ER
Chest pain, stabbing, waking me from sleep
Tightness, shallow breaths
No rest for me, no rest for me
No rest for me
It could be fatal
“Seek medical help immediately!”
So I go
I go full of doubt
I go full of fear
I go feeling guilty
“I’m just seeking attention”
“Sure,” the nurse says, “I can be accommodating.”
She smirks as she orders the EKG and takes my blood pressure
Just a little too tight
They go through the motions
Pee in this cup
We’ll give you an IV
At least she listened, chose the right vein, and got it in on the first try!
It hurt worse than the chest pain
But I bit my tongue
We waited for hours
As fluids slowly dripped into me
We waited for results – all normal
“The only thing wrong with you is your weight,” he said
Then he touched my leg “reassuringly”
I wanted to bare my teeth
“You have anxiety”
Really? I never would have guessed.
Here are your discharge papers. Follow up with your primary doctor.
The discharge papers say:
Well, it isn’t your heart. But it could be any of these other things…
… most of which could kill you.
If you feel chest pains
Go to the ER
a day with depression 
Sounds a lot like the hospital in my town. You could be dying, but they wouldn’t know. They run tests to make themselves feel better. If it isn’t something obvious then they send you home.
Hopefully you can find a different hospital the next time that will take you seriously.
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Yeah. This one is the most convenient but I’d rather go somewhere they’ll actually test for the different possible issues it could be – not just the most obvious one. They never really gave me the opportunity to talk about my other symptoms, pretty much just assumed it was anxiety.
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By the way, they misdiagnosed me before they had all the pertinent information. EKG results are in; I have left atrial enlargement. (In other words, it is my heart after all.)
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