A recent stay in a local hospital overwhelmed and understaffed

Just before the holidays, I was looking for some ideas for my next column when I started feeling unusually tired. A blood draw at the clinic showed an unexpected loss of 40 percent of my hemoglobin requiring a trip to the ER. Now, I had my topic for my column. It is not always good to get what one wishes for, so here is my column about going to the hospital amid a surge in RSV in children, the flu, and new COVID variant cases.

The ambulance picked me up and took me to UCSD Thornton Hospital with my secretary Brianna riding along. We arrived at the ER at 3:30 p.m. My gurney was wheeled into the hallway where I remained for several hours until I was transferred to a bed while remaining in the hallway. The ER waiting room was occupied by 20 people, some of who had been waiting for up to six hours to be seen. The hallway was like Grand Central Station. The doors were continually opening for incoming gurneys, enveloping patients with gusts of wind. The traffic was never-ending, with shift changes and incoming patients. I was given blankets to keep me from freezing.

Dr. Elaine Sapiro came to examine me in the middle of this traffic-ridden hallway. I had my blood drawn again, as well as an EKG done — all in the hallway. As there was no food available, Brianna went to the cafeteria to pick up a couple of quesadillas. At 9 that night, I finally got a “room”— a cubicle with curtain dividers, a bed, a chair, and a sink. Being separated by only a curtain for privacy, I was privy to my neighbor’s recitations of her various medical problems.

Eventually, I was told I needed a colonoscopy and an endoscopy the next day, with an uncertain schedule as to when these could be performed. Brianna decided to spend the night with me, not wanting me to stay alone in this precariously unsettling environment. Her sleeping arrangement was a small plastic chair. She asked her husband to bring her a change of clothes and a blanket. We both settled in for an uneasy sleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up and found Brianna trying to sleep on the floor as the plastic chair didn’t cut it.

It seemed that every few minutes—as soon as I would fall asleep — a nurse would come in to check my blood pressure. The next morning, I was told that I was scheduled for both my colonoscopy and endoscopy at 4 p.m. I asked whether I could have both performed at the same time, as I would only need one dose of anesthesia for both procedures. This was agreed upon.

At 11 a.m. a nurse brought in a gallon of a liquid consisting of a MiraLax solution that I needed to drink in order to prep for my colonoscopy. Brianna poured me an eight-ounce glass every 10 minutes. Since the cubicle had no bathroom, a small portable toilet was placed next to my bed. After four hours, I had almost finished my first gallon, when my colon was declared sufficiently cleared. I was then wheeled to an operating room.

The endoscopy was to be performed by Mark Kowalczyk, a first-year fellow. I asked him if this was going to be his first endoscopy; he assured me he had done the procedures many times before. I was given intravenous anesthesia; 45 minutes later I woke up with both procedures having been successfully completed. Mark told me that the source of my internal bleeding had not been found.

Next, Brianna and I were taken to a room where we located all our belongings taken from our ER cubicle. I would be discharged that night. As Brianna gathered our things, I realized that the charger for my hearing aids was missing. Panic ensued. I have severe hearing loss; without my hearing aids I’m just about deaf. I begged every nurse I saw to go look for my charger. Eventually, someone found it — imagine my relief! I was impressed that while inundated and overwhelmed with patients, all the doctors, nurses, and technicians — even though they were understaffed and exhausted — were caring, compassionate, and helpful.

We called the limo service who took us back to White Sands. Brianna had phoned the clinic to order some food for me as I had not eaten in over 24 hours. A wheelchair was waiting for me. I can’t remember a time I appreciated my own bed more than I did that night. I am forever grateful to Brianna for staying by my side and to all the UCSD staff for their help throughout a most trying experience!