I can't stress this enough, 'comfort' is an option in the hospital, not a priority. You have to ask for it. If I had asked right away if there was somewhere Eve could lie down, we could very well have been led into the emergency room right away. They had rooms open, just no doctors available. As it was, we had to wait outside on the hard chairs.

With Eve now laying down, the wait was far less painful. We plugged in the heating pad, and Eve tried to relax, curled up around it. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long. A pretty female doctor came in after a while and got some preliminary information from Eve, and took some blood. It was from her that we first learned that the use of heating pads in hospitals was against government regulations. But she made no intentions on taking it away from us. She left a few minutes later and we never saw her again.

After a long wait, A middle-aged doctor came in next. I don't remember his name. After talking to him for a bit, he had us move to a different room that was better for some of the tests that he wanted to perform. Unfortunately, this room had nowhere to lie down. The examination table was tilted and broken, and although we tried to find a way, Eve could find no way to relax. And an IV was now put into Eve, which now made everything worse.

And another insanity that was now taking its toll was that the doctors continued to refuse to give Eve ANY pain medication! The reason was that, depending on what the problem was, certain pain medications could cause harm. Such as if Eve had come down with the East Nairobi Creeping Lotus Phage, then reducing her pain could have...well...been inconvenient for the doctors somehow, and we couldn't have that. When Doctor L refused it the previous day, we let it slide because it seemed as though we were past the worst of the illness. But now the suffering was being horribly magnified by, well, the treatment. And the continued suffering was tearing Eve down.

I don't cry easily. At the time of Eve's hospital stay, the number of times I have actually shed a tear since I was 12 years old could be counted on one hand. And this passes through the loss of my mother and my father. But I lost control when Eve was taken to the X-Ray room. With Eve rolling the IV along with her, we were escorted to a darkened X-Ray room. I was pointedly told to stay by the door as Eve was led inside...and left there.

Attempt to picture this. The image is burned into my mind, and the utter rage it inspires in me now is almost uncontrollable! The X-ray room is dark. Eve is standing there, horribly weakened from eating no food in two days, in constant pain, and there is NOWHERE to even sit down! Not even a chair! The only light coming into the room is from a brightly lit, glass enclosed coffee room where the X-Ray Technicians are laughing and joking with one another. They have seen Eve, but don't make a move from their seats yet. Only when Eve collapses to the floor do they get up and come in, which is the only thing that stopped me from rushing in. Do they help her up? No, that is comfort and therefore must be demanded. Eve struggles to her feet again before the completely emotionless stare of a female X-Ray Technician. The door is closed before me.

By the time the X-Rays are completed, I have pulled myself back together. And then it is time to wait again for a couple hours as the X-rays were prepared. We struggle to find a comfortable position on the examination table, but this table wasn't meant to be laid down on. More blood is drawn.

When the X-Rays come back, the Doctor is very much amused. Doctor L had taken some X-Rays the previous day, and a small clump of material was found in Eve's abdomen. We assumed it was a clump of Nuprin that Eve had taken and must have bonded together in her intestines. But this Doctor is very pleased to have found a second problem with Eve, unrelated to her excruciating pain. By great luck, this illness had allowed them to find that Eve had a growing Ovarian Cist that needed to have surgery!

Despite the Doctor's cheer, Eve was, of course, terrified. The day began as Hell, and now it began storming. And those storm clouds never really left for the remainder of her time.

Eve was moved out of the examination room after that. She was moved into a comfortable bed, which was good, but was now in an open area with only curtains separating the patients. Doctor L has made it in now and is filling out his massive paperwork and going over the test results. It is found that Eve is low on potassium, so a drip is connected to her IV that feeds a constant flow of potassium into her bloodstream. As it is started up, Eve screams in pain! Concentrated potassium burns, by the way. The feed is reduced until Eve stops screaming, but no more. When I ask Doctor L whether this drip is absolutely necessary, he says yes! Very much so! Potassium is very important for her heart, and she is very low on it!

So Eve would have been injured, or even died without it? Yeah, maybe a one-in-a-billion shot, but to not give Potassium to her would risk breaking Priority #1 and #2. Eve's continued suffering is not important. Something wrong was found, and MUST be fixed, regardless of the patient.

Painkillers were FINALLY allowed, and we were told the dosage was to be given in 4 hour intervals.