tio-luis.jpgMy Uncle turned 99 years old on Saturday the 21st of June.   He still drives, works as a barber and has a girlfriend.  It was unfortunate that we spent his birthday in the emergency room at Methodist Hospital.  He had not been feeling well and so we decided that a trip to the hospital was necessary.  We arrived at 10 am and the ER doctor took a look at him, asked a few questions and ordered some tests. The nurses started an IV since they found that his sodium was low but all his other tests were normal.  He did have a case of shingles but other than that he was fine.  After the IV infused for a while he started feeling better so we thought he might of been dehydrated.  The doctor wanted to admit him just for a night so he could get more than one bag of fluid.  They started the process of admitting him and we asked for private room so that my brother could spend the night with him.  He is hard of hearing and although he understands and speaks English he prefers his native language of Spanish.  Anyway the day went by and no room could be found (now can you really believe this), then they told us that by 10 pm we should have a room.  When my brother returned at 9pm I relayed all the information and left the hospital to go home to rest.  The next morning I found out that my uncle and brother had spent the night in the emergency room.  The reason the staff gave was that they could not find a private room for him (since when has that ever stopped a hospital from admitting someone). Anyway the doctor came in and asked my uncle how he was feeling and if he was ready to go home.  Of course he said that he was fine and he wanted to go home. He was discharged from the ER without any instructions which is quite rare.  I used to think that the Methodist was the best hospital in town but am now having second thoughts.  Well, my uncle is home and still not feeling quite right but he is more comfortable there. His birthday was not quite what we had in mind but we will just have to make it up to him when he starts feeling better.