A night in the emergency department

On Sunday evening we were entertaining at home when suddenly a piece of chicken became lodged in my throat and wouldn't budge. I had experienced this condition before on a couple of occasions and usually a few sips of water will solve it. But after more than an hour I knew the situation was more serious.

We went to the Urgent Care Department at the nearby UBC hospital but they had no GI doctors on staff and recommended us to go to a 24-hour emergency care hospital if I felt things were not improving. By 10PM we were at St. Paul's Hospital downtown and I was quickly moved into observation care and x-rays. The doctors recommended I remain overnight until I could be seen by the GI specialists in the morning. For the overnight stay I was wheeled into the ER room at around 2AM. Very difficult to sleep with the constant activity and noise.

The pain was constant due to the inability to swallow my saliva and the stuck food object in my throat. No food or water of course. I waited until 11 AM and was then taken to the GI Department where, after another hour of waiting, I was sedated and my throat examined. I emerged from the hospital a couple of hours later, weak and exhausted but feeling much better.