I responded to a code green at my hospital. Code Green means mass casualty and I thought it was going to be nothing. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Second patient in was a trauma code. I watched as a young teenager was put in a cadaver bag and rolled up to the morgue. I felt helpless. I became a nurse to help people, but some of our patients lost their lives that day. I held back tears and went back to assessing and transferring patients. Police officers were a constant presence in the ER. Then the parents came in. The look of terror in the unknown. It took another 24 hours before they found out whether their child was alive or dead . This is wrong. People are talking about guns, mental health, mistakes by governing agencies. People NEED to be focused on the 17 people who lost their lives that day. Everyone who was downstairs when ambulances started bringing in patients are still in shock. I'm not an ER nurse, but I wanted to help, needed to help in anyway I could. I hope this never happens again. I hope that another parent, friend, father, brother, etc does not have to mourn the lost life of their loved one. The one thing that I am proud of the nurses, doctors, radiology techs, etc in my hospital for responding in a cohesive way. I just pray that we find a way to keep our kids, teachers and anyone who enters a school campus safe.
