the Price of Hospital Stays

On the night of January 23, 2008, my 5 year old son and I were taking our dog for a walk. It had snowed a couple days earlier, and although the weather had warmed considerably, there were still several patches of snow and ice on the roads. I was trying to get out of the road onto the sidewalk so the dog could do his business, and stepped between two patches of snow. What I didn't see was the ice that covered the distance between the snow. I slipped and went down. I initially thought my ankle was broken because of the pressure and pain. When we got to the ER, the doctor thought it was just "stretched out" because there was no swelling or anything. However, the x-rays showed that my tibia and fibula were both broken quite badly. I was scheduled for surgery the next morning. I stayed in the hospital for 3 nights/4 days until I was stable enough to be released. I was given a very lovely suite that was about twice the size of my bedroom at home! The cost of the hospital stay included the ambulance ride, the surgery, all meds, food, and very lovely nurses.

If I had to break my leg and be laid up in the hospital, I couldn't think of a better one. Everyone there, from the x-ray technicians to the nurses and doctors to the maintenance people were just wonderfully nice. They were always there when I needed them. Even when the nurses had been there 18 hours or more, and I pushed the call button every 5 minutes, they always came with a smile. They were also very helpful in explaining everything and assisting with moving around and such. Also, they were very patient with my son, who can be a bit annoying with his constant whys. It was as good as I can imagine it.

Research hospitals in your area when you don't need them, so that when you do have an emergency, you don't have to choose one you know nothing about, only to realize when you're already checked in that it was the wrong decision!