Hospital

Volunteered tonight at the hospital. Always eventful but today set a record, I believe. A list:

• Arrive, sign in, sit down... Dispatcher-that-can't-remember-names (The DTC RN) forgets my name again. I am engrossed in my Spanish homework. They finally make a combined effort and get my attention. "Oh, what?" #1. (Note: Must learn to respond to "Volunteer".) Apparantly she also calls by color worn. There is one girl who seems to go by "You in the blue."
• First discharge, definately wrong number, as the area specified is in the operating section. Go to where I think right place is, # is right, name is wrong. Go back, check number w/ the DTC RN, and verify that I guessed right. Get patient, patient is older woman who cannot weigh more than 80 pounds.
• While waiting with the lady for her ride, overhear another dischargee w/ baby talking w/ her discharger about how they almost forgot to take her baby's alarm off which would have caused a hospital lockdown. That would have been... interesting.
• Next discharge. I have my chair and I'm in the elevator. (I have bad habit of just walking out when the elevator stops, without checking the floor #.) The elevator stops, and I walk out. Almost get flattened by a cute over-eager intern with a double decker loaded cart who shares another of my bad elevator habits: assuming it's empty. We exchange sorries, and I go on to find out that I am on the wrong floor. Get back on elevator, thinking that it would be very embarassing and ironic if I would see the intern on the floor I was going to. Elevator door opens, and there is intern, waiting for the elevator. It was embarassing, ironic, and looking back, mildly funny. I did have the wits to notice that the young man had learned a lesson from the event- he was waiting the approach of the elevator from a safe distance.
• Reach room, forgot cart.
• Reach room again, everything goes normally. Get to main lobby and wind up standing for 10 minutes holding a vase of rather bulky flowers. Mea culpa, though.
• Off to lunch with Brooke and Deere. Brooke gets her normal ice cream and complains of being cold. Me: "Even after ice cream?" Stunned silence, then inquiries about my mental health.
• Back to dispatch room. Finish Spanish, start magazine. "Oh, what?" #2. And the DTC RN even had my name right.
• Off on dispatch, nice old man, all goes smooth and quickly until we get in confusion about where his relatives are parked. La puerta front is empty, and his relatives got a 10 min head start. Go to la puerta del corazon, still no relatives. We are kept from boredom by a mysterious Geo, whose driver has abandoned it. This is quite puzzling and disturbing to the valet parking guy, who did not notice the arrival of the car nor the departure of the driver although he faithfully keeps a constant watch- part of the much loved universal valet parking person's code.
• The relatives of my patient materialize. They have been parked just out of sight. I wheel him out and get him squared away, and on return smile at the valet guy. (I'm always in a good mood at the hospital, so I'm always smiling.) "Sorry you had to wheel him out so far," he says. I thought that was rather sweet, seeing as it was somewhere around 25-30 ft and not that big of a deal. So I know have a nameless aquaintance with two valet guys (the valet guy at the front helped me out in a complicated cart/chair/revolving door situation). I also have a more involved but still nameless aquaintance with the lady security guard at TCTC. I have special drop-off parking priveledges, and we exchange greetings regularly. It's nice having friends in higher places. Lol.
• Back to room, on the way receiving a "Hi" from a random person. "Oh, what?" # 3, this time with good natured laughter.

1. And that is the end of my list. There were other things to write, but I forget them, other than that I want to formally recognize Erika (whose fake name will be coming shortly. Didn't think Ricka from Flicka, Ricka and Dicka was gonna cut it. Suggestion?) Anyways, wanted to formally recognize her for being my sole commenter. *The most thundrous applause one person can produce* Thanks a bunch! :D