I unwillingly set the alarm at the dentist
And everything did go well
Panic at the Medical Center
For the dentist, I went to a private Medical Center that has the support of the government, that day I needed a check-up and after the medical technician took my panoramic x-ray, I asked the second technician for my companion, everything was ordinary at the moment, right?
The first technician asked me if everything was OK, I looked them dead in the eye and said — I´m gonna faint — that is the last thing I remember and then I regained consciousness in a white room with medical supplies and two nurses and a doctor.
I panic, I´m autistic and not very good with new surroundings, especially if, from my point of view, I appeared out of nowhere there. One of the nurses tells me that I´m in the Medical Center, that I went to the dentist, and that in fact, I fainted, I recognized her from when I went from time to time to take my blood samples for multiple doctors that see me for my chronic illnesses that make me disabled.
I calm down, and after my vital signs regularize I leave.
What I take from this event
I activated the alarm in a place that I never thought had an emergency protocol, now that I think about it it sounds logical, but I was naive since in general, the medical experiences for this autistic and disabled person are usually very negative (you can see one of my experiences here).
Everything went well as you can read above, but I want to highlight some relevant things from my point of view:
- The medical staff that helped me had everything in control, they kept my things, especially my crutches, which I was weirdly worried about (probably because I tend to dream that I lost them all the time).
- The nurse told me everything she would do before doing it, something essential for me, since I don’t respond well if someone or something touches me out of the blue, also I need to know the procedures. I think in this case helped that the nurse knew me beforehand, and also is likely that my companion told them.
- It was a minor event since I faint often due to a lack of blood oxygen pumping to my brain or from becoming organically destabilized for other reasons. So I wasn’t worried that I had something bad (unless I hit my head while fainting, but that didn’t happen), but I still asked myself if they were prepared for something serious, I would like to think they were since is the law, but you never know.
In my case, I think this event is an example of how inclusion was considered in the procedure. Since it could be a really bad experience for me if it weren’t and is not the norm in a medical emergency for a lot of the autistic and/or disabled folks.
Do you have a story like mine that ended well when you think it could have ended badly? I would love to read it!
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