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In agony from a kidney stone, Gerry Slote is comforted by his wife Linda at 4:00 am. lan Kirkby photo Two minutes later, a nurse walks out, calling for Edgar, walks into the next room, still calling, comes back, shrugs and walks into the office. wearing a large black coat wrapped tightly about her, the collars up. Her arms are folded and her eyes reflect pain. A man wearing a UW ‘84 leather jacket strokes her head, telling her, ‘"You‘ll be all right." She looks up at him and smiles. Her name is Jean and she‘s about to ‘"It‘s been just bang, bang, bang," she continues. ‘"There‘s been about five ambuâ€" lances so far." The receptionist looks tired, her eye lids drooping. "I‘ll be more energetic after I take a little breather," she laughs. 12:30 am: There‘s a lineâ€"up of three people waiting to be admitted. No one looks very sick. A nurse introduces herself. "It‘s been wild here tonight," she says. It‘s still very busy and it may be a while before the doctors can spare some time. The tour will have to wait. 12:35 am: A doctor in green hospital pants and shirt walks through the waitâ€" ing room, calling repeatedly for an Edgar. No answer. He continues walking into the next waiting area, and back, still calling. He shrugs. "Not here?", he asks of no one in particular. "Okay." He walks back through the doors, not to be seen for an 12:40 am: An attractive woman, about 30 or 35 sits at the admission counter, The receptionist began work at 7 pm, and will get off at 7 in the morning. Twelveâ€"hour shifts are the norm for all staff at Kâ€"W Hospital. A second receptionâ€" ist left an hour ago â€" she‘d worked from 7 to 11 pm. leave for California in three days to a job Friday Midnight: It is snowing lightly as Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Hospital comes into view on an almost deserted King Street. Two ambulances are parked in the emergency entranceway, both deserted, one with a back door open. Yet, there‘s no sign of commotion inside the emergency area. Saturday 12:15 am: The waiting room is half full. Somber faces everywhere, lots of fidgeting. The receptionist forces a smile. "It‘s a bad night here. We‘re all extremely exhausted â€" it‘s been busy." 2:25 am: A couple enter, the man guiding a woman in a track suit. She shuffles and more lumbers than walks. He plops her down on a chair. The receptionâ€" ist quickly comes around and guides her through the doors, holding her up. 3:30 am: The limping university stuâ€" dent is called in. Twenty minutes later he reappears, a smile on his face. His big toe The other two students finish their game of euchre as he watches, laughing. ‘"‘My mother is going to be mad. She‘ll 2:10 am: The guy with the cut over his nose is talking with a friend. He‘s back for the second time that day. His cut was stitched in the afternoon; now he feels dizzy and nauseous. limping. They are laughing and having fun. A pack of cards is pulled out for a euchre game. A lot of students are going through tonight. A drunk girl is helped in by a couple of equallyâ€"drunk friends. 2:05 am: Two blond girls, maybe as old as 20 appear with a tall, preppie boy. One girl wears a pink polo shirt, the other holds a wet towel to her right eye. She‘s close to crying. ‘"‘This is the worst weekend of my life," she tells her friend. People are being directed to the other waiting room where it‘s quieter. Nurses are now telling people there‘s going to be a wait. 1:20 am: A nurse appears, wheeling a chest Xâ€"ray machine through the emergency doors. A nurse appears and tells Jean, ‘"Someâ€" one will be with you in a few minutes." Jean looks doubtful. In fact, it will be 90 minutes before she‘s called. 2:00 am: A tall man, about 25 walks in with two friends. His right hand is wrapped in towels. A.doorman at a Kitchener bar, he was injured breaking up a fight. I didn‘t know doctors got sick. "I‘m afraid sometimes they do," she says, trying to smile. 1:10 am: A young guy with a cut across the bridge of his nose comes in, stands patiently in a corner. as a visiting professor of anaesthesiology. 2:15 am: Three UW students enter, one Emergency doctor Chris Page checks Xâ€"rays at 4:30 am. it was an unusually busy nl?ht at Kitchenerâ€" Waterioo Hospital, a night that required doctors to be brought in from St. Mary‘s Hospital . 3:55 am: A man, about 35 in a brown leather jacket enters, panting loudly. Everyone looks up. He sits down, quickly rings the bell for attention. ‘"Probably passing a kidney stone," he says in a loud voice. He stands up again, pacing with knees bent in obvious discomâ€" fort. He‘s quickly whisked off while his wife gives the receptionist his medical history. never believe it was an accident," he says. Evidence of a busy night is everywhere. Sheets lay in heaps at the foot of cots. Splattered blood is visible on floors. Supâ€" port staff are busy at work cleaning up. Patients had to wait for \:r to three hours earlier in the evening, said the nurse. 4:00 am: Doctor Chris Page asks me back into the staff lounge. It‘s been a busy night and he‘s sorry for the wait. He‘s gone again within seconds. A nurse :})pem to act as tour conductor. Evidence of a busy night is everywhere. Dr. Page reappears, smiling. No suit and [8\ \ night in Emenoeney While most of us sleep, steady stream of patients receive medical attention at overâ€"burdened wards WATERLOO CHARONICLE, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27, 1988 â€" lan Kirkby photo (8) Chronicle Staff lan Kirkby 5:00 am: There are two people in the waiting room. Qutside there is an inch of new snow on the ground. The city looks peaceful, but somewhere nearby someone is on the way to seek help from the Emergency department team at Kitchenâ€" erâ€"Waterloo Hospital. ‘‘There‘s some poor guy who‘s paid into OHIP all his life and never used the hospital, and I have to examine him in the corridor."" Page shakes his head. Page says many patients waiting in the operating room don‘t realize that "if someone is taken out of turn, it‘s for a "Our biggest single problem is there isn‘t enough beds in this department to take care of everyone. We use the corridor for examining people. ‘"‘There was a miscarriage, the usual fallâ€"down fractures and bar fights and cuts. There‘s the usual onslaught of heart failures, chest pains, a couple of anxiety attacks. There were migraine headaches, and a head injury from slipping on ice." Page is the only doctor left tonight. "The first guys to go are the ones that have to come back in the morning," he says. "My last guy left at 4:00, but I‘ve got backâ€"ups I can call in." It should be quiet for a couple of hours now. The next rush will be about 7:00 am. Tonight was particularly busy, says Page. ‘"There‘s maybe 10 Fridays a year like this." Most of the shift has been ‘"routine" he says, except for a little boy who had to be taken by helicopter to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. A man lies on a bed, writhing from the pain of a kidney stone. Page brings the patients‘ wife in to comfort him. He‘s on pain killers and receiving laughing gas. tie here â€" this guy is a study in controlled casualness dressed in hospital garb and with a smile and a nice word for everyone who passes. s â€" ‘"We had five guys here helping us out," says Page. "They left a skeleton staff at St. Mary‘s hospital." â€" o Page leads as he makes a round of the patients in the main resuscitation room. One woman has severe cramps, possibly appendicitis, and is later admitted to the hospital. Page works fullâ€"time in the Emergency department. "I like the medicine, treating sick people. I like the rapid pace and the constant change," he says. How about the adrenalin high? "Yes", he nods. He also likes the shift work: five shifts on, then four off. PAGE 5