ER...Wait...What?!

8/16/18
Picked up a quick Lyft on my way home from coffee. A whole bunch of nerds meet for coffee every Thursday night, and have done so for years. Tonight was no different. On the way home, I quick flipped open the app and figured I would do a turn through downtown to see if I could catch a quick Lyft rider before I crawled into bed for the night. It was 11:30pm, and as I'm a Cinderella driver by choice on weeknights I had a good half hour to get a ride. It had been slow all week since Musik Fest ended, so it was a shot in the dark.
I was driving downtown for maybe a few blocks when the request came in. I was elated so I quick veered off and followed the navigation. She was only a few minutes way. I pulled up outside the address and as is my habit gave the rider a call. The street was dark, the neighborbood a bit sketchy so I wanted to get her in the car ASAP.
It was a middle aged woman who stepped out of the house. She was dressed like she was going to work or something. Didn't think too much of it. As she approached the car, I opened the window, verified her name, and unlocked the doors. She was on the phone when she got in the car. and I heard her say "I'm going to the ER."
My eyebrows flew up to the sky. Eyes widened. Checked the destination and sure enough yeah, headed to St. Luke's! I got a bit anxious, wondering if she was hurt, having a heart attack...are we having a baby?! I had to wait until she was off the phone. That was a very long two minutes.
"So, you're going to the ER. Are you okay? (Dumb question!) Can I make you more comfortable?" I asked tentatively.
Are you bleeding all over my back seat? I kept that thought to myself.
Nah. Turns out she cut her finger and it was swelling so she wanted to get it checked out. She had been using a knife to pry something and it had slipped. It had stopped bleeding, but it had begun to swell. She had asked her teenage daughter and some other family member to go with her, but they bailed. Crappy thing to do, honestly. She even questioned whether it was necessary herself, but I told her that if it's swelling now imagine what it will look like in a few hours. I asked her if she had cleaned the wound, and she said she had not done so right away. There might be something in the cut I told her so it is really best to get it checked out. Septicemia is nothing to be sneered at. A friend of mine had nearly died from it. She agreed it was a good precaution to get checked out.
Then I started to wonder if she had thought if her insurance was accepted at this particular hospital, and offered to drive her to another emergency room if this one did not. She thanked me and affirmed that this was her hospital, though they would probably charge her out the nose just to wash the cut. I dropped her at the ER door and wished her good luck.
A fellow driver shared with me later that it's cheaper to take a Lyft or Uber than to take an ambulance. Maybe I should start carrying a med kit. #uplyfted