3 am

Its 6 am and I am wide awake.....not preferable, since I was unable to go to bed until 3 am. But I guess three hours sleep is better than none.

I was up due to a most terribly painful case of acid reflux. It was so painful, I thought I was having a heart attack. The Zantac I took barely took off the edge. I just had to wait it out...remaining uprigtht....until it passed. When I think back on my recent diet, I can clearly see why this event occurred....but sometimes you do not see it when you are in the midst of living your life.

Of course, I did not want to go back to the Hopsital-With An-Attitude. If I had gone to this particular hospital to get checked out at 1 am, surely they would have mocked me. You are here for what? A little indigestion? Pleasee.......go home, and when you find yourself so short of breath you cannot talk, call 911 and come back to the Emergency Room. We only deal with the most serious of medical issues in this ER.

Yup, that is exactly what kept me from calling 911 while the most searing pain radiated from the middle of my chest. I kept thinking how the nursing staff at the local hospital would mock me if I arrived with an illness that was less than deadly serious. If it had been a heart attack last night, I could have died. I could have easily died. But, I would have rather collapsed here in my home with no one around to notice than risk being mocked by the ER staff for being foolish.

O'Connor Hospital has made a lasting impression on me. Unfortunately, the impression they made on me has scarred me into doubting my own judgement. I can only hope that the impression they made on me does not last for very long.