urgent care

I was volunteering in the ER again last night.

They always seem to have food whenever I volunteer. Mmm.

Cheese and crackers, vegetable with ranch dip, cookies and tarts. I ate a lot of it during my breaks, of which I took many.

Once again, I was assigned the task of translating questions to a Cantonese-speaking elderly gentleman in one of the rooms. For the life of me, I had no idea how to translate insurance. The lady needed him to sign a form for either MediCal, MediCaid, or MediCare, and I told him in Chinese that he would have to sign this form in order to be hospitalized in one of the rooms upstairs.

He was very concerned that he was signing something he was not familiar with, that he might sign away his rights. I never even use the word "insurance" in conversations with my parents. If my mom calls to see if I've received my car insurance form, she would just use the English word for it. I think...

Anyhow, it was weird forcing a patient to sign a form without coherent disclosure.

There was another Asian patient in a different room who seemed just like a vegetable. He was a nursing home patient, and completely out of it when I entered the room to help roll him over so that the nurse could wipe his backside and make sure he did not defecate in his own bed.

Later on in the night, some cute children arrived in the ER, crying of course. One Asian kid seemed scared when he was laid flat on the gurney. Another blonde girl either had lost her fingernail or suffered head trauma. I never get the story straight since I'm usually passing by while faintly eavesdropping among the parents and nurses conversing with each other.

One of the primary care technicians down in the ED always forces food on me. I feel bad about taking it, but what else am I supposed to do when she's standing between me and the room that stores the snacks/drinks/extra dinners?

I'm going through both boxed lunches tonight while waiting for my lentivirus to spin down. FINALLY, the virus production protocol is working again!