Friday, July 24, 2009

2009 07 24 The Hospital Blog Begins...

*NOTE* On July 22, 2009, Dear Miss Mermaid collasped and was rushed to the local island hospital on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands,  by ambulance. On July 24, she woke up and began the "hospital blog".  A neighbor brought her old laptop and some clothes to the hospital. 


The Vampires (July 24, 2009)

The vampires keep waking me up to take more blood. If you expect to rest up, do NOT go to the hospital. I came here by ambulance, against my will, more or less, but had I not arrived here by ambulance, I would have ended up in the San Juan crematorium, so all in all I am lucky.

The night shift at the hospital can be brutal. Some are very sweet professional souls, others use it as an opportunity to show their prejudices, and to wield unnecessary power over helpless people. Everyone here seems to be in critical shape. Maybe it's just the ward they stuck me in.  I'm connected to tubes, wires, plugs, alarms, face mask, IV's and things that go beep.  I asked a doctor when am I going home. She said not for a very long time.

I cried myself to sleep.

It's terrible being an only-mermaid here. Some staff apparently do not like mermaids, and they have gone out of their way to let me know this. I guess mermaids never come calling to the hospital, unless like me, it was life or death.

Food here is very curious. Breakfast yesterday was a piece of toast, a very thin piece of cheese and a slice of tomato, a cup of Ovaltine (hot), a tiny cup of grape juice. Then there was this white stuff in a square bowl. It tasted like wallpaper paste. I asked what it was to the vampire and she said "Oatmeal! Just add sugar, it will taste fine."

It didn't taste like oatmeal. When the nurse came to change out my IV meds, I asked her what the white stuff was and she said "Cream of Wheat, just dump sugar on it, you'll be fine."

When the respiratory tech showed up to change my oxygen, I pointed to the white stuff and asked her what it was and she said "Oats! Just put sugar on it , and it will taste all right!"

I didn't fee like eating sugar and the white stuff without the sugar was pretty awful, so I skipped it.

More later

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