The Emergency Room

After reading Chanel White's story, To the woman in the er waiting room who told me I was Lucky
I got to thinking about my mom.

Back in 1997, I got a call at work. My mom had been run over by a car... Well that is not exactly accurate. While mom was crossing East Tremont Avenue at Miles, a car making a left turn hit her, knocking her to the ground, and the car rolled onto her chest and came to a stop when the driver, a man in his 80s, panicked.

THANK GOD, a large group of men from the neighborhood raced out of Sebastian's, the pub on the corner, and lifted the car before it crushed her. Carl, who knew Mom, raced to our house to get Dad, and the Fire department and the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance was on the scene in moments. It took a bit to get her out, collared and longboarded. She was then transported to Jacobi, the closest trauma center.

I do not have words enough to thank everyone who was there that day. 

My boss put me in a cab and I arrived at the ER just as mom was arriving. I went back with her to the trauma area and she was assessed for life threatening injuries.

She didn't have any.

My mom was run over by a car and miraculously had only minor injuries. The docs could not believe it and ordered an X-ray series.

I helped clean up her scraped legs after removing her shredded stockings.

She grew irritated that she had to wait so long for x-rays (the doctors were sure she had to have more than a cracked rib and a wrist fracture).

I remember explaining that you never want to be the one getting all the attention in an ER- that meant you were the worst off in the place.

After the wrist fracture and rib fractures were confirmed as the only injuries,  I went out to the waiting area and updated the family- the relief was palpable.

Mom was admitted overnight (again the docs could not believe the minimal impact of the accident) after several hours and was discharged after a couple of days. She had to have significant therapy for her wrist but was otherwise okay.

You never want to be the patient seen first in an ER. You want to be the patient they can wait to see. Ms. White, I wish you well.