You Wanna Go WHERE??

To this day I'm not quite sure why I was so hesitant to go to the hospital that night. L-rd knows I'd been there enough times before. Perhaps it was finally dawning on me how very sick I was, and that this trip to the hospital might be a fateful one indeed. Bottom line is, I didn't call Hatzolah (volunteer ambulance service) till much later. About 5 or 6 guys answered the call. They took my "sats" with a pulse oximeter. "Sats" is medical jargon for the oxygen saturation in one's bloodstream. A healthy person's sats are usually around 96% or above. Anything above 90% is considered acceptable. That night mine were in the low to mid 80's. Not good at all. The Hatzolah guys strongly suggested that the only course of action was going to the hospital. Insisted, really. After offering only some perfunctory resisitance, I agreed.
It wasn't until we were in the ambulance that they asked me which hospital I preferred. They suggested Maimonides or Methodist. If you've ever been in the Maimonides emergency room, especially on a Saturday night, you'll know why I nixed that idea. Methodist has a fairly good reputation, but I figured since I had just recently been in Beth Israel they'd already be somewhat familiar with my case. Also, my alleged pulmonologist was there. When I told the EMTs where I wanted them to take me, they exchanged glances. There may even have been a grimace or two. I finally asked why they didn't appear to be too keen on my choice of hospital. Their reply: "we just want to get you the best possible care". So of course I opted for Beth Israel. I'm very bright that way.