Ever since my 90-year-old mother moved into a retirement residence, she has been keeping so busy with their many activities that she rarely thinks about her aches and pains. But yesterday, when I got home from church, there was a message on the answering machine from a nurse at the residence: My mother had a sore toe and her foot was swollen. It looked infected - so she needed to see a doctor immediately.
Since it was Sunday, I had two options available to me: a walk-in clinic or a hospital emergency room, where xray equipment and labs were on site. I opted for the emergency room, even though I knew it would probably entail a longer wait.
When we got there, dozens of people were waiting to see a doctor - some had cuts, others limped, and a few just looked sick. Most were accompanied by someone, so the waiting room was full. Progress seemed slow for the first two hours - more serious cases had obviously preempted those of us sitting in the waiting room. But then, three groups of people were called into the examining rooms in quick succession, and we were finally seen.
Within 10 minutes a doctor determined that my mother had a fungal infection. She decided to administer a strong dose of antibiotics inter-venously before sending her home with a prescription. This procedure took about an hour, during which time the doctor also disinfected the blister on her toe and bandaged it, sending the fluid from the blister to a lab to have a culture done.
In the meantime, an ER nurse arranged to have a visiting nurse go to my mother's residence and administer inter-venous antibiotics for several more days. A wound-specialist would also visit my mother at home, and we would need to come back for a follow-up appointment.
The cost of all this - absolutely nothing.
(A portion of the tax we pay goes to medicare... so that when we need it, it's there!)
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