still waiting during surgery

There were many, many families in the waiting room that day. There was a lot of conversation about cancer, surgery, and concerns about what would come after. Who would stay at the hospiltal, who was in charge of updating other family members and friends. Where the patient would go after being released from the hospital. Caring and sharing the responsibility of care giving. As the hours passed, the updates from the surgery would continue. Families would go into the private rooms, get the updates and return to their sitting areas. Generally they would come back encouraged as if things were going as planned.

The most distressing thing I witnessed was, when a person came to get one particular family. Instead of going to a private consultation room, they were told they needed to go with that person, to some other area of the hospital. I could see this wasn't a normal occurrence. It took a few minutes for the family to collect all there members. They were told to get all of their things that they brought with them. Not to leave anything in the waiting area. They seemed concerned and confused. They finally were led off, and they never returned. I only saw that one time. After that, each time someone came into the waiting area, I held my breath for a second.