Breaking point

I am 4 days from flying to Texas for what will probably be my one and only vacation for the year! And lets not forget the most important reason - our hero comes home... soon. Everything is still on go, despite (in true Army fashion) some last minute changes of plans. It promises to be an emotional time for us both. The end of one journey and the beginning of another. And while I am beyond excited to see my soldier, I have to be completely honest and tell you guys why I'm REALLY looking forward to going back to the Lonestar state: I need a break!!!!!!!


I've known for months now that I am approaching "that" point - physically, mentally, emotionally. You know what I'm talking about, right? When you begin to lose sight of the "why" you are doing things. When you are in auto pilot and simply going through the motions. And this was further confirmed last night.


I work at our county's hospital (a level 1 Trauma center) in the ER. My job, while not physically demanding, requires me to think on my feet and "git r done" with very little to no resources. I also deal with ALL the calls that come into the ER - family, doctors, EMS, police, etc. I could post for days about the conversations I have had with family members... another time, I promise. Most times I am extremely courteous and try to be as compassionate as possible, as I know the frustration of the family members.


I am VERY limited, legally, as to what I can release over the phone. So this gets sticky sometimes when families demand to know more. Tonight, was no different. A lady called and asked if her daughter was a patient here. I looked in our system and politely told the lady no. End of conversation. Two minutes later, the same lady called back. Here was our conversation:


Me: Good evening. _______ ________ EC, this is Christan.


Her: Yes, I just spoke with you. You said my daughter wasn't there. I just spoke with her and she said she was. I want to know why you lied to me. Did you even look?


Me: Ma'am, I take great offense to being called a liar. Why would I lie to you about something that makes no difference to me?


Her: Well you said she wasn't there. She is there.


Me: Well you asked if she was a patient, she is NOT a patient. She may have been seen and discharged, but that's not what you asked. I don't know if she's out front, I'm not sitting out there. (I have to admit, I probably wasn't conveying the most "customer friendly" tone with that...)


Her: Well I'm coming up there and I'm gonna fix you.


Me: More capable people have tried to "fix" me, ma'am and have been unsuccessful. But you are more than welcomed to try.


Her: Well, you're just a b****. I'll be there in a minute and you'll be fixed.


Me: Be sure when you get here, you ask for Christan Trotter, T-R-O-T-T-E-R, there's four Kristen's here and I'd hate for there to be a mix up. I'll be more than happy to let you give it a shot.


Her: We'll see if you're talking all that s*** when I get there

Me: I'll be here waiting.

That was the end of the conversation. I called up to the front desk (my office is in the back, hehe) and told the security guy that if an irrate woman comes in and is asking for me, please call me. He chuckled and asked "Who have you pissed off now?" You see, this is not the first of such occurances. I told him the story and he laughed "That is classic you... I love it". She never showed... Darn it....
Now, I must say here that any of you who know me well know that I try not to have conflict but I do not back down from it either. Here lately, I've found myself instigating it. Needless to say, I need a break. And that is exactly what I will be taking starting Sunday!!!