My mom helped me sign in at the registration desk.
(At that point, I don't even think I knew when my birthday was!)
Now sporting a hospital bracelet,
I took my seat back in the waiting room.

There was this poor older gentleman sitting a couple of chairs down from me.
My heart went out to him.
He needed to go to the bathroom (urinate) soo bad, but for some reason his body wasn't allowing it.
I've never experienced this, but from watching him I know it's extermly painful.
Crying silently he sat beside his little wife...
All he wanted was some relief.

This poor man had been reduced to begging nurses for help.
But, the busy hospital had more 'critical' patients that would be going in before him.
He knew it, and I knew it... because that's the way hospitals are run (rightly so).
And it was sad to watch him suffering.

Eventually a nurse came out to take me into an examining room.
As I walked past the old man... I seriously contemplated asking the nurse if he could take my spot and get treated (bladder drained) right away.
(heck, my accident was on Saturday... it was Tuesday now... so waiting another couple of hours didn't seem like a big deal)
My selfishness was stronger than my empathy though...
because desperate for my own pain relief,
I walked past him and followed the nurse through the double doors.