My heartbeat went faster and faster as we approached the hospital, and the
moment I held my mother』s arm rushing into the ER, I almost felt my heart
stop. Although mom was the one
who was in unbearable pain, she asked the nurse what papers she should fill
in and what examinations she ought to have immediately, leaving me beside
her totally out of situation, without a clue as to what I should do.
Mom always had problems with her stomach, but nothing could have been
worse than this time; the aching didn』t stop for three days, and she
tossed and turned in bed suffering in great pain.
Mother』s face was pale and could hardly stand on her own, so I
pushed her up and down the hallway in the sickbed.
As if the nurse didn』t see mom』s face twisted, she ordered Mother
in a cold voice to do some blood and urine samples, to get a gastroscope,
and many other examinations. And like all the other patients showing sickness on their
tired, unhappy and faces, mom waited in the long lines that lead to more
cold-faced doctors. After
finishing some exams, we waited in the patient bed, lived up in the hallways
for further instructions. All
patients waited for the results of their reports or further instructions
from the nurses or doctors, but no nurses or doctors came to show concern,
none of the patients had the guts to ask further questions of them.
I felt extremely helpless taking care of my mom all alone, and even
more worried because I had no one to turn to.
The one and only answer the nurses gave to all patients was, 「not
yet, go back to your bed and get some more rest,」 they turned down all the
emaciated patients who were anxiously waiting to go home.
Every
patient waited quietly in his small corner, waiting for help.
All
ERs have the same kind of smell, that mixture of medicine and disinfectant,
and a sense of uneasiness and tenseness spread along with the awkward smell.
The moan of pain with the strange smell swirled around the ER,
everyone seemed to be tired and exhausted.
On this cold winter night, the nurse yelled at us as we shivered,
trying to ask for an extra blanket. 「One
blanket for a bed! You think
this is a hotel and you ask for room service?
Only one chair for each bed, too!」
I wonder why the nurses and doctors have such stinky faces like
everyone owes them money. Maybe the virus and diseases have devoured their kindness and
the heart for helping sick people. Like
all the rest of the patients not being taken care of and waiting sick in
bed, we longed for a doctor or nurse to come by to give us instructions and
suggestions, to tell us whether we could go home or not.
Everyone
waited, but no nurse or doctor came to care.
「Patients」 are taught to be 「patient」 in the ER.
In this uneasy atmosphere, lying uncomfortably on the filthy patient
bed without being told what to do next, mom suddenly sat up like a zombie,
and told me in excitement, 「Why haven』t I thought of him in the first
place? We have a distant
relative that is a doctor working in this hospital.
I wasn』t very close to him but he might help us.」
She told me to make a few phone calls right away to some relatives to
spread out the news and ask if this doctor relative could help.
After
the phone calls to my relatives were made, we saw a doctor, hand with files,
walked toward our bed with a professional friendly smile on his face.
「 Mrs. Wu? Your
relative Dr. Chen isn』t in the hospital today, but he gave us orders to
take special care of you. Feeling
better? I have your reports
here and the hospital will arrange for you to do the rest of the exams right
away.」 After this the doctor
left, but every thirty minutes a nurse or doctor would come to mom』s bed
and ask how she was doing or bring her to another examination.
Within one hour, the doctor gave mom some pills to ease the pain,
told her what the problem was and that it was fine to go home now.
I was relieved to hear that we could go home after nine long
tormenting hours, and felt extremely lucky that we knew someone from the
hospital so we were looked after.
Exhausted
to the point where I could barely stand up straight, I pulled myself up
joyfully from the chair I』ve been sitting for five hours, ready to leave,
and suddenly noticed that the other patients were staring in our direction.
It was the look of jealousy and the sadness in their eyes that
shocked me. They looked at us
as if they were starving beggars looking at a juicy chicken leg in a fat
chubby rich kid』s hand. Then
it struck me, what about the rest of the patients? How long do they have to wait to be taken care of in this
stinky cold ER? The old man who
looked like a vagrant in the next bed was here before we came, he coughed so
hard all the time, every three minutes he tried to cough phlegm out of his
throat. He was all alone, but
no one came to his bed to look after him.
I
rushed out the ER just as fast as I had come in, not bearing to look into
the other patients』 helpless eyes another minute.
I
couldn』t feel relaxed even after my mom got better, as if those eyes
haunted me around our house, the moaning of pain swirled in the air, the
terrible smell of the hospital thrust up my brain.
Mom being taken good care at the hospital was because she knew
someone, someone powerful that could help us.
I felt sorry for the other patients in the hospital who didn』t know
anyone powerful and as a result, were not taken care of as quickly or
carefully. After what I
experienced at the hospital, I realized how important knowing some powerful
or rich people is, or much better, being the influential person himself.
Is it that I have to be rich or become powerful to protect my
family』s health? At that
moment and for the first time, I wished that I had a lot of money and a high
social status only to assure better medical care for my family.
Of
course, how this society is unfair to most of the people of a lower social
status are not only seen in hospitals but also found everywhere in our
society. People in higher social status are favored and have the
privilege in doing many things; they often stand a better chance in many
situations that are unfair to the common people.
It』s either you make an effort to occupy an important position in
this society or simply face the fact how sick and corrupted the society is.
Welcome to the real world, and if you』re still not ready for it,
try to befriend a doctor just in case.
