VGH

Ambulance bay at Vancouver General Hospital

Now that the worst is over, I can accurately report what has been bringing me here since the end of last month. In preparation for the last weekend of June, I trimmed my pubes and shaved my balls, as I have been ever since I was 18. The next day I felt an itch and on checking what the cause was, couldn't see anything unusual. The following day - wham! Much more than a pimple had developed. I tried various topical ointments and salves, but nothing worked.
Clearly, it was an infection gone from bad to worse. The pain was unbearable, so I decided to go to a local walk-in clinic on May 30, but it was closed for the long weekend. I then walked over to St. Paul's hospital, however walked out after less than 2 minutes of being there because the notorious cabal of junkies and mentally-challenged in the reception area of the emergency room were too much to bear. With the help of a friend via sms, I tried 3 other walk-in clinics. All were closed. Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) turned out to be the best place after all. And it's roughly the sam distance from my place as St. Paul's. It did take a long time to be seen initially after waiting at the triage desk for an hour, being admitted and then waiting again for a doctor to see me. But since then, I have consistently been able to make their requested follow-up visits in a timely manner, thanks in great part to their Fast Track procedure. I've been in about 7 times now to have the dressing changed and the infection monitored. It has almost completely gone away. I can't commend the staff, nurses and doctors enough for all their professionalism. The number of people in the emergency reception area varied day to day. Some times of day it looked like a scene out of ER after an MVA. At others, it was as calm as a rural clinic. Without a doubt, I'll only ever go there before I even think of St. Paul's.

To continue with the story of the infection, I can only say this about shaving: use an antibacterial soap, salve or ointment afterwards!

Not looking for sympathy

Vancouver General Hospital Triage Desk

I wasn't looking for sympathy when I tried getting in touch with him an hour ago. I knew he'd be sleeping it off after another night out and so I didn't want to call and wake him up. So I emailed instead. Then, I saw him on Skype - no, that was his mother. Then I saw him on MSN - well, yes but no, it was time for his lunch.

I'm heading to the hospital again because something is not right with something. I don't want to be too graphic, but I'll say that an infection which grew to surprising dimensions a couple of weeks ago seemed to aggravate another body part, which has in turn grown to unusual dimensions. Til now, I've only told him the full extent of what's going on. Now you know a little, too.

What I was looking for was some words of encouragement, some support, some something. What I got instead was concern about how much money it would cost me. He suggested I should just expect the best when I got to the triage desk. Having been 3 times already in the past couple of weeks, I'm hardly looking forward to being there alone, waiting for hours and then returning home to....

So, I procrastinate with gin. The pain is not as bad...

And now I find he's got better use of his time: cruising online. No, I don't expect sympathy. Just someone who cares enough to call or write when I'm in need.