To say things have been crazier than ever lately would be somewhat of an understatement. My blog has bore the brunt of this but over the next few posts – you’ll clearly understand why! I realise that I still haven’t posted about Christmas. Or Australia Week. Or anything in general… granted winter in New York results in less opportunities for sightseeing but there has been lots of ongoing drama to keep me busy enough and away from any attractions.
A month ago on Friday started like any other. When I was leaving from work I got a message from Bill – “Fell over on 8th Avenue, am ok, heading off to the Comic Con”
He was volunteering for four days (yes FOUR!) at the Comic Convention. This isn’t some little fair with a few stands – the Comin Con is huge with people visiting from all over the world. So it is kinda-a-big-deal.
Anyway later in the morning I got another message that he was going to see a doctor as his elbow and ankle were really hurting. I realized then that if Bill with the highest-pain-threshold-ever says something is hurting it must be really hurting. He
was getting x-rays done at the clinic when it came back that there was definitely some kind of fracture and also an ankle injury. It is then that Bill went to the emergency room at Columbia Presbyterian and he asked if I could come up there and join him.
Within minutes I was out the door at work and I managed to travel from Wall Street to 168th on the Upper West Side in… 35 minutes. The subway is just amazing! Walking into the emergency room Bill was sitting there in a room with all these coughing and spluttering people. It was 2pm.
Then it became 3pm.
Then it became 4pm.
Then it became 5pm.
We were still sitting there.
At about 4.30ish the old man beside me started throwing up. I just said to Bill “I’ve gotta go!” and dashed out of there way too fast.
We were eventually seen by a nurse where we were moved into the Emergency room. We had to sit in a corridor in an area that isn’t meant for people to sit for probably another hour.
Interestingly enough, the emergency room process is very similar to what happens in Australia. Although here a lady came out and took all of Bill’s insurance details straight away – as soon as he had been registered. What is also different is the amount of security guards throughout the area – monitoring comings and goings and making sure everyone is behaving.
Keep in mind, dear Bill had not even had one bit of pain medication or ice or a sling the whole time. A trolley became free in the middle of the room where we spent another few hours. At least here he was able to close his eyes and lie down. This was probably the most entertaining part of the evening hearing all the questions that the staff were asking patients. The parts of conversations you overhear are just plain… uncomfortable. “Those toes are going to have to come off!”.. said to a man with gangerous feet (of which I saw way too much of!) “How have your bowel movements been lately?” “Are you a victim of domestic violence?” ‘There are issues with her uterus..” EEEK! Bill really knows how to show a girl a romantic and interesting time in New York! 😉
New x-rays were ordered and Bill was wheeled off into a huge xray area. By this time it was 9.30ish. At 9.40 the doctor came and when Bill explained his pain levels (as he had through the day at multiple times to multiple people) a decision was made. Pain medication! Hurrah! With that Bill was able to relax somewhat amid the flurry of people and craziness of the situation around us.
The problem was because of his elbow and his ankle, he couldn’t use crutches. All that could be used for the elbow was a sling. so with that, we both went into what was an old Trauma room off the actually emergency ward that was now just used for storage. This is where the fun begins! Bill was going to get a half plaster cast on his leg to hold his ankle still as he couldn’t keep off it without crutches. He had to lie on his tummy with the offending ankle up in the air. The doctor wrapped his leg in fuzzy felt stuff and then it came time for the plaster. Healing the old school way! As it was a half cast, it was my job to hold down the plaster so it would set tightly around the leg and foot. Fun fun fun! It was nice and messy but it was great to be in a quiet room. I had to hold it down firmly until it set which took forever. I could barely keep my eyes open by this stage. For dinner I had an ice cream out of the vending machine and a packet of chips at 9pm that we shared as Bill was told he could eat. As the plaster had set, the doctor then came in again and wrapped it all in bandages and bought in a walking stick for him to use and sent us on our way.
Bizarre thing – here there is no pharmacy in the hospital as such. Bill got a script for strong ibuprofen but it is your task to go around and find a drugstore open at 1am. Hilarious!! So here we are, in the freezing cold at 1am in the morning, at 168th street with no cabs around. We got a dodgy livery cab to drive us home and at 1.30am we hobbled in.
After we settled down, I took this photo of Bill in his recliner at 2am.
As Bill drifted off, I fired up the laptop and started reading about fires that were starting to burn around Victoria and the horrendous weather situation that I had already been following through day. I was awake at 7.30am when the news coming through was absolutely horrific. In the time that I had been sleeping so many areas were burnt out and little did I know that while I was sleeping, a terrible situation was happening way too close to home.