If you have an asthma attack in the middle of the night and dread going to emergency rooms since you’ve never had a good experience (who has?), all that can change with a 1am visit to the UCSF Medical Center Emergency Room. US News & World Report ranked it the 7th-best hospital in the country this year, and last night, it really showed.
Jen’s breathing has been bad for the past couple weeks. About a week ago a doctor prescribed her with a prednisone treatment without tapering it off. Apparently this is what may have contributed to her attack late last night. Prednisone, as we learned last night, should always be tapered off since it’s such a strong drug.
When we arrived at the ER there was no wait. They took Jen’s info and whisked us immediately into the caring hands of friendly, attentive nurse #1. After setting up Jen with an inhalation machine, friendly, attentive doctor #1 arrived to check in. And she actually listened to what Jen had to say. Throughout the next couple hours, we were paid visits by friendly, attentive nurses #2 and #3, as well as by friendly, attentive (supervising) doctor #2. It was quite honestly the most impressed by Western medicine either of us had ever been.
It was almost surreal, in fact. Not only were all the nurses (two women, one man) and both doctors (women) friendly, attentive, and wanting to help Jen’s situation, but they were all young and attractive. It was like a real-life version of ER, hold the George Clooney. When we left the hospital to head home (a whole 3 blocks away) around 230am, it almost seemed as though we had dreamt the whole experience.
So the moral of the story is this: If you’re ever in San Francisco and have an emergency, go to the UCSF Medical Center. It’s the best emergency room you may ever encounter. It’s also refreshing, in this male-dominated world, to be cared for by a mostly-women ER staff.
All this and they helped my wife breathe better in a hurry, which, of course, was the most important thing.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jordan // Sep 29, 2003 at 7:06 am
Prednisone is my favorite drug. It causes depression, hallucinations and all sorts of fun things when taken in high dosages. Long term use causes bone loss and liver failure. What a wonderful drug!
Short term prednisone use (less than a couple of weeks), often called a “blast” dosage, doesn’t require tapering. But after a couple of weeks, the body stops producing prednisone on its own, so if you cut it entirely without tapering, you have none in your system and very bad effects can ensue.
Any other medical questions? I have a second job as a professional quack.