Sepsis made an attempt to delay our arrival at the bigger hospital by taking the help of the evening rush hours, but in vain. Although, the hospital was just half a kilometer away, it took us around 10 minutes to reach it. That isn’t much considering that it usually takes 30-40 minutes during the rush hours.
We got down at casualty and wheeled my mom in. She was immediately attended to by the medical personnel and put on oxygen and other necessary medical paraphernalia. One of the staffs of the casualty asked me to get the registration done next door and get a file. I did. The casualty medical officer after checking my mom started questioning me about my mom’s medical history. First, he asked if my mom had asthma. I replied negatively. I told him that she was suffering from breathlessness since morning and that she hadn’t passed urine the whole day. I also told him that my mom was having fever and chills since Sunday and had tooth infection since last Thursday. I also reported that she had undergone angioplasty around 4 years ago. He asked if my mom had tuberculosis. I said that it must have been more than 40 years ago that she had suffered from tuberculosis. I also gave him the reports of the blood tests that we had got done a day before.
After getting all the medical attention and the oxygen mask, my mom seemed to be at ease. The medical officer gave me a chit and asked me to go to the other end of the corridor of the hospital at a counter. I went there. The person there told me about the charges of ICU and asked me to deposit 20,000 so that my mom can be admitted. I didn’t have even 2000 in my pocket. I went back to the casualty ward. I told Mrs. Kumar about the deposit amount and she said that she had called up her 2 sons to come to the hospital. She told me that her younger son was already on the way and called him again to get his credit card to pay the deposit.
We waited for my mom to be taken to the ICU. It was taking some time. I inquired with the medical officer why it was taking so long for my mom to be taken to the ICU. He replied that bed was being prepared for her in the ICU. Suddenly, Mrs. Kumar realized that the delay must be taking due to the non-payment of the deposit. She protested against the medical officer for the delay and told him that we had got my mom’s angioplasty done in another reputed hospital by an eminent cardiologist without paying a single penny in advance; that we had made the payment on the day of discharge. The officer relented and ordered my mom to be taken to the ICU immediately.
Once in the ICU, I was asked to sign the necessary admission papers including some consent forms about which I was explained in brief. As the exigency of the situation had turned me into a zombie, I signed all the papers without giving a thought to any of the explanations. All I wanted was my mom to get well soon and return home.
We got down at casualty and wheeled my mom in. She was immediately attended to by the medical personnel and put on oxygen and other necessary medical paraphernalia. One of the staffs of the casualty asked me to get the registration done next door and get a file. I did. The casualty medical officer after checking my mom started questioning me about my mom’s medical history. First, he asked if my mom had asthma. I replied negatively. I told him that she was suffering from breathlessness since morning and that she hadn’t passed urine the whole day. I also told him that my mom was having fever and chills since Sunday and had tooth infection since last Thursday. I also reported that she had undergone angioplasty around 4 years ago. He asked if my mom had tuberculosis. I said that it must have been more than 40 years ago that she had suffered from tuberculosis. I also gave him the reports of the blood tests that we had got done a day before.
After getting all the medical attention and the oxygen mask, my mom seemed to be at ease. The medical officer gave me a chit and asked me to go to the other end of the corridor of the hospital at a counter. I went there. The person there told me about the charges of ICU and asked me to deposit 20,000 so that my mom can be admitted. I didn’t have even 2000 in my pocket. I went back to the casualty ward. I told Mrs. Kumar about the deposit amount and she said that she had called up her 2 sons to come to the hospital. She told me that her younger son was already on the way and called him again to get his credit card to pay the deposit.
We waited for my mom to be taken to the ICU. It was taking some time. I inquired with the medical officer why it was taking so long for my mom to be taken to the ICU. He replied that bed was being prepared for her in the ICU. Suddenly, Mrs. Kumar realized that the delay must be taking due to the non-payment of the deposit. She protested against the medical officer for the delay and told him that we had got my mom’s angioplasty done in another reputed hospital by an eminent cardiologist without paying a single penny in advance; that we had made the payment on the day of discharge. The officer relented and ordered my mom to be taken to the ICU immediately.
Once in the ICU, I was asked to sign the necessary admission papers including some consent forms about which I was explained in brief. As the exigency of the situation had turned me into a zombie, I signed all the papers without giving a thought to any of the explanations. All I wanted was my mom to get well soon and return home.
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