Real Help

Tuesday morning I fell. I’m not certain, but it felt like my knee gave way. I was getting up from my recliner and was holding my open laptop. Whatever happened caused me to fall hard and I felt a ripping,

I tried to get up and the pain was excruciating! Since my husband saw me fall, he immediately tried to help. He put a pillow under my head. I couldn’t move in any direction. So, he called 911.

I have never been in an ambulance, but this was a time I needed help. The EMT’s couldn’t bring the stretcher in, so they made me stand up. This was horrible as I had to walk out to the street. I thought that I was going to faint.

I finally got on the stretcher and was lifted into the ambulance. It was very hot in there. One young lady tried to start my IV. It took her a couple of tries before she could give me a nausea drug and morphine, This didn’t stop all the pain, but definitely helped. After what was to occur in the next few hours, I don’t think I could have stood all the pain without these doses.

When we arrived at the hospital, my cart was pushed through crowded halls. I thought that if you came in on a stretcher you would be seen quickly. Someone put my name in a computer and then I was dropped off in one of the hallways to sit in a chair. Even on a good day, I can’t sit in a straight chair more than a few minutes.

After the EMT’s drugged me up with painkillers, I was plopped in a chair for hours. I was extremely dizzy, nauseated, groggy, and in pain. They wouldn’t allow my husband to sit with me. I was never asked what diseases I had or what medicines I take. I wasn’t offered a drink of water and was ignored as I sat and prayed that I wouldn’t pass out.

After hours of sitting in a filthy hallway, I was taken to get an x ray. A while later a doctor came and assured me that the bone was broken very straight and it could heal in a few weeks if I wore a shoulder immobilizer. He told me to see an orthopedic doctor to complete my treatment.

Today, I saw the orthopedic doctor. He ordered more x-rays and quickly came to show me the results. The ball of the shoulder joint was shredded-looking and the top of the humerus bone also looked shredded. The break was not lined up in a way that healing could occur. This doctor was serious and concerned. He told me that I would need surgery and that the CT scan would tell him which type.

If I had been given proper care on Tuesday, maybe my surgery could be done. But, I have really suffered terrible pain for no reason. Thankfully, now I can get real help for my broken shoulder.

My prayer is for safety and healing. Although I dread the surgery and painful rehabilitation, I know that God will work all this for my good. I trust Him to bless me through this trial.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4

@2019, copyright Lisa Ehrman