John called me at 0800 Sunday am. He was not doing well he told me and wanted me to take him to the Emergency Ward at the nearby hospital. I had him there before 8:30 am and then the wait began. The Staff did a short workup on him and had us wait in the Lobby. Sunday at the E.R. seemed to be the day for screaming children and harried Staff. Finally we were called and John told the RN. his problems and she did his vitals. He also was given an EKG to check out his tremors and such.
Back to out seats in the waiting Room when to our delight we found that the crying children had been joined by more of the same. Next was a broken wrist on a woman so elderly that they didn’t need to do an X-Ray, they just looked at her translucent blue skin.
About 1 30 pm I was overjoyed to have us put into a room with a bed and a TV and I thought that I could now at least watch the NY Giant Football game. As luck would have it there was a TV but it was wall mounted and high up and no remote. Damn that Murphy and his law.
John was given a pill to ease his anxiety, it was a low dose. It worked for about 15 minutes and he dozed off. I did notice there was some activity down the hall as a man was sent home, discharged. I took the lull in Johns trembling to sidle down the hall to the now vacant room and confiscate the remote. It actually worked and I got to see part of the 4th quarter.
John awoke and was immediately back in the throes of his anxiety attack. He told the Doctor unless they stopped his shaking and fears with something stronger that he knew he was going to drink as soon as he could get to a bottle. I believed him and the doctor did also. Crisis Councilors also came to chat with us and all of these very nice caring people did not accomplish what John needed. He was becoming more and more agitated. Finally they tried a new stronger drug, Ambien or Adderall and it kicked in in 1/2 an hour.
They did some more observation on John but we all were working within the knowledge that the Hospital has no beds for Detox. For the Hospital to keep him there they would have to know that he was suicidal and that was not the case.
At 6:30 they discharged him with the directive to come back if he got worse. John and I filled his prescription and I left him at his house.
Today we have talked several times. He has a 6 PM appointment with his Psychiatrist and I will visit him later . I want to get the bottle with his pills so I can count how many he has taken. I worry about the Alcoholic philosophy of ” If one pill every 8 hours is good then 8 pills every hour is better.”
I was tired last night when I got home but I also had a glow resultant from helping another victim of our common disease.
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