Michael got the call that his wife, Emily, was transported to the hospital by his neighbor. She was also the one who called the ambulance in the first place when she felt that something strange was going on at their house. The neighbor normally saw Emily at least twice a day while she was walking the dog, but that day, she had not seen her once and got suspicious.
There was probably nothing going on, but she still decided to go and ring the doorbell. When she rang the doorbell, the dog started barking loudly and jumped against the door, but Emily did not come to answer. Inside, Emily was lying on the ground in the kitchen. She was not moving or reacting to the neighbor banging on the window.
Quickly, the neighbor called an ambulance, which arrived within minutes. Realizing the situation was an emergency, they broke open the door and got Emily into the ambulance immediately. At this point, the neighbor called Michael. The only information the ambulance personnel could give was that Emily was still alive, and the neighbor mentioned seeing a yellow wristband on Emily. However, Michael, overwhelmed with worry, did not fully register this detail.
Michael was on his way to pick up their kids and bring them home, but given the situation, he decided they could not go home now. He also did not want his children to know something was wrong with Emily. He kept a calm demeanor, picked the kids up from school, and brought them to his parents’ house, using the excuse that he had some “grown-up business” to attend to.
When Michael called the hospital for an update, all they could tell him was that Emily had arrived and was being attended to by doctors. This lack of information added to his frustration. Michael, familiar with the hospital, hoped to bypass some of the bureaucracy relatives often faced, but this seemed to backfire. Upon arrival, he was met with resistance when he tried to see Emily.
The staff insisted on following strict procedures, and despite Michael explaining who he was, they seemed reluctant to assist him. Eventually, a staff member made a phone call and returned with a more cooperative attitude, directing Michael to a waiting room. However, after waiting for nearly 10 minutes, Michael grew impatient. When he stepped out to find someone to help him, he was met by two security guards stationed outside his door, instructed not to let him leave.
Frustrated and anxious, Michael called the front desk to demand an explanation. The receptionist told him he needed to wait for a doctor to speak with him and explained that the security guards were there to ensure he did not leave the room unsupervised. Michael began to suspect that the hospital staff might be hiding something, possibly related to the yellow wristband the neighbor mentioned earlier.
Determined to act, Michael devised a plan to get help. Noticing the window in the room overlooked the hospital entrance, he decided to call the police. Explaining the situation, he convinced them to send a squad car to the hospital. When the officers arrived, Michael shouted for their attention from the window. The commotion brought the security guards into the room, but Michael informed them about the police presence, rendering their authority ineffective.
Michael was escorted downstairs, drawing the attention of staff and patients along the way. At the entrance, the police were already speaking with a hospital director and a senior doctor. Michael recounted the situation to the officers, who confirmed his account matched their understanding. The officers insisted that Michael be allowed to see his wife immediately.
A nurse escorted Michael to Emily’s room. As he entered, relief washed over him when he saw Emily peacefully sleeping in bed. However, she was still wearing the yellow wristband. Michael pointed out that this must be a mistake, as he understood the significance of the wristband—typically assigned to uninsured patients who might not receive immediate treatment in life-threatening situations.
The nurse checked Emily’s records and confirmed it was indeed a mistake. Fortunately, Emily had only passed out from dehydration, and her condition was not life-threatening. She was already being rehydrated through an IV drip and was on the road to recovery.
Emily soon woke up, and Michael’s relief turned into gratitude. Despite the ordeal, the couple ended up having a constructive conversation with the hospital staff about improving their working relationship. In the end, Emily made a full recovery, and Michael was thankful that everything had turned out fine.
