A West Virginia woman has shared the shocking moment that she realized that she was all alone in an empty doctor’s office after the entire staff left for the day, forgetting her waiting in an exam room.
Sarah Elizabeth was waiting to see her endocrinologist in Huntington last week and was warned that the doctor was running late — and she should expect to wait awhile.
Ever the patient patient, Sarah was escorted to an exam room and waited without a peep for over two hours before she ventured out to see what was going on.
That’s when she discovered that the entire office had emptied out, with the doctor, nurses, and other staff going home for the night and leaving her there by herself.
Sarah Elizabeth was waiting to see her endocrinologist in Huntington last week and was warned that the doctor was running late — and she should expect to wait awhile
Ever the patient patient, Sarah was escorted to an exam room and waited without a peep for over two hours before she ventured out to see what was going on
Sarah shared video of the bizarre moment on TikTok, where it has racked up 5.9 million views.
‘Had a doctor’s appointment today,’ she began.
‘My appointment was at 3 and I was in a room by 3:15,’ she continued. ‘The office closes at 5.
‘At 5:30, I was still in my room. And still had not seen my doctor,’ she went on.
In the video, she films herself walking down empty hallways, peeking into rooms without a soul in sight.
‘Apparently they don’t check rooms before deciding to go home. Off to find a security guard I guess,’ she concluded.
In a follow-up video, Sarah explained why she didn’t go looking for anyone sooner when the hormone specialist took so long to check on her.
She discovered that the entire office had emptied out, with the doctor, nurses, and other staff going home for the night and leaving her there by herself
Until five, she still heard nurses in the hallway, so she assumed everything was still running late and waited
‘It wasn’t uncommon for me to have to wait a while to see her,’ she said.
‘These appointments are really hard to get. She schedules two to three months out and if you miss your appointment then it’s another two to three months before you can see her again, so I wasn’t about to leave and not see her,’ she continued.
‘I was told when I was brought back, “She’s running a little bit behind, it might be like 30 minutes before she can get in here.” Okay, fine, no problem.’
She passed the time talking on the phone with her sister-in-law.
‘So I waited about an hour, nothing. Waited another hour, and by this time it was five o’clock and it occurred to me that they closed at five o’clock.’
However, she still heard nurses in the hallway, so she assumed everything was still running late and waited.
‘I guess she was running really far behind, but people are still here,’ she said she thought to herself.
She said that her doctor ‘did make it right, she apologized, and she came back in and did my appointment’
But at 5:30, it got ‘really quiet’ — which is when she got ‘suspicious’ and ‘started walking around and trying to find anybody.’
‘There was nobody in the department whatsoever,’ she said. ‘This building is owned by the hospital that’s across the street and Marshall University.
‘I go out in the lobby, and there’s nobody out in the lobby. Go down the elevator and find a nurse for the neurology department and she was able to help me figure out what the hell was going on.’
The nurse managed to get a call in to Sarah’s doctor, who was still in the building — but had no idea she was there, because her staff had entered into the computer that Sarah was a no-show, despite putting her into an exam room.
‘She did make it right, she apologized, and she came back in and did my appointment,’ she said.
‘But at the end of the day, I was completely by myself in that department,’ she said.
TikTok commenters were surprised by her story, with some cracking jokes and others baffled that Sarah waited so long to ask about the delay
TikTok commenters were surprised by her story, with some cracking jokes and others baffled that Sarah waited so long to ask about the delay.
‘When you’re trying to be a good patient and not bother them and it backfires,’ wrote one.
‘I can’t believe you stayed there for two hours without sticking your head out! I’d have walked out after 30 mins to make sure they remembered me,’ wrote another.
‘Oh my!’ wrote one more. ‘Just make yourself feel at home and be the first patient in the morning.’
Others joked about all the medical supplies they would have stocked up on.