Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

Over the weekend I was feeling lousy enough to call my clinic and leave a message asking to come in for an appointment. Monday they called me back and said that clinic was already over-booked and I should go to the emergency room. So I packed a bag and drove to the hospital. The ER was over-crowded with people. The triage nurse said that this is what a typical Monday looks like around there. They gave me a face mask and one of those barf buckets and there I sat trying to blend into the furniture until they called my name.

Two hours later they finally took me back to get my vitals, then they put me right back out into the waiting room. Another hour later they took me back into an exam "room" where they had me put on a gown (brrrrr!) and accessed my port. They were in contact with my CF doc, so they were able to get me started on some IV antibiotics right away and take blood for labwork.

Another few hours passed and they told me I was going to be admitted. Here's the catch...the hospital had no empty beds. (Gee, where have I heard that before?) So in the meantime, I had to spend the night on a gurney in some abandoned hallway. Technically I was in a "private room" but it was in the middle of nowhere with no way to call the nurse, no clock, and basically no security of any type. I slept with the light on for that fact alone. It was one uncomfortable night, that's for sure.

My arthritis pain is pretty much constant right now, and they're being great about making sure I have pain medication. It's making me sleep a lot, but frankly I'd rather be out of it right now. It's making the days go by more quickly.