My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: TEN HOURS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Monday, May 18, 2015

TEN HOURS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM

TEN Hours in the Emergency Room of this Hospital Last Friday, MAY 15

Last Friday at about 5:30PM, I felt a sharp and lingering pain (Level 4 to 5) on my lower back. I decided to visit the nearby Urgent Care Center about ¼ mile from our residence, since David III was at home to watch for her Mother and my primary care doctor's office was closed. I did not eat dinner, because I thought I will be back in 20 minutes after talking to the clerk at Urgent Care. I have never been to an Urgent Care Clinic and also my first time with this nagging back pain accompanied by frequent urination.

When I arrived at the Urgent Care Center I paid my copay of $30. There were about five patients ahead of me. It was not until 6:30PM when a physician was able to examined me. He indicated there is nothing they can do to be sure that my pain is not serious. They took a sample of my urine and shows no urinary infection. The attending physician recommended I go to the Emergency Room for a CAT SCAN of my abdomen and stomach and lower back, since my stomach was bloated and a slight pain when he palpitated the area during his physical exam. He asked me if I drove, because he recommends I should take their ambulance. When I insisted I drove to the ER he said I will have to sign a waiver that in case something happened to me on the way to the ER Urgent Care is not responsible. He also indicated that If I arrived via ambulance, I will have preference to those who are just walk in to the ER.

I decided to take the ambulance not knowing if my insurance will cover it. While waiting for the ambulance I bought a bag of potato chips- my dinner for the night. I called my son to pick up my car in the parking lot of the Urgent Care Center and to call my daughter in Sacramento ,

The Paramedic took all my vitals and a medical history including the medicines I am currently taking. He also took my blood sugar since I am diabetic. We arrived at the ER with six Police ambulances ahead of us at about 7:00PM.

There were six patients in various stages of trauma ahead of me, so by the time I was able to get a room(cubicle) in the ER it was 10:00PM. More blood and urine samples were taken. An EKG and an IV were done. An order for a contrast CAT SCAN of my stomach area and lower back was in my schedule.

The attending doctor thought I might have a blockage of the bowel, since I had explosive diahrrea with black stool that morning. However she would not know until the cat scan is completed. At about 11.00PM, I was given a big cup of dye for contrast that tasted like chalk. I almost vomited. After consuming the dye, my stomach started to ache (level of pain about 5) I have to ask for pain medication. After one hour of drinking the dye, I was finally wheeled to the CAT SCAN machine. The scan took only a few minutes. It was another hour before the doctor informed I have no blockage, but kidney stones so big and calcified.

By the time we were able to check out, it was 2:30AM. The doctor recommended that I see my primary care physician as soon as possible and get referral to a urologist. I am going to do that today. She gave me also a prescription for pain

WE, referred to my angel, Ditas my youngest daughter who sat down by my bed side to keep me company almost 8 hours. I did appreciate her coming to the ER Otherwise I would have died of loneliness and boredom waiting for 10 hours just for A CAT Scan You will never know the feeling of loneliness, waiting alone in the atmosphere of patients moaning and asking for pain medication. The cubicle next to me was a man complaining of level 10 pain and moaning for Jesus to Help Him It took another hour before he got his pain medication. There was only one nurse station in the ER room that night. In my case my level of pain after drinking the chalk dye was only about 5, but in 30 minutes I got my morphine. After 30 minutes the pain was reduced to level 1 and we were ready to be discharged

Ditas drove me home. I was so hungry I ate the leftover pork chops with gusto. I cooked the chops before driving to the Urgent Care Clinic. Again, thank You, Ditas for keeping me company. And to David who took over taking care of my wife who has Parkinson Disease while I was in the ER..

The hospital mentioned in this article is the The Mercy San Juan Hospital owned by Dignity Health in Carmichael, California.

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Monday, May 18, 2015

TEN HOURS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM

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