend was still uncomfortable, so we helped her lie down (she has a double pad, so it wasn't a big drop) and propped her head up. Another client came over, said "I'm an EMT," had me hold my wrist so she could read my watch... 92, strong, not thready.
And then the EMT's arrived and asked the same questions the 911 operator had asked while they monitored her heart and her saturation and got her set up on a VERY cool looking gurney. They wheeled her off, and her husband collected up the medication bag and her beautiful green bag with the golden dragonflies embroidered on it before following along.
This morning I pulled the linens from my pad and from my friend's, and drove over to PADS center. The receptionist told me that she thinks my friend is doing well, and wasn't admitted, I guess. So I am waiting to see the County Health officials 're: depression, and wishing I were elsewhere - or at least that I'd thought to get my friend's or her husband's phone number.
And that's the news from the homeless at DuPage PADS.
© 2015 sheddhead – not to be used without written consent of the author, unless quoting portions of this diary on DailyKos, with links back to the original quotation