545. Surviving Hospital Food and the Squawking Bitch

 

545.  Surviving Hospital Food and the Squawking Bitch

During my recent hospital and rehab center stay (see post 544),

I had many misadventures.  Among them:

• Going to the hospital in the worst snowstorm in years, arriving in my new room at 3 a.m. 
• Dealing with  the Squawking Bitch, a sadistic nurse's aide who -- unlike most of  the rehab staff -- made my life at times miserable.
• Trying for four days to connect with an elusive  nurse practitioner, then giving it up, only to have her finally materialize and prove most helpful.
• Dining with other inmates who, when one of them screamed for help, continued their quiet conversation (his screams were a daily occurrence).
• Getting little sleep because of lights coming on at 3 a,m., clattering bedpans dropped in the hall, and nurses determined to get your vital signs at odd hours.
• Funny moments alternating with horrors that I cannot bring myself to describe.

In spite of the above, I highly recommend both Lenox Hill Hospital and Village Care, the rehab center on Houston Street where I was treated.  They helped me a lot.