The Day I Needed Neighbors

Thankfully it’s not often that I find myself or my family in an emergency situation, but the day that my mother called me from her work letting me know she had just passed out while teaching her high school students, that all changed. 

My mom is healthy as a horse so it was incredibly alarming that my mom not only passed out, but was out long enough for students to grab the school nurse, a wheelchair, and another teacher who were all at her side before she came to. She didn’t know if she had hit her head, although there was no blood. One thing was certain, she couldn’t continue to teach that day and the school wouldn’t let her drive. Fortunately I wasn’t too far from the school so I headed up there to pick her up and help determine what was going on. 

She fumbled around for everything when she got in my car and it was clear to me that she was still super spacey. I told her she had a few options — I could take her to the doctor, the hospital, or the Neighbors Emergency Center just around the corner. I decided she had no options and I took her to Neighbors. I knew that if we went to the hospital we would likely be waiting for hours and I had my then 5 month old with me. I knew if we went to the doctor, they would send her elsewhere for scans and tests since she had possibly hit her head during the fall. 

Neighbors Emergency Center it was!
Here are the 5 Things We Loved About Our Neighbors Experience. 

1. Fast — My mom and I showed up around 10:30 am and they were able to run all of their tests, push fluid into her body, do all of the scans on her head and abdomen {where she was experiencing super slight pain} and still get us out the door by 2 pm. 
2. Clean — Guys, the place was immaculate! Given that I had my infant with me, this was a huge plus for me. I don’t know if my mom noticed, who is technically more important than me since she was the patient; however, from a patient’s daughter’s experience, the place was super clean! It felt like we were the first set of people to ever step foot in the facility… and I know that isn’t the case.  
3. Friendly — The entire staff from the moment we arrived to the moment we left was so patient and friendly. They explained every detail to us, continued to keep us in the loop on timing, and even helped me make a bottle or 2 in their lounge area. They even offered me drinks and snacks… now that’s a service level you will most likely not receive at a hospital ER. 
4. Convenient — I know there isn’t a Neighbors Emergency Center on every street corner, but there are 2 convenient locations in Austin, one North near Lakeline and the other is South by Mueller. I think this was the best part… we literally drove 5 minutes and we were there! And I would drive even farther to see them should we find ourselves in another minor emergency situation. 
5. Knowledgable — The emergency doctor asked a handful of questions and while we were technically there for my mom potentially hitting her head and what we thought was dehydration, we determined that she needed a scan of her abdomen and it turned out she had a double kidney infection. The infection led to dehydration, but if he wouldn’t have asked some critical questions, we would have left thinking her noggin’ was fine and that she just needed to drink more fluids. 

All of this to say, I can’t recommend a better place when you find yourself in the case of an emergency.

The team at Neighbors Emergency Center cared for my mom when she needed it most and had us on our way in a matter of a few hours… granted she was filled with A LOT more liquid and several prescriptions, but we had complete peace of mind that we found the root of her fainting spell. Hopefully your family is never in a state of emergency, but if they are, now you know where to go!