Hospital Etiquette...

Or....What not to say...

So I head over to the hospital yesterday to check on my co-worker. I wander in, get directions to the Intensive Care Unit, and once there, directions to the waiting area for the Neuro-Trauma ward within the ICU.

There's a 'Hostess' stationed within to help people figure out if they're in the right place, or offer them directions, that sort of thing. I step up to the desk, an await my turn. It comes, and I step up and ask where I can find the family members of my co-worker.

She looks at me, cocks her head to one side just a little, frowns just a little, and says...

"I'm sorry sir.....she's gone."

I may have caused a little bit of a scene, what with my mild freak-out and loud exclamations and questions along the lines of "OMG!!"... "What Happened?!"...."When?!"

At which point, the 'Hostess', does her best to calm me down, and explain that what she meant, was that my co-worker had been moved out of the ICU, and into a private room one floor below us.

Seriously? As I'm making my way down to the new location, I'm stuck wondering what genius places a person in the ICU, who responds to inquiries like that? They almost need to keep a crash cart near on stand-by, for all the heart attacks that woman is likely to cause...

On the upside, my co-worker is out of the ICU, resting a bit better, and scheduled for surgery in a few days....


Casey