MY VISIT TO MONTEFIORE HOSPITAL IN THE BRONX TO COMBAT MY
COVID 19 SYMPTOMS WAS UNACCEPTABLE AND AGAINST ALL THE EFFORTS THAT THE
HONORABLE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK ANDREW M. CUOMO AND HIS COLLABORATORS HAVE MADE
TO HELP US FIGHT THIS DEADLY VIRUS.
On December 21, 2020, I called the New York State Helpline for
Covid 19. 103 fever and a persistent cough stopped me from talking. The service
I received was excellent and immediate. The doctor suggested I should go to a
hospital. On December 23, 2020, my medical conditions worsened, 8 days
fighting by myself against the virus, I ran out of Tylenol and had no choice
but to go to Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx. I took Uber services and
arrived at the hospital around 10:30 a.m. A nurse took my temperature and then I was left alone. The mask wouldn't
let me breathe and I felt like I was choking on the cough. People passing by my
side ignored me. I asked the security guard for help and he suggested I go out
to the ambulance parking lot. The cold weather allowed me to be there for short
time.
At 12 p.m. finally I
was taken to a room and I received two Tylenol. I was sitting in an awkward
chair and my legs started hurting me. Two hours later, since no one was coming
to check me out, I left the room to complain about the long waiting time. The
people at the front desk seemed surprised to have forgotten me. A man came and
took me for an X-ray of my chest. After that I was left in the orange zone
assigned to patients of Covid-19. I met a woman who was confirmed for Covid and
she became a great helper for me and others.
Suddenly, a woman my
age came to the orange zone. She was terrified seeing me so sick and without
medical attention. She said she came to the hospital for back pain and they
assumed she was positive for Covid without proof. My friend suggested she
should take the test. The woman ran away very scared. An hour later another
woman came, and the same thing happened, she had been sent to the infected area
just for suspicion.
Over the hours, my
health got worse. My good bandmate friend brought a portable chair so I could
stretch my numb legs because of my varicose problem. She asked some nurses to
help me, but no one listened. Because of
the cough I couldn't hold my urine and my pants were soaked. Later, a nurse
called me from the free Covid green area across the hallway. I was in shock
fearing spreading the virus among patients. I told the nurse that I was
infected, but she was laughing at me. She put on my finger the blood oxygen
meter by removing the vital signs monitor from another nurse.
This miserable woman
gave me a walk around the roundabout where the doctors were. At one point the
portable monitor went off carelessly and someone passing by turned it on. She
gave me a tour by the area of virus-free patients, and some didn't have the mask in place. I
felt like a dog dragged by a leash on my finger while the nurse mocked at me.
About to turn 8
hours of being begging for medical attention, I gave up. I started screaming
desperately for my discharge. Someone young told me the doctor was coming soon
because the emergency wasn't too busy. There was no reason to continue
suffering and infecting patients passing by the Covid band side to enter other
departments. There was a plastic curtain but had a big open space. I didn't
know the result of my X-ray and when I was discharged someone told me it was
fine. This has been my worst experience in a hospital.
