I returned to DC on Monday and my intention was to visit Ellen at the Rehab Center and see how she was doing. The plan was that she would be there for a while to regain her mobility and then go home. As I was driving I decided to call Ellen's daughter to see how things were going.
She let me know that the Rehab Center wanted to call 911 and have an ambulance take Ellen to Suburban Hospital. Ellen's white blood cell count was high and they felt she needed to be taken there even though her primary doctor was affiliated with Georgetown University Hospital (GUH). We were told that the Montgomery County ambulance would not take her to GUH which is located in Washington, D.C. The only way Ellen could get to GUH was by hiring a private ambulance. And so we did.
So once again Ellen, her daughter, and I were on our way back to the ER. This time I let the Georgetown staff know we were coming ahead of time. We were glad that Ellen was put in the same area designated as Fast Track B. We chuckled about what "Fast Track" means.
This time Ellen had a wonderful nurse (Jason) who did all he could to make her comfortable. The 4th year resident (Bobby) had a good disposition and was very patient with her. Ellen had blood drawn, ultrasound of a swollen leg, chest x-ray, and answered many questions. The physician on duty told us that her white blood cell count should not have been alarming as that may have occurred because of some of the medicines she was taking.
