Family members began gathering around her grandmother's bed. Mama Lucy had been ill and she seemed very sad and was having trouble breathing. Briana noticed that everyone was talking quietly. "What's wrong with Mama Lucy?" asked her cousin Miguelon. "I don't know. My uncle says she is dehydrated and very, very weak," said April.
Briana thought it was strange there were other conversations taking place around the house in quiet whispers. She guessed that they didn't want Mama Lucy to overhear. After one such conversation, one of her uncles began pacing back and forth in front of the door.
A few moments later, she heard the wail of sirens. She looked out the living room window and saw a fire engine pull up and three firemen head to the house. Once at the front door, her uncle pointed them toward the bedroom. Seconds later, a second siren pierced the neighborhood's peaceful ambience. Two men with large bags climbed down and followed the firemen.
Mama Lucy had made a supreme effort to get out of bed. Her breathing was labored, her complexion pale and her lips darkened and chapped. She seemed on the verge of tears and working terribly hard to keep from panicking. Briana felt very sad for Mama Lucy as the events unfolded. The firemen helped Mama Lucy to the ambulance as her uncles got into their cars to follow her to the hospital. It seemed like only a second had gone by between the time sirens wailed announcing the arrival of the medical personnel and their departure. After everyone had left, Briana went back to the room where her cousins were playing wondering what was going to happen to Mama Lucy.
Hours later, Briana was doing her homework when her Dad asked her to accompany him to the hospital to visit Mama Lucy. Briana enjoyed it whenever her Dad took her places. But, this trip out would be different.
Briana entered the emergency room and was surprised at the number and types of machines in the hospital rooms. There were all sorts of bells and whistles, whines and whirring sounds. She followed her Dad into a hall way that had a door with a sign that said, "ICU". They went to an area with a curtain marked #19.
As Briana walked into the room, she was surprised and amazed at so many machines and cords and tubes, smells and sounds. The room was full of relatives, some crying, and in the middle lay Mama Lucy speaking in quiet tones. Briana went up to her and kissed her, "Hi, Mama Lucy." "Hola, mijita. Nice to see you. I love you," Mama Lucy responded with a frail and fatigued voice.
Briana stepped toward an open space on the wall next to her cousins as she heard Mama Lucy say, "Que Dios te bendiga (God bless you)," to an uncle leaving the room.
The nurse came into the room with a hand monitor that sound like a price check machine at the local grocery store and then after she finished using it, she told Mama Lucy that she was going to check her blood sugar. The nurse then took what seemed like a little tube and clicked Mama Lucy's finger. A little blood came out and she put it on a little piece of paper on a hand held machine. "190" she stated matter-of-factly. Mama Lucy whispered, "That's good" and seemed relieved, closed her eyes and slept for a minute.
As Briana sat in the room, she listened to the conversations taking place around her. Her uncles were talking about blood pressure but she couldn't understand the conversation.
She decided to listen to her aunt from Mexico. Her aunt, Tonita, was comparing hospitals in El Paso with those in Durango. "Ayyy no," she sighed. "I wish we had all these things there. Look Charito, they have these automatic blood pressure machines. They take it every 15 minutes. And, look, the basins are plastic and very small. We still have those huge metal things over there that are so uncomfortable and cold. Look, this machine monitors the respiration. Ayyy no. Poor Ms. Delgado. If she had only had this technology, she might still be with us."
"Porque dices eso (What do you mean)?" asked Neto, Briana's dad. Tonita explained, "Well, in Durango two weeks ago, my mother-in-law had a problem similar to your mother. We took her in on Friday to the emergency room. To begin with, the ambulance car was empty. It had no emergency medication or equipment. It was really just a fast taxi. The driver told us to hold on because he was going to go very fast. The stretcher was bouncing around all over the place. We got to emergency at the Seguro Social and no one tended to us for almost three days. I noticed that between three and six am, there is not a soul available anywhere at the Seguro (Government Hospital)."
"On Monday, the doctor came in to see her, said that she had problems with her liver, something called septicemia, and that he was going to prescribe antibiotics. But, by 1 pm, she was dead. Your mother has exactly the same symptoms. But, here, the emergency room took about two hours to get to her and the doctor saw Mama Lucy three times during the emergency room stay, ordered lab work and had a preliminary diagnosis by the end of the day. She too had septicemia and by nightfall she had antibiotics and an IV flowing. She seems to be holding steady."
Tonita continued, "It is sad but at the same time I was laughing with Charito when we got on the elevator because the one next to ICU is bigger than some of the rooms in the Seguro Social. The elevator at the Seguro is tiny and crams patient stretchers and people into the small space. I'm sure sometimes even bodies meant for the morgue have taken a ride with visitors."
Tonita paused, "Que malinchista (I feel I betray my country when I talk this way), pero es cierto (But it's true). A toda ley aqui (From all points of view, care is better here). I don't understand why the government doesn't invest more money in health care."
Briana continued to listen to the comparison. There were many things she didn't understand in what was being said but she just kept hoping that Mama Lucy would get better. She stayed watching the blood pressure reading that everyone was saying was very important. 70/20, 69/19, 148/50, 119/30… She couldn't understand the roller coaster of emotion in the room with each new reading.
But Briana was glad El Paso had machines, not like in Durango where "pobrecita" Mrs. Delgado died
Return to top.
This perspective first appeared in Border Observer, Jaime O. Perez, Editor