Why the ER is scarier than the accident that landed you there.

I was one of those kids...I never got sick. Not ever. Think about Paula Dean and how she cooks. Now think of the opposite. That was my mother. The house of nuts and berries. Perfect example? I can honestly say that I never once had fried food growing up in my house in Tennessee and I don't think I ever even baked cookies with my mom. Not many can say that her childhood never held the memory of baking ooey-gooey cookies with her mother, eating the dough from the bowl and licking the spoon but that was me. Back to the point at hand, this virtual sans fat & sugar, uber vegetable-driven childhood-existence kept me very healthy. Thank you, mom. I forgive you for the no cookie memory. We did have neighbors.

I was never at the doctor and never at the hospital. My view of the ER was a bit skewed. The ER is where you went when you were in a car accident or you swallowed drain cleaner. But I found out this week, the ER is all about a game plan.

We were working in Dallas at a convention and my producer was running around getting all set up for our four days of non-stop work. She has a propensity to 'do it all' and she does it well (when she does not hurt herself). As she went to cut a piece of fabric, I watched her wince and grab quickly for her index finger. A millisecond of seeing the gash that was now spilling blood was enough for my gut voice to sound off...."Oh shit. That's bad. She needs stitches. She has to go to the emergency room....now".

Have you ever felt the shift? When the role you play and the role of a friend or family member plays switches, right then. Boom. It is almost like a betrayal. You know your role. You have defined and mastered it for years. It is comfortable. And then suddenly... click. Now you are no longer cared for and protected by this person but you are taking care of her. You are in charge. Reversal. I was not ready. I wanted to press pause. She always took care of me. But I saw that blood. I saw her face. It was like being promoted to a job I didn't want but knew deep down I was qualified for.

One of her best qualities is being stubborn as hell and for an hour she had the hotel staff shuttling in linen napkins to stop the bleeding. Then my click happened. "Nope. You are going", I said, "and I am going with you". "No way", she said, "We will be there till 3 in the morning. We have to work tonight and we have to start shooting at 6:30 tomorrow. I will be fine." Oh, how I love it when she uses the word "fine". Hilarious.

It was 6pm and off we went....on the cab ride to the ER I decided to concoct a game plan. We had to have a story. I devised the following: To tell everyone there that she was a National Award Winner and was being honored at 8:30pm at the hotel and had to deliver a speech to a crowd of 600 people (including the family that had been flown in from all over the country that day). Nice.

Skipping over the amazingly great staff, almost pleasant experience, and watching her get six stitches, I can say that I had her back to the hotel in an hour and a half.

Role reversal official- not for good, but till next time.