I as brought to the hospital in an ambulance due to a severe seizure. While hospital staff was kind and friendly, I was told by the doctor that since I did not have insurance, I would have to have inhouse treatments as an outpatient. The doctor, while not raising his voice, questioned my motherhood skills, the family court system, Medical and the fact that I am not eligible on it, and so on. I felt very lowly because he kept asking me WHY can't I just "take care of my own children" like other mothers. The children are with their father due to a domestic violence situation with my previous boyfriend, and until I get back on my feet again, since I absolutely refuse to go back to an abuser. I felt like I was reliving the tragedy because the doctor kept insisting that I should be the one to take care of my "own children". I would be taking care of them if I could! I made a right decision to leave my abuser and it takes any human being a while to gather finances and etc so that I can reunite my children with myself! Not to mention it's way to personal for an ER doctor to be commenting on, and all because of lack of insurance!
They heavily medicated me and sent me on my way while I could barely walk due to the seizure medications, given via IV. I told them that I was barefoot, penniless, since I had been taken in the ambulance, no jacket, barely any clothes and all they offered to do was to call a cab and leave me figure out what to tell the cabby since I had not even a single dollar to my name or on my person. They gave me socks when I pointed out that I was unable to walk the nearly 20 miles home. Cruelly, they forced me out of the bed when in fact I should have been an inpatient for the severe seizure I had experienced that morning - particularly because nobody had even bothered to find out WHY I had it!
When I refused to leave since I had no way to get home, they called security, who escorted me outside. Since I was still reeling from the tons of medications they had given me, I was going to sign in again and hope that this time at least I could recover enough to walk without falling. The rent-a-cop refused to let me back into the hospital so that I could sign in again and in fact called the sheriff on me. Another patient attempted to offer me a ride home at which point the security became irate and began shouting at her and literally chased her inside, threatening that he would get the sheriff to arrest her too, for merely being a kindly soul and offering me a ride!
This security man had it in for me, along with his skinny sidekick. Together they forced me to sit on a cement railing because I was so dizzy from the medication I had just been given. Security was cruel and shouting at any patient willing to help me. Plenty of patients saw the mistreatment and took a stand on my behalf, particularly because I was tearful but not shouting. It was clear that this was an escalating abusive situation.
At long last, one patient had had enough and barged through, brushed past the security, and led me to her car. (As I said, I was barely able to walk due to the Dilantin given to me via IV finished barely 15 minutes before!) My legs were shaking and I had earlier shown security who had no compassion whatsoever.
Thanks to this good samaritan, I was able to get home despite security's attempts to force me to sit on the ground for no reason whatsoever. People were stunned and shocked by the way I was treated. I have multiple witnesses who are willing and able to come forward to corroborate my story. No patient should be left penniless, barefoot, under the influence of heavy medication, to walk nearly 20 miles back home again.
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