# ER!?!?! (You want Mundane? You Want Pointless? How about Stuff I Must Share?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259 "2001-08-27T01:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259/1 "2001-08-27T01:14:22Z")
Yesterday my left eye was bothering me a little, and I thought it was a sty which can usually be ignored and will go away in a couple of days. This morning when I was shaving I noticed my eyelid was quite swollen and I thought, hmm…, this may be an infection that’ll requiire some antibiotics to get rid of; if it’s not receding by morning, I’ll call my doc. A couple of hours later my eye is about one third shut and I have this warm sensation on the left side of my face, so I go look in the mirror. Ack! My left cheekbone has disappeared and my left eye is not quite aligned with my right. Debate, debate…if this _is_ some bizarre infection, it needs to do combat with antibiotics, and at the rate it’s growing, I won’t be able to open that eye tomorrow. Well, this isn’t quite ER material, so I decide maybe I’ll just go to one of those 24-hour Doc-in-a-Box places that seem to only be in the poor parts of town. I grab my M-Z yellow pages and roam to “Medical” stuff and discover that these places are listed under “Emergency Medical Care” in the A-L directory. Shortly I discover that I have four years’ editions of the M-Z and zero A-L directories. Curse those cleaning binges! Now’s the time to call some friends and inquire as to their possession of an A-L yellow pages (my friends just love me). Guy’s lookin’ stuff up while wife (an RN) is standing right next to him saying, “beatle, just go to the g\*ddamn ER!” I’m still convinced this is a bit minor for ER ministrations. Armed with a couple of numbers, I discover that they are all no longer in service - I’d had the feeling that the D-in-a-B might be an ultimately marginal business, so I’m not surprised. Still, though, no Sunday doctor. So I’m near blowing it off, but still concerned. Then I remember that ~1.5 miles from my home is one of the premier medical facilities on the planet - the Texas Medical Center. You _know_ there’s some docs on duty up there. So I grab my checkbook and head on over. Geez, when I get there I have another round of debate about how silly it is to be grabbing a place in line amongst the heart-stricken and recently stabbed. I make a long block to think it over once again…, WTF, I pull in a parking garage. When I get down the stairs, I kind of dodge the front door and act, for about 25 yards, as if I’m just out for a stroll. No, I’ve parked in the Medical Center, I might as well go through with it. I’m here now (thank you Baba Rum Raisin) and I’ll just have to go through the whole routine with my doc tomorrow if I bail. If they’re having triplets amidst heart attacks and gangsta gunfire when I get to ER (prime reason I didn’t go to Ben Taub), I’ll just fade away. Arriving at ER on the heels of a couple of EMTs with a very, very pale woman on their stretcher, I ask if I can see a doctor. The guy at the desk sits me right down and takes a history and a complaint. He (whose green, non-professional tattoos reach beyond his scrubs - I think I know where those were acquired) and another guy do the temp, blood pressure, heartbeat thing in a flash. I don’t know the guy’s history, but he’s what you want in a med tech - absolutely focussed on my insignificant malady for an efficient amount of time. Ultimately it turned out that I was in and out of there in about the same time than it takes to go to my own doctor (~1 hour). This was the Methodist Hospital ER. The techs tested my eyesight and then put me in the eyeball room where a doc came and looked me over. It’s a sty. I went to ER for a _zit_!!! I told the doc I thought it was a bit silly to be in ER for such and he told me don’t sweat it, it is a monster specimen. And he gave me a 'scrip for Tylenol #3. I didn’t even ask for pain meds, I was just worried that it might require ABs and, if so, perhaps I’d better get started. Well, now I’ve got my medecine and I’m gettin’ better. Yours, From La-La Land, beatle ---
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259/2 "2001-08-27T01:27:50Z")
Did you try to pop it? If not, Opal would happy to assist, I am sure. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259/3 "2001-08-27T02:58:25Z")
**beatle** , Yep, that was certainly Mundane, Pointless, and stuff you just HAD to share! Doncha just LOVE this place?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259/4 "2001-08-27T03:33:09Z")
At least you got some T3s out of it, those things are handy! Dragonblink the Druggie ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-you-want-mundane-you-want-pointless-how-about-stuff-i-must-share/78259/5 "2001-08-28T03:19:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Yep, that was certainly Mundane, Pointless, and stuff you just HAD to share! > > Doncha just LOVE this place?!?!? That’s exactly why it’s here/