Sister, Staff, and Strong Drink

The past week or so has been a really busy, an unfortunately busy, one for me.

I had to take The Sister, who is never really ill, to the hospital; I stayed up all night there with her, then they kept her for several days. She should have been alright, but she went home and as we both do, overdid it and landed there again. I had to keep going back and forth to the hospital. Fortunately, it was the one here in town, albeit on the other side of town, about 12 miles from my place. This is a woman who, despite being chronologically the eldest, is by far the physically strongest of us, and had never been in a hospital except to have her children over 50 years ago.

So you can understand that when I got a call from her at 11:00 PM as I was getting ready for bed, I got to her as soon as possible.

Needless to say, she was apprehensive at first.

However, the doctors there and the staff and the nurses have been excellent and also comforting. They have been solicitous of her concerns, needs, and wants,

and of mine!

As a patient, I have seldom received as good care anywhere as I did as a visitor with The Sister’s stays.

She’s home now, taking it easy. She was not overly concerned about going to the hospital a second time, and she agreed readily to stay for a few days.

In fact, I left early when they took her to her room the second time and she was eating up the considerable attention from the familiar nurses!

Without being indiscrete, I can tell you that The Sister and I used to be asked if we were twins, and we would have to say that she is seven years and six days older than I am. People would laugh and say that if we had been twins, seven years would have been hard on our mother, which I then would add, “You have no idea how hard, since we have a brother in between us.”

So do the math to get her age; she only acknowledged that she was no longer “Middle-aged” a few years ago,
(and it took her a good long time to admit to being “Middle-aged” in the first place).

Now, for me. I have had new health developments and while you are reading this, I will be prepping for another scan, having the scan, or recovering from all the stuff that I will have to drink and have intravenously.

I have had several different kinds of tests/scans in my legs, chest and now abdomen, and also bloodwork like you wouldn’t believe.

It’s not unusual for them to see something(s) in me, then have trouble pinning it/them down.

Through this, I not only saw my friendly and wonderful Primary Care Physician, (one of the best doctors ever), but a lovely and quite competent Physician’s Assistant, a number of nurses, phlebotomists, and various scan techs, plus efficient clerical staff, all of whom have been friendly, kind, and who also have been concerned with my comfort.

All of my care has been in a closer medical not affiliated with the in-town hospital, which makes it doubly impressive.

(I could tell you horror stories of past encounters with medical personnel.)

If The Sister and I have to have things go wrong, this was the time and these were the places.

Fortunately, it looks like if we start acting our ages, we should be around for some time yet.

So here I am, waiting for a call-back from the medical staff, and drinking a second medical swallow in one week,

and once again, am presently surprised that the stuff is really not bad.

The last one was actually good, really. (I wish that they had given me more!)

How times have changed!

I can’t say that, not unlike my older sibling, I don’t mind the kind attention,

and I’d rather it be under better circumstances, but at least it is as good as it gets.

How about you? Have you had good experiences with medical staff lately?

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