Full Moon and the ER

Photo
Tangle of masts and lines in Provincetown Harbor.

A good day turns bad
When the day began, yesterday, I had no idea we were coming up on a full moon. Before noontime came along, I was suspicious. Have you ever been in an emergency room on a full moon? I’m sure you have heard stories about ER and police activity increasing during the full of the moon. True stories I assure you. And, yes, the Full Moon is today. This one’s a doozy.

My mother fell in our kitchen yesterday. Just keeled over backwards, bouncing her head off the floor. We arrived in the ER around 9:30 a.m. and were there until 5 p.m. Initially she was put in a hallway just outside Triage where all the ambulances come in. There was a steady stream of activity there plus a steady stream of very sick people coming in on foot. All sections of the ER were full of very sick people. We stayed in the front hall for 3 ½ hours before she was moved to a hallway in the back (near a room). A half hour later she was given a room. At this point I had to go home to get something to eat. The hospital cafeteria was closed.

When I got back to the ER she was up in X-ray where she had a CT Scan and x-rays of her hips and chest.

The good news is nothing is damaged and they could find no cause for her fall. If you had seen the “egg” on her head you would consider it miraculous that she had no head damage internally. The only thing they found was she had a bladder infection. This is the second time she has ended up in the ER after a fall and all they found was a bladder infection. It sounds a little crazy to think there is a link.

She will have to get one of those alert gizmos where she can push a button on a pendant in order to summon help. Otherwise I can’t leave the house unless there is someone here just in case she gets into trouble. I haven’t told her yet, but when Kathy and I ride the Erie Canal she will have to go into a nursing facility for the time we are gone. That way, we can all have peace of mind. I guarantee she will go up like a rocket when I announce that plan.