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  • Hi there I'm Angela Oberer and today's good idea comes from the Emergency Room.

  • I hope you don't ever go to the Emergency Room, but if you do, it's because you've done

  • everything you know how to do and now you need help from someone else. So the first

  • thing you want to do is you want to help the doctors help you.

  • First thing you're going to do is take your drivers license.

  • That will let them know who you are, where you live, your birthday, all that stuff.

  • Second thing is you want to take a check book or or a credit card

  • or a way to pay for the services you are requesting.

  • And the third thing is, if you have an insurance company, make sure you take your insurance

  • card so that the insurance can pick up as much of the bill as possible.

  • Okay, now that you are at the emergency room, you want to make sure that you give the doctors

  • any current medication that you're taking, they will be able to look really quickly and

  • see how many milligrams of what it is you're taking. And then give you something

  • that is not going to conflict with the current medications you are taking.

  • Third thing you want to take is a nice cozy little blanket from home.

  • If you're lying in a hospital bed and you're in a hospital gown and you have a cold I.V.

  • dripping through your arm, you're going to get cold. So at least you'll be comfortable

  • and cozy by having your own little blanket. Okay, Now that you're at the emergency room,

  • you want to be as specific as possible about your pain.

  • On a scale of 1-10, ten being almost dead, you'll let them know, I'm experiencing a 10,

  • and I've experienced it for two hours, five hours, five days, however long.

  • That lets them know where in the process you are, and then you tell them exactly what you

  • have done to self-medicate or what steps you have taken to try to get yourself better.

  • The next thing you want to explain to them is: Exactly where your pain is.

  • For me, it was in my appendix, worst pain of my life, in my appendix. Okay, now they're

  • not looking in my ears, and in my knees, and different parts of my body, they went straight

  • to my appendix. I had all of the symptoms of my appendix bursting,

  • except I did not have a high fever. Oh, let's see, maybe it's something else.

  • And it was, in fact, they found kidney stones, not my appendix bursting.

  • Because I explained to them that I did not have a high fever. That sent them on a little

  • bit different path. So as specific as you are, that will help

  • them understand what exactly you need and now you are helping them to help you. So,

  • Help them help you. It's a good idea.

  • You know what? It's a good idea. That's right.

Hi there I'm Angela Oberer and today's good idea comes from the Emergency Room.

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