Uncomfortable

Disclaimer: Everyone is fine!

What JV year would be complete without at least one trip to the ER? Thankfully, everyone is fine, but Megan and I had a long night last night, and got to fully experience the Houston Medical Center in action.

I got home from the gym and Megan was the only one home, and she had dinner almost ready. It smelled great, and as we were chatting about our days, I noticed that she had a giant piece of duct tape holding some gauze to her hand.

Megan: Hey, how was your day?
Julia: It was ok, one of my stude... Megan, what's that on your hand?
Megan: Oh, um, I kindof had an accident.
J: ...
M: I'm kindof bleeding a little. Well, a lot. I think I might need to go to the hospital.
J: WHAT HAPPENED?
M: Well, I was cleaning, and then a glass started to fall, so I went to catch it, and then it cut me.
J: When?
M: Oh, around 2. (It was 6 PM)
J: So, you just... made dinner?
M: Yeah, I mean what else was I going to do?

Cue me freaking out, grabbing some grading and a sweatshirt, and after a very confusing parking system, we were at the Houston Med Center. We went to the ER at St. Luke's, which an FJV had recommended, and we waited.

It wasn't that busy when we first arrived, and Megan went to triage fairly quickly. Not long after that, she went back to get stitched up, and I waited some more. I hadn't been in an ER for a very long time, and never in a city like Houston. Right as Megan left me, things stopped being quiet. I was reminded that the ER is the place where folks without health insurance can go to be treated (ps- health insurance is still an extremely confusing thing to me, so this might not be 100% accurate, but I'm relaying my understanding to you!), and people with all different types of health issues came in.

It was clear that one man just had a terrible head cold, but instead of going to a regular doctor, he went to the ER. A woman came in who was clearly in a lot of pain- she was screaming and crying, and while she went to triage fairly quickly, she was still in the waiting room when Megan and I left, almost an hour later. I saw stretchers coming off of ambulances being rushed in, people with clear wounds from violence, and many people who had come in by themselves and needed to call a cab in order to get home.

While I did have my grading with me, I was distracted, especially by the woman who was so visibly in pain. Not only was she in a lot of clear pain, she was not given the opportunity to be dignified in her pain. She had to wait in a very public waiting room while she was screaming and crying, and while I know that her physical pain must have been atrocious, it was only exacerbated by embarrassment. I would be mortified in her situation, and all I could do while I was sitting there was pray.

I have so many friends who are really passionate about healthcare reform, but my privilege has kept me out of the direct line of seeing why it's so important. I know that there are 1 billion different issues that fall under the umbrella of healthcare reform, but last night gave me a look into the lives of people who can't just call up a family doctor for something. Last night was uncomfortable for everyone (especially poor Megan who ended up with four stitches), but I was glad that I was there. I obviously wanted to be there for Megan, but I have been in a comfortable place at work and in our neighborhood recently, and I needed a little reminder of what JVC is supposed to do. I needed to sit in the uncomfort for an hour or two.

So yes, I'm tired today, because I had to spend time in the ER last night. I'm still expected to do my job, and we really had a relatively quick ER experience- about 3 hours from leaving the house, we were home. We (knock on wood) won't be back any time soon, and didn't need to pay anything because of JVC's awesome insurance.