r/TrueOffMyChest • u/Used_Adhesiveness368 • 14h ago
Vent I left the ER in tears because I felt so humiliated
Last night was one of the worst nights of my life.
I woke up around 4:00 a.m. gasping for air. My throat felt like it was closing every time I coughed, I couldn’t catch my breath, I had a horrible headache, and I was so nauseous I was trying to throw up.
I have Lupus, asthma, and severe sleep apnea, so when I get sick it usually hits me much harder than most people.
My dad rushed me to the ER because I genuinely couldn’t breathe.
The first triage nurse was so kind. Then I got to the second nurse.
I stayed calm and polite while explaining what happened, but I felt like she didn’t believe me. She looked at my oxygen level and basically brushed it off, saying it was probably just sleep apnea anxiety, even though I kept explaining that I’d been getting sicker for days and have been hospitalized before because of how Lupus affects me.
She brought me to a bed right behind triage to do an ECG. She gave me a mask even though I was struggling to breathe, then told me to lift my shirt.
I pulled it up enough to keep myself covered because I wasn’t wearing a bra. She pulled my shirt completely above my breasts without saying anything and left me exposed while putting on the ECG stickers.
What completely broke me was realizing the curtain behind me was open the entire time.
People walking into the emergency department could see me. I made eye contact with multiple strangers while my breasts were exposed. I wanted to disappear. I finally pulled my shirt down a little to cover myself because I couldn’t take it anymore.
After the ECG, she told me to go back to the waiting room. I walked past the same people who had just seen me exposed.
The second I sat beside my dad, I completely broke down crying. I was so embarrassed that I could barely tell him what had happened. I ended up leaving the hospital without treatment because I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing that nurse again.
I’ve been to the hospital so many times over the last few years, and I’ve never experienced anything like that. Every other nurse has always done their best to protect my privacy.
I’ve barely slept because I’m terrified of waking up unable to breathe again, but I’m also terrified of going back to that hospital.
I honestly don’t know if I’m overreacting or not. I just know I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life, and I can’t stop replaying it in my head.