I talk a lot about the healthcare experience from the perspective of a bedside nurse in the ICU. I have a story about being a patient.
10:01 AM - 28 Jul 2017
- Replying to @BrowofJusticeI have asthma. When I was a kid, growing up in the country, there weren't a lot of options. I spent my childhood on steroids & amoxicillin.2 replies3 retweets43 likes
- Flash forward...I'm fourteen. I live on albuterol. It's a Thursday, and I've been sick since Sunday, and I'm not getting better.1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- The nearest ER is 25 minutes away, & there is no ambulance service where I live. We try to see the doctor, but can't. Friday 1/2 day.1 reply4 retweets34 likes
- ER services are for emergencies. We use them for car wrecks & industrial accidents, not for SHOB. I need to hang on til Monday.2 replies5 retweets33 likes
- I spend Friday and Saturday tripoding. I can barely get from the bathroom back to bed. I'm sleeping sitting upright against the wall.1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- Saturday night passes in a haze. Sunday, 3:30 am, my mind is suddenly clear. I'm going to ask my parents to take me to the ER.1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- I stand at the side of the bed & immediately I'm on the floor. I can't walk. So I crawl into my parent's bedroom, to the foot of their bed.1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- I'm going to ask for them to take me. But I can't. I try to lift my arm to touch my parents, to wake them, but I can't. I have no reserve.2 replies4 retweets36 likes
- My mother wakes up--later she tells me she dreamed that I died--and wakes my dad, who carries me to the truck. ER it is.1 reply4 retweets39 likes
- I remember the truck ride. It was 4:02 am and I was warm. We were headed west, but in my mind we were driving into the sun.1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- The sun warmed me. I don't remember getting to the ER. I don't remember my dad shaking me, trying to get me to breathe on the way there.1 reply4 retweets34 likes
- I didn't know my face was grey. I didn't know I was cold and unresponsive.1 reply4 retweets37 likes
- I remember the sun. I remember many voices. I remember when the warmth of the sun became a sharp pain in the center of my chest. I remember1 reply4 retweets41 likes
- trying to scream. I remember that I couldn't move my arms or legs, I remember the crushing weight of compressions. I remember wishing1 reply4 retweets36 likes
- they would just stop. Just stop. My mouth was raw, and my vision blurred. Many voices in the room.1 reply4 retweets34 likes
- The ER staff saved me. The doctor & nurses who worked so hard to bring me back, who intubated me, who beat my heart for me when I couldn't.2 replies5 retweets62 likes
- I had pneumonia. I finally went home on oxygen with steroids and abx and q3h nebs. My doctor came to the house to see me every day.1 reply4 retweets44 likes
- I died because I didn't have access to healthcare. Doctors & nurses brought me back. Now it's what I do. I didn't have health insurance.4 replies24 retweets175 likes
- Every time I care for a patient, every time I work to get them the care they need, I'm paying back my debt to the ones who saved me.3 replies11 retweets163 likes
- They didn't stop to check if I had coverage. They didn't question if I deserved to live. They worked & worked & worked, & here I am,1 reply15 retweets150 likes
- 22 years later. Everyone deserves healthcare. I'm happy for my tax dollars to pay for other people to live. Why don't we all?6 replies40 retweets312 likes
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