I am a healthcare worker, which is my reason for attributing my trust in the system. But my experience should dictate the need for advocacy while navigating healthcare, especially alone.

I was sitting in triage, after arriving by ambulance. The waiting time teeter-tottering between several hours. I was left to my own device to determine what happened to my body and what the next steps should be. Texting between other healthcare staff and what my gut was saying. Eventually, I ended up leaving at 0600 without a real plan: the CT was grey, whatever that means. Get an MRI in a week – without a requisition, I am not too sure how. It was all a blur, and the ED doctor seemed more interested in my lack of risk factors than what was the potential problem.

I received a call in the morning as I woke up in my haze, reading My Chart, an electronic documentation of healthcare, which appeared to be equally puzzling to the Day Shift ED doctor had diligently reviewed my chart. Her voicemail compassionately recognized the need for my body to sleep, but diligently asked me to come back in. Which I did several hours later.

Another 6+ hours in recliner 15A. This time consultation, feeling like my voice was being heard and answers were being provided. You have had a stroke. A (re)diagnosis. This wasn’t grey, it was black and white. Definitive.