Patient
This is one of the worst medical experiences I've ever had. I went into an Urgent Care because my head and neck were in extraordinary pain following an injury. Since I had been in pain for 5 days, my blood pressure was - unsurprisingly - elevated. I was referred to the ER at Waukesha Memorial by the Urgent Care because they wanted to rule out meningitis and a brain bleed. The Urgent Care called the hospital ahead of my arrival to explain the situation. I checked in to the ER. They asked me if I had a history of migraines. I said yes, but I told them - after having years of migraines, this was not a migraine. I informed them that I had recently been injured and it caused muscle spasms in my back, chest, and neck. I informed them that the pain I was experiencing was consistent with (albeit worse than) the previous muscle spasms. They did not listen to me. They put me on fluids and did bloodwork. They took blood from my right arm (first venipuncture). Then, they put an IV (second venipuncture). The IV infiltrated. They removed the infiltrated IV and put a different IV in my left arm (third venipuncture). Later, I was told they needed more bloodwork, but they hadn't used a large enough needle, so they put another IV (fourth venipuncture). At one point I had 3 IVs at the same time. Be aware, the hospital charged me $33 per venipuncture. If they had started an IV with an appropriate needle - done so correctly, so that it did not infiltrate - and used it to take their blood samples, they could have spared me the latter 3 venipunctures. The bruises I had in the 2 weeks following my discharge this hospital were something to behold. I received a CT scan, an MRI, and a CT scan with contrast - all to rule out infection and brain bleeds. All tests were normal. I was still in a good deal of pain after 6 hours. I was told they'd given me three different regimens of migraine medication - and since none of them had knocked out the pain, the next step was to admit me and give me a spinal tap. I asked whether they'd given me any type of muscle relaxant. I was told I'd received 2.5 mgs of valium (an adult dose of valium is 10 mgs). I asked if I could receive another partial dose of valium as that was the only thing that had made any type of difference in the pain. They reluctantly agreed to give me another 2.5 mgs of valium. Months later, upon receiving an itemized bill (that I had to ask for), I learned that I was charged for two doses of 5 mgs of valium (I was charged $139 for each one). So, either they lied to me when I asked what I was receiving, or they didn't correctly record (or charge me for) the appropriate dose. As is standard with any IV treatment, part of my IV included Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCl). I was charged $139 for Benadryl. I informed the PA that I would not allow them to do a spinal tap. I asked to be discharged. By this time, the PA that had overseen my care was now going home and I was being transferred to a doctor. I was informed that they needed to run another bloodwork panel. It came back normal. I was told the reason they needed to repeat the bloodwork panel was because they ran the first one while I was receiving the fluids and it altered/diluted my numbers. I was charged for 2 bloodwork panels, each of which was $91. If they had done this correctly the first time, they could have spared me the additional, identical charge. I was in the ER for 9 hours - on bedsheets that were stained, and had multiple areas stitched together to repair holes. I was speaking to people who didn't listen to me, did sloppy work, and exhibited a consistent disregard for my experiences and the costs of their mistakes. I am not a medical doctor, but I grew up in a family of medical doctors and I have been a primary caretaker of terminally ill family members for years. I read medical journals so I can better advocate for their care and I've learned how to advocate for myself. I pity anyone who goes into Waukesha Memorial without the background that I have.