Spending The Night In Emergency Is Good For The Soul

By Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (CCBRT Disability Hospital waiting room 1) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

First off: Don't worry, I am fine.

Now, the full story.

Starting around Wednesday and getting worse into Thursday, I felt a mild discomfort under my ribcage on the right side. It was especially noticeable when sitting, especially if I slouched.

I did a quick web search and the internet suggested it might be appendicitis, though fortunately I didn't have any other symptoms like fever or vomiting. Still, I decided not to take chances, and given that appendicitis can be dangerous even over night, I decided at around 11:00 pm on Thursday to go to Emergency.

The result is that my bloodwork and ECG came back normal, with a mild distortion in my bloodwork that potentially suggested a gall bladder issue. But the physician didn't feel that this was an urgent issue, recommended I avoid eating fatty meals for a while, and advised me to return to Emergency if I started to get fever, vomiting, or jaundice (because the area of discomfort is near the liver).

I initially turned down an ultrasound test, but I've since decided to play it safe and get one. I'll drop by the clinic on Monday to get one arranged.

But the result of this process was that I spent many hours over-night in a hospital waiting room and emergency ward, and I've decided that everyone should do this once in a while for the good of their soul. Because while I was there just as a precaution, some people were there with serious injuries. There was one moment where a stretcher rolled in with a woman crying as she followed it. A patient next to my bed in the emergency ward sounded like they were in significant pain and sometimes had laboured breathing.

There are two things I thought about for these hours:

1. How lucky I am to have good health.
2. How lucky I am to live in a country where hospitals just help you, no questions asked.

I went to Emergency for the sake of my body, but it turned out to be a wonderful treatment for my soul.