Triage

Last week, I thought I was having a heart attack. A couple of days of discomfort, combined with some unhelpful googling, a recent midlife birthday, and one too many dashes of cayenne pepper on my chili, created a situation where I was having some sharp left shoulder pains. My older girls were insistent that Tricia take me to the ER. I wasn’t so sure it was necessary, but my wife gave me a look that said I didn’t get to decide. As we walked into the hospital, I could tell instantly it was a busy night. Within ten minutes of having told the person at the check-in counter my symptoms, they had me in a triage room with EKG stickers all over me, my blood drawn, and chest X-rays were taken.

I left four hours later with a very clean bill of health. Looking back, about 97% of all the action happened in those first ten minutes. As the attending doctor was giving me my discharge papers summarizing how I should no longer use cayenne pepper, I acknowledged it was probably silly for me to come in in the first place and told the doctor he clearly had more important things to do on such a busy night. His response only made my heart hurt more: “At your age,” (yikes, number one) “always better to check in than to have permanently checked out.” (Double yikes.)

As I tried to fall asleep late that night, I replayed how fast the triage nurses worked to assess me up and down. I thought about how many ways they asked me similar questions or considered different angles to determine where my pain might be originating. To their credit, even during the very long wait that seemed like it was for nothing, they let me know that the blood work and X-ray needed to be examined.

I couldn’t help but think in life and leadership, when I receive someone’s urgent pain, how well do I triage? First and foremost, do I start by taking them seriously? Do I ask questions that dig deeper or help them reflect and reset? For situations that seem benign, do I keep them updated as to how I’m reflecting on it or what my next steps are, even if they won’t be immediate? In my urgent requests to the Lord, am I able to trust that “the doctor is always in” and that, despite how it may seem to the patient, He is on the case?

Dreading the forthcoming bill, I could at least give thanks for the quality of care I received and the reminder it gave me that when others feel like they are having an emergency, the way I receive them makes all the difference. Prayers for your health and wellness this week!