The Hospital Fiasco

1am and hysterical, I sign my name to the clipboard to be seen by the triage nurse. I am called in almost immediately. A barrage of questions, quick scribbles on to a paper and I am moved to the next area of waiting. This goes on and on for hours. Finally, I explain to the nurse that I have an MRI appointment across town and will I be seen by a doctor by that time. Of course not. It is revealed that there will be no one there to help me until after 7am. I had to sign out against medical advice and return after my MRI. If I had not asked, we would have continued to wait in this tiny room with some chairs across from the security desk. I ask for the paperwork to sign out of the hospital, which is promptly given to me, however they have misplaced the medication I brought with me. After my appointment, I return to the hospital, sign the clipboard and start the whole waiting game all over again. I see a nurse, social worker, emerg doctor and a psychiatrist who ask me all the same questions. They ask me if I see people, do I hear voices, what day is it, what time it is etc. I pass the pop quiz. No one takes a look at the biohazard bag full of pills I have. They give the number for a 24 hour crisis hotline and send me on my way to follow up with the psychiatrist I already have in the community. Unfortunately, for me, this isn't the beginning. It's more like the middle of a bad movie and you can't decide to stop watching it or follow through. More to come on that, this is an ongoing issue and will take many blog posts.