One from the BF...

[Antisocial_Worker]

Patient C ... oh the poor man. Is there any sign that he's conscious in there? Can he manage 'blink once for yes, twice for no' conversations?

Unfortunately, there seems to be someone home in there. I can't think of any worse a fate.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Neither can I. I feel horrible for all those patients. A got him/herself into it, unfortunately, and no one wants to be in A's position, least of all A. B... poor bastard. If he survives, I hope he realizes that this is not the way to deal with anything...
And C? This is the type of stuff that makes me question that there's a/the idea of a merciful and beneficent God.

[Seshat]

Especially if he's in pain, as well as totally paralysed. The poor, poor man.

At least he has someone like your Rasta Nurse in his life.


As for A and B: my wife (who has psychiatric problems) would say they're self-medicating (badly) against something either neurological or circumstantial. Trying to numb the pain with opiates/alcohol.
She believes that such people need intervention of a medical and/or social work sort: finding out if they need treatment with proper dosages of the correct psychoactive drug; or if they need treatment for a history of abuse, or of impossible circumstances, or ... whatever.

But discussion of that really belongs in Fratching. Regardless of Rasta Nurse' beliefs regarding whether A & B did it to themselves, needed intervention, or a bit of both - neither patient can be emotionally easy to cope with. Or physically, for that matter!

[Sapphire Silk]

Unfortunately, there seems to be someone home in there. I can't think of any worse a fate.

Sounds like locked in syndrome. Ack. I agree . . . I can't think of anything worse, either.

Hope Rasta Nurse realizes he won't be getting away from the drunks or druggies in the ER. . . .

[Mikkel]

Sounds like locked in syndrome. Ack. I agree . . . I can't think of anything worse, either.

It scares me too, though I found this thread, where a locked in man answers questions about his life, fascinating. I hope that poor guy can get the same quality of life.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Hope Rasta Nurse realizes he won't be getting away from the drunks or druggies in the ER. . . .

Oh, he's well aware of that... It's just that this one was with him for a full 12 hours, and did not sleep a minute of it. She was awake and screaming for pain meds the entire 12 hours.

Meanwhile, I've been thinking about Patient C. Young-ish black man hit by a car and left where he landed for 8 hours in the middle of January. This in a city that has the climate of a freezer from December to March. And I neglected to mention that this happened in the middle of downtown.

A few months back I posted one of my photography threads about a visit I and my boyfriend made to Atlanta. I saw all the homeless in downtown Atlanta and was moved to tears... and then I remembered all the homeless here at home (500-1000 on any given day depending on the season) in a city of only some 85,000 people. It made me think of how having such a huge homeless problem in such a small city has hardened our hearts to them. It made me remember stepping over a toddler lying facedown on the sidewalk near her father who was playing a guitar for spare change. I wasn't alone. I was part of a large crowd, in fact. Likewise, I watched a large crowd react to a ragged man beating his head against the sidewalk at a downtown intersection. The locals stepped away and continued their cell phone conversations or kept looking elsewhere. The tourists got out their cameras and took his picture.

Patient C was left where he landed because the passersby thought he was a drunk. 8 hours on a frozen sidewalk until someone thought something might be amiss and called for help. Something has broken in our hearts here in my city. The proof is there in that little child, in that screaming man, and in Patient C. I wish I knew how to fix it.

[Sapphire Silk]

Unfortunately, I can't answer that here without getting into Fratching territory

[Antisocial_Worker]

A happy update...

Rasta Nurse has been going through orientation at both hospitals for the past two weeks and reports smooth sailing thus far. He made a very good impression on the ER people at Large Memorial Hospital, in fact.

Meanwhile, there haven't been many interesting patients -- at least none that I can talk about -- except for one. On his first day in the ER at Large Memorial, there was one patient who would shriek and run from the waiting room every time her name was called. Between five and ten minutes later she would come back in, re-register at the check-in desk, and sit back down. After she'd fled like a startled deer four times upon hearing her name, they told her that if she did it again, she wouldn't be seen at all. That fifth time, she calmly allowed herself to be seen.

[tollbaby]

Happened to my aunt once. She calmly said that since they had brought up the thread of legal action, she was unable to do anything to treat the patient until the hospital's legal department had cleared her to do so. Charge nurse backed her up, as did the doctors. She called the legal department, they were closed for the night. Making threats before you even have any kind of cause to do so is just stupid.

[Antisocial_Worker]

I'm was going to post about the weirdness my boyfriend witnessed on his second day in the ER but on reflection, it's a bit too specific to be talking about. Sorry about that.

[Sapphire Silk]

Happened to my aunt once. She calmly said that since they had brought up the thread of legal action, she was unable to do anything to treat the patient until the hospital's legal department had cleared her to do so. Charge nurse backed her up, as did the doctors. She called the legal department, they were closed for the night. Making threats before you even have any kind of cause to do so is just stupid.

Hmm. I'm not sure that would pass EMTALA muster in the ER. EMTALA requires a medical screening exam and stabalization. It's a $50,000 fine if you don't . . . as a hospital I recently sought care at is in the process of learning the hard way (I hope, investigation is still going on), as I relate in my discussion You Will Comply.

My answer to threats of lawsuits has always been, "Good luck with that," or "Give it your best shot."

I find indifference is a wonderful way of deflating the pompous.