Plus, I've been ill. I've had stomach pain off and on since about June. It got worse around the first part of September so I went to my doctor. He recommended a gallbladder ultrasound. Apparently, the gall bladder has been known to go haywire in women who have recently had children.
It came back normal.
So he sends me to a GI doc. (oh Joy!) Who recommends me for an EGD. (don't ask me to write it out...it's a long word) Otherwise known as an upper GI scope. I had it done today.
It also came back normal.
But that's not what I'm here to talk about today. Nope, I'm here to talk about doors. Specifically, stuck doors. In hospital rooms.
So I'm sitting on this bed, in my lovely hospital gown. The first nurse's assistant came in and asked me some questions and took my blood pressure. After she was done, she left. As she left, she closed the door behind her. HARD! It was difficult for her to shut it, but she got it shut.
Fast forward about 5 minutes. Nurse #2 comes to the door and knocks. I nervously say "come in." She tries the door. It doesn't move. So I say louder, "come in!" She tries again. The door won't open. I ask if it's locked. Jim gets up to go open it for her.
The door is STUCK! I'm talking, it won't budge. Not moving an inch. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
First of all, DON'T PANIC!
Jim and the nurse keep trying, but the door holds its ground. It is NOT budging. So the nurse gets other nurses to help her. Jim tries some cards from his wallet. The nurses try. Jim tries. The nurses leave to go get help.
At this point, the reality of the situation starts to sink in. Jim and I look around the room. There is no other way out. There is one window to the outside, that doesn't open. (We're on the 3rd floor....) There are two windows into the hall, which don't open either. (You know the kind. It's a typical hospital room! Can't have people escaping or jumping or anything.)
The nurses say they have called someone. I'm picturing maintenance taking an hour to get to us....thankfully, they showed up about 5 minutes later. The bolt was totally broken. They ended up taking off the handle and pretty much breaking the door down. I think the guy used his shoulder and just threw his weight against it to finally bust it open.
All in all, I think we were only stuck about 10-15 minutes. But it was a harrowing few minutes! One nurse said she'd worked there 10 years and that had NEVER happened before. The girl who shut the door said she'd worked there for 2 years and had never seen that happen either. I have to say, it was a first for me and Jim as well.
A picture of the door with the bolt removed.
We had to plug the hole with the sheets so I could get dressed to leave! LOL!
