01/08/2025
"She seems to be in the ER frequently for various reasons."
I recently found this statement while reading through my chart from my March hospital trip because a specialist asked me to email them some test results.
In reality, I'd only needed the ER three times in the year that was written. Two of those times were due to a sudden loss of feeling in my legs. The other was for chest pain.
Seeing "frequently" used in a derogatory way erased all the careful planning, energy budgeting, and sheer willpower it takes to manage several serious medical conditions while only visiting the emergency room three times a year.
Living with several chronic illnesses means every ER trip is a crisis. I'm used to living with nausea, dizziness, unstable joints, and a general lack of energy. If I'm at the ER, it means I've exhausted every option for at-home care.
When chart notes reduce me to "frequent ER visits," it dismisses the complexity of my body. Stigmatizing medical language can cause a future delay in care for patients with invisible chronic illnesses.
I deserve empathy and accurate charting instead of shorthand, which implies the overuse of the ER.
