Soothing Trauma

This is probably breaking all kinda HIPAA rules, but here goes anyway...

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were out of town on a biz trip. While heading into Target to grab a couple road items, Marvelyne suddenly started experiencing abdominal pain. Now, my wife is tough as nails and does not complain. So, when the first words out of her mouth were, "I need to get to a doctor", I knew there was no messing around.

Off to urgent care, but urgent care suggested a CT scan. Off to the E.R. where we spent the next four hours. Seriously, E.R.s of the world, run a tighter ship. But, I digress...

After her CT scan showed up clear, her pain subsided and the docs couldn't find the cause of the earlier pain, she was released to go to our temporary Doubletree home.

If you've never been in an emergency room, consider yourself lucky. VERY lucky. No matter what your ailment, these days, it seems like three hour minimums are the norm in the E.R.Yet, with all the hustle and bustle and trauma and weirdness of the E.R., there was a single oasis: Marvelyne's doc.

He came in, sat down next to her gurney and leaned in to converse. His tone was never much more than a low breath, his words came slow and compassion just oozed from the man. Even in the craziness that is the E.R., his tone and demeanor neutralized everything except the patient, the doc and the ailment.

Is this helpful? Absolutely. Is it even MORE helpful when the patients the doc usually treats are in traumatic situations? Double absolutely.

His tone did so much to calm our fears; just by speaking quietly and slowly and sitting down. We weren't just a couple of yahoos who were in for no reason. We'd endured some terrible and unexpected and immediate pains. Well, SHE had, at least.Yet, the scary fears associated with the E.R. were negated by one person's ability to communicate effectively.