Jeff and I took a little field trip to the ER on Monday.
For the past couple of weeks he has had a sense of pressure on his chest, as if it was being sat on by one of these:
Well, by Monday, he was feeling as if he was being sat upon by someone more like this:
Therefore, he was finally willing to call our doctor. (WHY are men so obstinate when it comes to seeing the doctor???) Jeff was told to go directly to the emergency room.He checked in at the front desk and was called back right away. (I've always heard that if you want fast service at the ER that you ought to complain of chest pain. Well, them liars were right.)
Within the first 15 minutes of being there, Jeff had been x-rayed, EKGed, had his blood drawn for a battery of tests and was tethered to a bed by multiple apparati. He had a pulse reader on his right ring finger, his left arm was encircled by a blood pressure cuff (which inflated occasionally, seemingly at its own whim), multiple electrode leads were stuck to his chest and an oxygen tube was simultaneously wrapped around his head and stuck up his nose. (That last one was his favorite.)
Oh, and of course let's not forget the fashionable hospital gown. When he decided to go use the restroom, (no, he wasn't catheterized) we undid all of his medical bindings and I tried to tie up the back of his gown. Unfortunately, it was missing a tie on one side. :)
This was the most disclosing photograph he'd allow me to take:
Not that I blame him, really.
Within a few hours, the doctor came to tell us that all of the tests had come back normal and that the pain might be due to a viral infection. So we removed his fetters one last time and left.
Jeff took another day off of work today and is feeling much better this evening.
However, he was so put off by the entire rigmarole (you know, the whole process they put him through in order to determine if they should intervene to keep him from dying or not) that he has resolved not to say anything next time he feels a heaviness on his chest, even if he feels like this poor fellow in orange:
Ughhhh! Men...
