Last Saturday, about 1:15 PM, I became ill with Salmonella poisoning, although I did not know it at the time. On Sunday, I went to a local emergency room and was admitted to the hospital where I received 5 liters of an intravenous saline solution over the next 26 hours.
It was nice to be in a real bed and I was also fortunate to have been given a private room. Unfortunately, the diarrhea didn't allow me to catch up on badly needed sleep time.
On Monday, about 11 AM, a doctor came into my room to inform of the test results. He said there was no bacterial infection and that I had a stomach virus. He did not say that the lab tests of my stool sample had yet to be finished. I was discharged later that evening and despite earleir asking for a work release form, I didn't get one. The head nurse told me that the doctor who had spoken to me had left, so there was no one to sign the form. I also didn't think to ask for bed rest on Tuesday, an oversight I paid for dearly in the park next to the homeless shelter.
Aside from the doctor who came to my room, I was impressed with the care I received at St. Mary's Hospital. Dr. Levine, the admitting emergency room physician, was competent, courteous and efficient and the nurses Marla, Deborah and Judy were all very considerate to me. The tech Al was also very nice, even after I had an accident in the room's bathroom.
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