Posted on 02/20/2005 8:00:19 AM PST by Inspectorette
Patients suffer as Jackson media circus hits hospital
One woman's husband needed a doctor.
Another woman needed X-rays.
And although caring and capable staff at Marian Medical Center eventually took care of business for both, delay and distraction dominated the day.
Two days, actually.
"Because of him," Cheryle Aguirre said with a sneering emphasis on the word "him."
Michael Jackson's overnight stay last week at Santa Maria's only hospital only added to the pressure already experienced by an overworked staff of doctors, nurses and other front-line healers who treat a growing number of the sick and dying.
"Everything was in an uproar," Aguirre said.
The 45-year-old Santa Maria mother of four had left work as a high school food service worker to get an X-ray when she happened upon the chaotic scene outside the hospital.
Judging from the number of city cops, police motorcycles, security guards, no-go zones, black SUVs parked in the ambulance bay and representatives of the international press corps swarming the premises, she wouldn't have been surprised if some visiting head of state had been rushed from the freeway to the ER.
But it was just "him."
"I'm amazed at what I saw in there for one person who had the flu," Aguirre said. "They went to all this trouble for one person?"
Hospital staff had little choice.
Jackson showed up like anybody else shows up at the ER - queasy and unannounced. After an examination, a doctor agreed that Jackson should be admitted for observation.
Like it or not, the ruckus had begun.
A hospital spokeswoman acknowledged Thursday that personnel at all levels had learned from the experience. But patient care was never compromised, she said.
Still, wellness suffered.
One woman who spoke on the condition of anonymity said she pushed past Jackson's bodyguards who created an "intimidating" presence in the ER as she tried to find help for her husband who earlier had almost passed out from injuries he received in a recent accident.
"You've got to help him," she said she pleaded with ER staff who seemed overwhelmed and preoccupied by the fuss surrounding Jackson.
"They were all wired up like Secret Service agents," she said of Jackson's large, no-nonsense attendants.
Nurses seemed to sympathize, she said.
"We've got real patients to attend to," she recalled one nurse saying.
"We are not equipped for this," said another.
"This is just too much drama for us," said yet another.
"It was just sad to see how distracted they were," the woman said. "Bless their hearts."
"Are we in for six more months of this? Every time MJ gets upset?" she said another nurse asked.
Maybe.
Anything can happen on the Michael Jackson Bummer Tour.
Jackson's trial on child-molestation charges is predicted to last six months.
The 46-year-old celebrity defendant took ill on his way to jury selection last Tuesday and spent the night in the hospital being treated for what one doctor called flu-like and another called persistent viral symptoms.
Jackson buckled just one day after his lead lawyer began detailed questioning of individual potential jurors.
Then Jackson got pampered, received visits from his mother, father, brothers and others, and took a silly peek-a-boo look out the fourth-floor window of his hospital room before throwing a wave to fans, quickly leaving town and returning to Neverland.
Before Jackson went home, though, Aguirre went back to the hospital for her X-rays.
"I'll be happy when it's done," she said a hospital worker told her.
"You're not the only one," Aguirre said.
Both Aguirre and the other woman said they felt particularly sorry for elderly people they observed who seemed trapped by the disorganization as they waited to be treated for whatever illness had brought them to the hospital.
Both women expressed some level of contempt for Jackson.
"With him, everything is drama," Aguirre said. "Maybe it's a big yahoo in Hollywood, but you don't come around here like the big drama queen."
"If it was the president, I would understand the commotion," she said. "If it was me, they would have said, 'Here's some Tylenol, drink lots of juice and get some sleep."
A remedy for restlessness is always better than a prescription for pandemonium.
Michael better start realizing that his behavior is not going to garner any sympathy from a jury in this town :-(
That is sure what they would have done if you or I had shown up with a traveling circus of SUVs, thugs and toadies.
So9
Ewww! I wonder if the queasy feeling was contagious?!?!
I think that the average person would've been sent home after the exam.
Side note: during the frenzy outside the hospital, one of his goofy FANS fainted - next thing you know, they were hauling HER in to the ER on a stretcher. They kept her for three-four hours, then discharged her. Havta wonder if she had medical insurance, or if we were paying for it...
what california needs for their extravagant media trials is a large luxury liner that moves up and down the coast as required by various juridictions.
people could be helicoptered on and off at will, thereby controlling the court trials.
the trials could be conducted in private as required by law.
and the celebrities, jurors, and a small media esconced in luxury--far away from the media circuses that cause towns and cities undue expenses.
Send the bill to Jacko, assuming he has any money left.
You know, every time some "celebrity" takes his/her circus into a hospital, I always wonder who suffered, or even who died, because of it. Jackson might be the worst, but these celebs just take things over. I don't know how it could be prevented, but I don't think it should be allowed to happen. It's not fair to the other patients.
I wouldn't care if I never heard another word about Michael Jackson.
Trust me on this one - most of the good people of Santa Maria feel exactly the same way. This city is quite conservative: the main industries are agriculture, ranching, and the military (Vandenberg Air Force Base).
A lot of people feel the trial should've been in Santa Barbara, although MJ would probably walk in a heartbeat with all those rich liberals on the jury.
The only "word" I want to hear about the little creep is that he's kept away from young boys, permanently. The guy's face alone looks like something out of a nightmare, especially when his nose peels off.
I still don't think he was sick. It was a ploy. Delay the trial a week. Build up sympathy. You telling me Jacko couldn't get a doctor to come to his house? He has more attendents at home than in the hospital. If he was sick enough to need an ER, shouldn't he have called an ambulance? If he wasn't sick enough to need an ER, there's a thing called a doctor's appointment. Of course, a doctor's appointment wouldn't get the publicity that the ER visit did.
thanks.
like many things today that are out of control,
these trials interfere with the legitimate activities of people and government, while promoting themselves and hollyweird.
I thought this was about Jesse Jackson.
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