Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Depressing ER Experience

A hospital’s emergency room is the most depressing room to be in.  The atmosphere is foreboding, stressful and utterly depressing. 

My three year old son was recommended to be confined after a routine check up.  He was with fever and dehydrated.  So my wife and I took him to the FEU hospital in Fairview.  There was no skirting the ER since this is the first step prior to admission.

The very instant that you breathe in that ER air you are automatically burdened with a heavy heart in the midst of all the drama around.

The FEU ER was packed when we arrived around 5pm.  Four priority cases are being attended to and it was rather depressing to be in the middle of it all.  Relatives of those in critical condition are either teary eyed, crying, or in total breakdown.  One case that struck a nerve was that of a baby who was fighting for his/her life.  A doctor was seemingly giving him/her CPR, another looked like she was trying to wake up the child and was shaking his/her right hand, and another was pumping air into the child’s mouth.  The child had a bloated abdomen and dark in color.  This went on for more than an hour and then the wailing started.  The child did not survive and relatives were crying.  It was really dispiriting.   

It was the longest wait that I had to endure.  Being a parent, I felt the pain.  My heart felt heavy.  I said a silent prayer for that child.  May he/she rest in peace.

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