MrM in hospital (he's OK)

[Mathmo]

So yesterday was rather a scary rollercoaster of a day with what had been a very bad sore throat in the morning turning into an A&E visit, lots of things in through a drip (hydrocortisone, paracetemol, antibiotics, and fluids) as well as an oxygen mask, then going to a nearby hospital in an ambulance ride with blue lights on (the hospital we were first seen at didn't have an ENT specialist), and eventually being seen by a specialist and being admitted to hospital for MrM.

(Via viewing properties and putting down an application/holding fee on a house earlier in the day, because we didn't quite realise how serious things were. So, um, yay house?).

Basically what he had been told in the hospital clinic on Wed and again on Sat was a bit of tonsillitis that he should go home and take paracetemol for (and drink lots) became a major problem when yesterday swallowing became so painful that he couldn't really do it (an abscess developed). (New top tip for people who think in very precise ways like me and him: when dealing with medical descriptions, take "I can technically do this but it causes me excruciating pain and I am choosing not to 99% of the time" as "I can't do this")

Anyway. I'm really glad that he's being seen to and that he's okay; they say that 24 hrs of antibiotics should sort things but if not, he's in the best place. (The one thing we're a bit narked about is that when he was seen on Saturday in the clinic they really should have given him some antibiotics, rather than telling him that antibiotics probably wouldn't do anything and anyway they didn't have any liquid ones for adults)

Mostly I am immensely relieved and grateful for a whole host of things:

• we live at a point in history after the discovery of penicillin, and in a place where antibiotics are fairly easy to access.
• we live in a country where healthcare is free at the point of service. He was/we were able to go to the walk-in clinic on Wednesday, and on Saturday, and make a doctor's appointment, and phone a doctor for advice, and go to hospital, and be transferred by ambulance, and go to another hospital, and be admitted, all without having to worry about what those things would cost, or having to worry about paperwork.
• we have access to a car in good condition and so could drive to hospital quickly rather than having to rely on public transport which would be less direct and slower.
• as a household (us and his Mum) we are in a financial position where paying for petrol driving to and from hospital and paying parking fees at the hospital aren't a worry either.
• both I and his Mum were able to come in to hospital with him, which meant that there was always someone else there so we knew what was going on (one of us could go to the loo or to get a drink or whatever while the other one stayed with him)
• we live within approx 20 mins' drive of a hospital with an A&E, and 25 mins' drive of the hospital with an ENT specialist where he's been admitted.
• I'm able to work flexi-time/I'm a student able to organise my own study time, and his Mum will be able to take a bit of time off work, so we will be able to fit in with the hospital visiting hours (2-4pm) fine, and would be able to collect him to come home at any time.
• his workplace is full of wonderful reasonable human beings so he won't have any problems on that end (we phoned them yesterday when we realised he'd be too ill to come in to work today (but before we realised it was hospital-worthy) and they were very good about it; I'm going to pop in and see them later today to give them an update), they haven't been pressuring him to come back in even though he's been off nearly a week now as they've accepted that he's been too unwell to work.
• I was allowed to stay with him the whole time, including going in the ambulance. This was particularly helpful as he's been finding speaking painful (probably due to dehydration?) so I could answer the questions, and he could just nod. I could also make sure that at every stage of the process people knew what had happened so things didn't get missed as he was being handed over from area to area (initial assessment --> being treated in 1st hospital --> being transported --> being seen by specialist in 2nd hospital) - not that I think things would have been missed were I not there, but it's good to have me there as a backup or able to ask questions.
• all the staff who saw us (15 or 16 people, I think, from the receptionist at A&E all the way through to the nurse who settled him in the ward to stay overnight) were friendly, helpful, efficient, and funny. After the first nurse saw him things moved very fast (e.g. I know the person who'd been seen just before us needed to have blood taken for a test and he was asked to wait because MrM needed a needle in his arm ASAP so they could start getting everything into him). It wasn't til I stopped and thought about it later (when he was OK again and waiting to be seen in the 2nd hospital, dozing and breathing fine) that I realised how many people had been involved in looking after him at that first stage. In particular the senior nurse was just having a quick look in every few minutes, making slightly sarcastic (wonderful) comments and just making sure that if anything happened it would be dealt with ASAP.

I know that a lot of people in a lot of parts of the world don't have all these factors going in their favour. This makes me realise again how very fortunate and privileged we are (not that all of it's privilege, but stuff like having a car and not worrying about money is).

(He was settled in bed after midnight, we can phone to ask how he is in another hour - at 9:30 - after he'll have been seen by a doctor this morning.)

[Butterfly North]

I'm really glad he's ok! Sounds stressful for the both of you but then again you're right, in plenty of other ways we're all very lucky to be where we are.

[Mathmo]

Been in visiting this afternoon/evening and he's eating and drinking! This is super-good as he's not been doing anywhere near enough of those for the last week due to the tonsillitis. He should be able to come home tomorrow morning and he's basically back to normal now (apart from still needing to eat and drink to replace all the stuff he's missed). Sitting listening to the radio on his headphones and doing crosswords (we took in a puzzle book, some extra things to drink, pyjamas, etc).

How does this work, in countries where you don't have nationalised healthcare? Do you have to start filling out forms and stuff once you're outside A&E? Or do you get a couple of weeks to recover before you have to start doing the admin stuff? I'm curious about how the systems are different.

[rowan]

Not sure what A&E is, is that emergency services?

For those of us with insurance, they usually just enter your information in the computer (we carry a card that has it on) and then they take care of everything and bill your insurance etc and eventually you might get a bill or something for stuff that wasn't covered. Initially there was a lot of paperwork, I think. It's been a while since I've had to fill anything out that wasn't forms like "so are you allergic to anything/what's your medical history/etc".

For those people who don't have insurance, I don't know what the procedure is. I imagine there's a great deal of suck involved.

[Sonic#]

I'm glad he's OK. That sounds like a scary day. It's also quite humbling for you to list all of the advantages you had that could've easily been taken for granted.

^ rowan, I think I've heard it used in that way before. Accidents and Emergencies?

[Mathmo]

Oops, forgot to clarify that! Yes, Accident and Emergency. Not all hospitals have an A&E department, only the slightly bigger ones I think (the one nearest us, where he went to the walk-in clinic, doesn't do A&E stuff). Where you go when you can't wait to call a doctor or go to a clinic in the morning.

The system seemed to work pretty well - the receptionist takes your details (name, DOB, doctor's name and address, basic description) and then you get seen by an assessment nurse and then you get seen further, and they prioritise things like "I can't swallow" above things like "I think I might have broken my wrist". So it really sucks for some people with super-long waits (sign on the door said it can be 4 hours plus) if their problem is urgent, but not urgent enough to be top of the list. But I am so grateful that we were seen so quickly (about 1/2 an hour after first registering we were seen by the assessment nurse, and then everything happened really fast) and if in future I am in accident and emergency with a less-urgent complaint I will try to remember this and not grumble about long waiting times.

For those of us with insurance, they usually just enter your information in the computer (we carry a card that has it on) and then they take care of everything and bill your insurance etc and eventually you might get a bill or something for stuff that wasn't covered. Initially there was a lot of paperwork, I think. It's been a while since I've had to fill anything out that wasn't forms like "so are you allergic to anything/what's your medical history/etc".

Neat - that's how I thought it might / hoped it would work . Computerised systems that work smoothly are really good.

[kelsa]

How does this work, in countries where you don't have nationalised healthcare? Do you have to start filling out forms and stuff once you're outside A&E? Or do you get a couple of weeks to recover before you have to start doing the admin stuff? I'm curious about how the systems are different.

If you don't have health insurance in my state, you arrive with an emergency and they will take the bare necessities from you/whoever is with you and give you stabilizing treatment, then determine which of the emergency insurance plans you qualify under- if its pregnancy/labor related you're automatically covered, if you make so little you don't have to file income taxes you're automatically covered, etc. All that will be going on behind the scenes while you're being treated.

If you don't match up with a plan, like a lot of middle income folks, they will retroactively set you up with a state subsidized plan. It has a competitive premium (110 dollars a month I think right now?) so its not exactly free care, but its better to pay premium plus copays than be responsible for the whole hospital stay yourself, which can run into thousands and thousands of dollars.

If you're undocumented or for some reason don't qualify for a state plan, you can try to get free care through the hospital or charity aid or what not, but I'm in the only state with healthcare for all so we're special and pretty much covered. Once I didn't have my card on me so they put me in as insurance-less and within 12 hours of my discharge I had a very pleasant person from the state calling me and informing me what I was eligible for.

When I lived in a state that didn't have this plan, it was prove you can pay out of pocket for anything we don't NEED to treat you for. You always have the right to stabilizing treatment and labor and delivery, but what that actually means and what actually happens varies.