The thing about ita's case that is so awful is that there is a cocktail of drugs that help. But the damn ER won't give it to her - at least not without trying a bunch of stuff that does not work first.
I wonder if we could do a Buffista campaign for ita. Not a pressure campaign but an educational one. Put togther a packet with the peer reviewed article, and copies of appropriate parts of her medical record: The migraine doctor's prescription, the records of her other visits to ER where they tried other stuff and ultimately had to escalated to the cocktail. And some articles on cases like itas where people who need pain control are denied or delayed by hospital policy. Send a copy to every doctor who works for the ER who can veto treatment for ita, and send copies to key administrators as well. See if we can educate this one ER to the point where they will give her the right treatment when she comes in. Don't know how ita feels about this... The impulse to interfere comes from love, but I hope it does not feel like something else on the receiving end.