Sometimes the initiatives we are working on at the Health
Collaborative hit close to home. Earlier this summer I was enjoying a
Saturday evening at a park with some friends when I took a misstep off a curb.
That led to an embarrassing, slow motion tumble followed by an intense pain in
my right ankle. After I dusted off my pride, I realized the bruising and
swelling was almost instant. Not fun or pretty.
My friends offered to take me to the emergency room but as I
thought about it, I realized this wasn't an emergency. There was nothing even
potentially life threatening about my ankle turning shades of blue. I could
hobble around so I was confident nothing was broken and in danger of being made
worse. The biggest issue was pain, and I could ice, elevate, and take
Naproxen to get through the night. I decided to spend the evening being
as comfortable as possible at home and let the Emergency Department staff worry
about the real emergencies. I knew that in the morning, if I felt I
needed treatment, I could call my primary care doctor and find out what he
recommended.
I felt pretty smart. Not only was my Saturday evening
at home much more peaceful than it would have been in the emergency room, but
I’m sure I saved myself hundreds of dollars I would have billed just to be seen
by an emergency physician. My ankle is healing slowly but surely and I
know I made the right call.
Laura Randall
In addition to being a clumsy walker, Laura Randall is the
Director of Communications at the Health Collaborative.
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