Hi there I'm Angela Oberer and today's good idea comes from the Emergency Room.
I hope you don't ever go to the Emergency Room, but if you do, it's because you've done
everything you know how to do and now you need help from someone else. So the first
thing you want to do is you want to help the doctors help you.
First thing you're going to do is take your drivers license.
That will let them know who you are, where you live, your birthday, all that stuff.
Second thing is you want to take a check book or or a credit card
or a way to pay for the services you are requesting.
And the third thing is, if you have an insurance company, make sure you take your insurance
card so that the insurance can pick up as much of the bill as possible.
Okay, now that you are at the emergency room, you want to make sure that you give the doctors
any current medication that you're taking, they will be able to look really quickly and
see how many milligrams of what it is you're taking. And then give you something
that is not going to conflict with the current medications you are taking.
Third thing you want to take is a nice cozy little blanket from home.
If you're lying in a hospital bed and you're in a hospital gown and you have a cold I.V.
dripping through your arm, you're going to get cold. So at least you'll be comfortable
and cozy by having your own little blanket. Okay, Now that you're at the emergency room,
you want to be as specific as possible about your pain.
On a scale of 1-10, ten being almost dead, you'll let them know, I'm experiencing a 10,
and I've experienced it for two hours, five hours, five days, however long.
That lets them know where in the process you are, and then you tell them exactly what you
have done to self-medicate or what steps you have taken to try to get yourself better.
The next thing you want to explain to them is: Exactly where your pain is.
For me, it was in my appendix, worst pain of my life, in my appendix. Okay, now they're
not looking in my ears, and in my knees, and different parts of my body, they went straight
to my appendix. I had all of the symptoms of my appendix bursting,
except I did not have a high fever. Oh, let's see, maybe it's something else.
And it was, in fact, they found kidney stones, not my appendix bursting.
Because I explained to them that I did not have a high fever. That sent them on a little
bit different path. So as specific as you are, that will help
them understand what exactly you need and now you are helping them to help you. So,
Help them help you. It's a good idea.
You know what? It's a good idea. That's right.