Posted by john (205.188.196.47) on July 22, 2001 at 04:35:35:
This was during my 2nd cycle. I went 2 an "Immediate Care Center" while peaking on a 10+ CH attack to be put on oxygen and was asked to fill out a clip-board full of forms and have a seat in the waiting room.. I Couldnt concentrate on the forms and after 10 minutes of pleading 4 oxygen and waiting and explaining my condition I took matters in2 my own hands tearing thru the examination rooms til I found a tank of oxygen! I thru a chair and threatened the staff with 1 of those metal poles used 2 hang IV's and sat in the corner of an exam room with the tank sucking pure oxy straight from the regulator with a lighter in my hand telling staff to stay away! Within 10 minutes the attack was over and I was burst in upon by about a dozen Chgo police officers with their guns pointed at me! By this time tho I was calm and rational and able to explain my situation. Luckily 1 of the cops has a brother with CH and the main questions they asked were "Well, this is an Immediate Care Center, he told you what immediate care he needed and you refused to provide it?" "If he was in cardiac arrest would you ask him 2 fill out forms in the waiting room?" and my personal favorite "You want to press charges? He's the 1 were gonna ask about pressing charges!" The police convoy took me home and we talked for a while and here is some good advice from the police: "Carry a card in your wallet explaining your condition inabillity to communicate or fill out forms and immediate emergency treatment.Make it yourself and have it laminated and keep it in your wallet. If anything like this happens again go to the clinic, produce your card, and if they refuse immediate treatment...Call a lawyer, cuz u got a good case!" I also found out that if your local firehouse has paramedics you can go to the firehouse and get oxygen! I visited my local firehouse and explained CH and how I just needed 10 minutes of pure oxy and not emergency transport if the situation arose and they said "Thats what were here for!" They also said I could come in if I had an attack and they wouldnt even charge me or record it because its not worth their time over 10 minutes of oxygen!
Anyway, within 7 months after this incident the hospital which ran these care centers closed the center down! 1 hell of a lawsuit threat!!! I recieved many furious emails from fellow CH sufferers about my "treatment" at the clinic and I made copies and sent them to the hospital administrators the clinic and just about every personal injury lawyer "who only gets paid thru a cash settlement" in the Yellow Pages! The hospital was scared to death! But the center was ran as a "seperate buisiness" from the hospital and the other centers and they closed down before a lien could be made on the clinic."Those damn rat bastards!"