Lesson
This is a story about my recent trip to the emergency room (ER). I work at a restaurant. One night, we were cleaning up the dining room when I slipped on the wood floor and landed wrong on my right foot. I couldn't move my foot, and my boss decided it would be best if I went to the emergency room at the hospital. I hate going to the doctor, so imagine how afraid I was!I couldn't walk, so my friends carried me to the car and put me in the backseat. I was hurt, but my injury wasn't serious enough to call an ambulance. When I got to the ER, the waiting room was packed full of people with problems much more serious than mine. One person had been mugged, attacked and beaten badly. He had two black eyes and a broken nose. Another guy had accidentally mixed two prescription drugs and said he was waiting to have his stomach pumped. How horrible!
As I waited patiently, my foot began to swell. I put ice on my foot to reduce the swelling, but it was no use. Not only could I not walk, I began to think that my foot was broken.
I waited for two hours. Because my problem was not life-threatening, the doctors saw other patients before me. When the nurse called my name, my friends had to put me in a wheelchair because I still couldn't walk. The doctor looked at my foot and said that he didn't think it was broken. He took several x-rays. I had to wait another couple of hours for the results.
The doctor was right. My foot was not broken, but my ankle was sprained. He wrapped my foot in a bandage, gave me a prescription for painkillers, lent me crutches, and sent me home. By the time I went to bed, it was five in the morning! I was so tired.
I was happy that my foot was not broken, even though the doctor said that sprains are often more painful than broken bones. I couldn't work for two weeks. And because the accident happened on the clock, I got paid for all the days I missed. Still, I would have much rather been working than sitting around doing nothing.
Vocabulary
Emergency Room: The area of a hospital that handles emergencies.
To Slip: To lose balance--usually on a slippery floor.
Mugged: Robbed in person.
Prescription Drugs: Medicine from a doctor.
To Swell: To increase in size.
It was no use: It did no good. It didn't matter.
Life-threatening: Could cause death.
To Sprain: To overstretch.
Painkillers: Pain medicine.
On the clock: While at work.