Last week, I had a truly frightening and exhausting experience. Last Tuesday, I was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night for severe stomach pains, and after around 10 hours of testing it was revealed that I had chronic appendicitis. So, I had to have an emergency appendectomy surgery the next day, and as a result I ended up being in the hospital for around 3 and a half days. During this time I could not do much besides sit there and observe and think. So, I learned a lot of new and valuable things while I was there and that is why I have decided to write about some of the most valuable things I learned.
The first thing I learned was that the nurses are your main support system while you are in the hospital. While the surgeons are the ones who perform the surgery, they are not the ones who are with you when you are prepping for surgery or when you are recovering in post-op. The nurses are the ones who make connections with you and they are the ones who are the biggest advocates for your best healthcare. Plus, they do all this for you while working an 11 hour shift, they really are super heroes!
The second thing I learned was that you don't realize how bored you can get until you are sitting in a hospital bed, unable to move, and not able to do anything except lay there attached to your IV. I definitely had to find ways to entertain myself, whether it was counting the amount of times nurses walked by or counting how long it took for my IV to drip. Either way, I truly learned about a new level of boredom.
The third thing I learned was that there needs to be more affordable healthcare for people who can not afford it. After seeing the amount they were going to charge me for my surgery, it scared me to think about the thousands of people who would not be able to afford a surgery like that. It's sad to think that there are people who can not go to the hospital because of the price and instead they suffer. There needs to be something done to change the healthcare system in America!
Finally, I learned that every health care professional makes a difference in the life of the patient. From the surgeon to the transport team, every health care professional I interacted with made a difference during my stay in the hospital. In conclusion, I just want to say thank you to every health care worker out there, you truly make a difference in the lives of every one of your patients!
