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They finally got her in a bed at 7:40, after nearly 6 hours of waiting. Still not in a room, though; just a bed on wheels, parked in the ER outside rooms 8 and 9. Once she was tucked in comfortably, she told me to go and take care of the animals. I headed straight out, picked up Chelsea, and headed back up to the valley. Zuul's been bad lately, destroying things while we're out, so we've been tying her up to the drivers' seat of the RV while we're gone, with a dog bed, water, and (when applicable) her food in reach, and nothing else. Before i even put the key in the keyhole, i heard her scratching on the other side of the door. She had busted loose. Surprisingly, she destroyed very little, although i'm a little confused how she got the things that she did.
She had been left alone for 12.5 hours, meaning it had been 14 since she last went potty. I'd already made my peace with the idea that she had probably gone inside the house; miraculously, it doesn't look or smell like she did. She was very insistent on getting outside though.
Alyssa texted that Amanda had been taken for an ultrasound, but still not assigned a room. Before they took her, they'd had her on IV fluids, and she seemed more alert and perky with the fluids going into her.
We got Zuul to the dog run, i went to Alyssa's to get Ghost and Vinz. Everyone was good! Hooray for small miracles and all that.
I threw together a bag for Amanda quick, most importantly including all her meds. I checked in with Alyssa if Amanda would need anything else, and she said Amanda wasn't back from the ultrasound yet. That seems like it took a long time. We didn't want to wait around, so we booked it back to Beverly Hills. I was hoping they would have Amanda in a room by the time we got there, i wasn't sure they'd let both of us in to visit her on the floor of the ER.
As it turned out, no, they would not let Chelsea in at all, regardless of if she was in a room, because visiting hours end at 8, and it was 10. Only one visitor to the ER, and only immediate family.
Alyssa was sitting with her when i got in. Her shift was over, but she said she wanted to stay with Amanda until they got her into a room, if possible. Amanda was finally sleeping; she'd been complaining through the entire 6-hour wait that she was so, so tired, but there was physically no way to position her body in there to allow her to sleep, plus they kept calling her over to see nurses or phlebotomists or whoever else every 30 minutes-ish, so it's not like she'd be able to anyway. Given how much sleeping she's been doing the last few weeks, staying awake for the last 14 hours must have taken a huge toll on her. I didn't want to wake her up. As i was explaining the contents of the bag to Alyssa, though, Amanda did open her eyes; they were sluggish, including the lids, opening and closing independent of each other, and her head and mouth movements were in exaggerated slow motion. At least i was able to say good night to her. I couldn't stay, though; i had left Chelsea sitting outside the hospital and i should really get her home, plus the dogs would need more care tonight and tomorrow morning. So i left.
I felt bad that, after all that, Chelsea wasn't able to go in and see Amanda, but i'm glad she came with. It was nice to have someone to talk to. It was helpful.
When i got home, i took Zuul for a 2 mile walk, so she could burn off some energy and i could work out some of this anxiety. I checked in with Alyssa around midnight, and the situation had not changed. They're both still sitting there, in a hallway, waiting for a room.
I'll be heading back to the hospital tomorrow morning as soon as visiting hours begin. I really, really hope they have a room for her by then; i hope she doesn't get left in a hallway all night.
This feels like it's rambly and has a lot of unnecessary detail; sorry. It's more or less stream of consciousness, i'm just trying to get this written out while it's still fresh.
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