Proper Dress and Good Manners

When you awake in the morning, you have no idea where this day may take you. You assume it will start with a coffee, breakfast and the newspaper.

 My wife shows concern for our thirty-seven year old daughter, bed ridden with cerebral palsy, tube fed and having an uncomfortable day. Unable to speak, we have to find out the hard way what problem she may have. My wife has noticed a swollen foot and it has turned black and blue. She suggests a hospital visit and I agree. Our project for the day. Accustomed to E.R. visits, I expect a four hour visit.

I asked my wife if I should wear jeans. Her expected reply was,"definately not." She belives proper dress gets proper treatment. Just to mention a point, when I go to mass on sunday, I never wear jeans. I tell people," when Queen Elizabeth invites them to dinner, they won't be wearing jeans."

Arriving at the hospital, we notice three waiting for signing in and the same for the interview. Four waiting on a doctor. One thing I notice about hospitals, the greeting I get from men in my age bracket. Probably the acknowlegement one receives upon reaching this age. All paperwork completed in twenty minutes and we wait.

Sitting in the waiting room, I notice most patients have a sore foot. Obviously a foot day. I notice two TV monitors. One selected to a channel and the other to a notice board. Children seem more interested in the large fish tank next to the channel TV.

The patients have their entourage with them and I wonder if some have forgotten their meds.

After twenty minutes, a side door opens and a nurse tells us to come in. We see a smaller waiting room equipped like an emergency room. She says,"You can wait here, out from the general population." She tells us her name a few times, so we will remember it. After ten minutes she returns and tells us they have a room ready for us. "You still have to wait your turn since we have seven people before you" she says taking us to a room across from the nurses station.

Later on a female doctor arrives. Wiyh exceptional courtesy, she inquires, checks, discusses and orders a blood test and an x-ray. Two nurses arrive to take the blood test. An aide normally comes to take the patient to the x-ray room. When the aide arrived, the nurse told her everyone would go to the x-ray room and she would accompny us to see all goes smoothly.

Later back at our room, a nurse brought us coffee and bicsuits. The x-ray results showed a small crack in the heel. They decided on a soft cast, the name for a bandage. With this completed, we departed. Time elapsed,  four and one half hours.

P.S. Have I mentioned you should dress properly when you go to the hospital?