DEAR ABBY: Please print this. I have a long history of major medical problems, plus more hospitalizations than I can count.
Last week, for the first time in my life, I signed myself out of a hospital. I just couldn't take it anymore. Let me explain:
I had a medical emergency, went to the ER, and had to wait for three hours for a room in the hospital. I was exhausted by the time I got to my room at 2 p.m. Then I had to endure my roommate's reciting her medical history a dozen times to her endless stream of noisy, rude visitors. By 8 p.m., there must have been 20 people in the room. Not one of them had a thing to say that was worth listening to.
I couldn't get to the bathroom because it was on the other side of my roommate's bed, which meant I'd have to walk through (or pass) the crowd in a gown that opened in the back.
I was so exhausted that all I wanted to do was go home where I could get some rest. I insisted that the nurse remove my IV so I could leave.
A word of advice for people who visit friends or relatives in a hospital: First, figure out what you want to say, say it, and leave!
I'm sure that patient's family perceived themselves as wonderful, warm, supportive family rather than the rude, selfish jerks they really are. -- EXHAUSTED IN TACOMA
DEAR EXHAUSTED: It would have been better had you asked the nurse to limit your roommate's visitors so that you could rest. You could also have insisted that visiting hours and visitor limitations be enforced. (Most hospitals have limited visiting hours and usually allow only one or two visitors at a time.) Or, you could have asked to be moved to another room. If you are hospitalized again, don't just lie there and take it. Assert yourself and make your needs known.