So I just finished a week at the hospital here in Fredericton for a non-Covid related medical emergency. I have some thoughts.
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2/ I'll preface all of this by saying that I realise how lucky we are to live someplace where the healthcare system hasn't been overwhelmed by Covid.

Not sure how this would have gone in other parts of the country/world.

3/ Last Saturday evening, I got dropped off at ER (only patients allowed). Within an hour, I had been screened, registered, put in a private room and had my first meeting with the doctor.

I asked for pain meds, and he agreed they were called for and I got some right away.

4/ Eighteen hours after that, I had had xrays, CT scan, been admitted, and moved to a room on the 4th floor.

5/ The ER seemed pretty quiet. Nobody in the waiting room. Likely a combination of the bad driving conditions, time of day, and Covid.

ER staff were very attentive. Frequent visits from nursing staff (more so) and doctor (less so, but still plenty).

6/ Once the immediate danger had passed and I had my wits about me, it became very clear that everyone working there is doing their absolute best to provide the best patient care they possibly can.

7/ This includes doctors, residents, nursing staff, porters, cleaners, techs, admins, etc.

Even the night our zone went red, staff had the usual "lack of clarity" questions about new protocols, but in the end just got on with it.

8/ I can't say that, as a patient, I really noticed any impact on the quality of care due to Covid.

Again, I realise this isn't true for most of the world and we're lucky here.

9/ The way I did see an impact due to Covid is the fact that visitors are prohibited. For me, having visitors would have been nice, but once the worst was over I was fine, and able to keep in touch electronically anyway.

That wasn't true for other patients I got to know a bit..

10/ Like the man I overheard getting the news that he has bowel cancer and needs surgery ASAP. He wasn't fully understanding what he was being told, and had difficulty calling his daughter on his cellphone because his hearing aid batteries were dead.

11/ Eventually his daughter and doctor connected directly, but it's not the same.

12/ Or the guy (younger than me) who needed emergency foot amputation due to diabetes. Going through something like that with no friends or family around would be awful.

13/ Or the young woman who had clearly suffered bad neck trauma and was just trying to stand up.

14/ When you're in the hospital, priorities/perspectives change. "I went to the bathroom" or "I walked down the hall" can become major accomplishments.

15/ I learned that family can drop suitcases at the front door for patients. When I received a bag full of clothes, toiletries, electronics and a book it was better than Christmas.

16/ NG tubes are hell.

(Literally, they suck, but I can't even joke about it.)

17/ When I got a bit more mobile, I ran into a porter who had taken me for tests 3 times. By that point, we were talking as if we were old friends. Same with some of the nurses.

That's as important as their "real" jobs.

18/ As I was being discharged, I stopped by the nurses station to say goodbye and thank you. We all joked about how we hoped to never see each other again.

I did say, though, that if I ever do need to be hospitalised again, I hope I get the gang at 4SW at DECH.

19/ It's easy to be frustrated by the seeming lack of attention. But it's important to remember that medical staff are always triaging/prioritising and dealing with unexpected situations.

As I said, they all want to provide the best care they can for everyone.

20/ So thanks again to everyone at the DECH in #Fredericton.

21/ PS: This incident was unrelated to my slip and fall a few weeks ago. So 2021 is off to a fantastic start for me.