The Trauma Unit

The Trauma Unit

Friday, August 26, 2022

4:41 PM

 

If you want a good night’s rest with surrounding peace and quiet, the Trauma Room in the Emergency Department is not the place to be. However, if you’d like to hear and sometimes see a range of pain, suffering, and humanity, then the Trauma Room is that place.

 

I spent last night in there because the hospital is full. I might have caught a total of two hours sleep between midnight and 6 AM. I couldn’t see much, but I certainly heard a lot including a street guy who threw up and moaned constantly coming down off something; a child crying, “no, no, no, noooo” every time she was approached by a nurse [I can relate]; someone who had experienced anaphylactic shock and was coming down from having used an epi-pen; a man who had just had a heart attack and was as grey as I’ve seen a human; another man almost growling in pain because his foot had been partially crushed by some kind of machine; a very elderly woman that no one seemed to know what was wrong with her, but she was mostly quiet and snored ever so politely; a young boy who was experiencing breathing difficulties (I’m with ya buddy) and who threw up at least three times while his father patiently talked to him to keep him level; another guy who groaned and yelled very loudly and thrashed about on his bed until the sedatives kicked in; and an older man that I couldn’t hear what was wrong with him, but he had a party of three women accompanying him who were gossiping in a lively fashion about extended family and certain other ne’er-do-wells in the community.  That was only what I could hear and sometimes see; a partial glimpse of overnight in Trauma. The nurses called it “a pretty quiet night”.

 

The nurses, therapists, techs, and doctors were amazing to behold. Their professionalism, responsiveness, and humanity was incredible. And they do this night and day through very long shifts. To say I’m impressed is understating what I witnessed.

 

There is no privacy in Trauma. I had to pee into what they call a urinal, which is a hard plastic tube with a handle and a soft plastic bag inserted, while hospital staff attended to their duties. To be fair, the nurse did try to pull some curtains around, but other patients needed tending to and I just had to get over it. However, when it came time for the overdue bowel movement, a commode (essentially a lawn chair with a plastic seat with a hole in it and a bag below) was dragged in beside my bed, I was handed a roll of tp, the curtains were closed as best they could and away you go Craig. “Never have I ever” as the saying goes, but eventually it was mission accomplished.

 

While I would neither wish this experience on anyone nor would I want to repeat it, it was a good reminder of how privileged and fortunate I have been.

 

I was moved this afternoon to a room by myself in what’s called the Fast Track area still within the Emergency Department. I’m treasuring the quiet and the privacy. There is still no room anywhere else in the hospital so here I stay for the time being.