What if the Boston bomber was your pt

[imintrouble]

I'm just sitting here listening to the coverage of the terrorist attack.

The suspect is in the hospital, injured, and obviously being cared for by nurses. What if that nurse was me?

Related Article: Life after the Boston Marathon Bombing - Nurses Coping with the Trauma

[skylark, BSN, RN]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago when working in London.

Two guys came in, (early 20s, middle eastern, etc), with severe burns to their forearms. said they did it cooking fries, but it was clear they were chemical burns and not entirely thermal.

My boss was very suspicious and sent police to the house to check it out.

Sure enough there was a half-assembled and half-burnt out bomb on the kitchen table.

They were planning to blow up a flight to the US the next morning.

I was scheduled to fly back to the US the next morning, so it would have been my flight, if the bomb had not gone wrong when being assembled.

I have to say that I just felt numb. part of me wanted to hate them for trying to end my life, and part of me wanted to be a decent Christian and forgive them.

But in the end, I felt nothing. Nothing at all. I guess its some sort of coping mechanism?

There are lots of failed bomb plots in London, but this was probably the nearest I will ever get to meeting terrorists face to face.

I cared for them as for anyone else, but was somehow detached at the same time, if that makes sense.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Speaking as a Bostonian and as someone who was standing in the exact intersection of the second bomb (the one this kid is said to have placed) twenty minutes before it exploded, I would have a very hard time caring for him. Martin Richard's (the child who died) mother was at Beth Israel earlier in the week with a traumatic brain injury. She may very well have been on the same floor that this person is on now. Certainly many of his victims were or possibly still are- it is the only Trauma ICU there.

As far as refusing the assignment- I do not work at Beth Israel and have not been there since the days of clinical but I'd bet this is a tricky situation because the Boston Marathon IS Boston. I seriously doubt that there is a single nurse working on that floor who does not have some connections to people who were there. This city is not that big. Beth Israel cared for dozens of people hurt in the attacks this week... these nurses saw young adults whose lives will never, ever be the same because of this man and now they have to provide the same level of care to him.

Just today, I realized after seeing a familiar face on the morning news that- by association- I know the person whose boat the kid was hiding in and the Huffington Post had a picture of him in a high school wrestling match with someone from my high school. I am quite certain that there are at max two-three degrees of separation between me and the girl from Medford who died. What would keep me going if I was charged with caring for him would be the need for answers. The older brother is already dead and as of right now, there are no other suspects. This kid is the ONLY person who we know has the information we so desperately want. I'd want to get him well enough so he could be released to the general Boston prison population. (This won't happen because he is in federal custody.)

To the person who asked if they missed anything and how we know he is more than just a suspect- you missed A LOT. They killed an MIT campus police officer on Thursday night, car jacked someone driving a Mercedes and bragged about being the bombers, led police on a chase into the suburb of Watertown, threw bombs at them, engaged them in a shooting match which killed the older brother and caused the entire city of Boston and its immediate suburbs to be on lockdown for the entire day yesterday. Prior to the FBI naming him as a suspect, they had much more than just a picture of him with a backpack. They had video footage of him leaving the backpack at the sight of the second bomb and then fleeing the scene the minute the first bomb exploded- since he knew the second one would be going off in a matter of seconds.

Someone I went to college with works on the floor where he is right now and my thoughts are with those nurses. I am glad it's not me.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Speaking as a Bostonian and as someone who was standing in the exact intersection of the second bomb (the one this kid is said to have placed) twenty minutes before it exploded, I would have a very hard time caring for him. Martin Richard's (the child who died) mother was at Beth Israel earlier in the week with a traumatic brain injury. She may very well have been on the same floor that this person is on now. Certainly many of his victims were or possibly still are- it is the only Trauma ICU there.

As far as refusing the assignment- I do not work at Beth Israel and have not been there since the days of clinical but I'd bet this is a tricky situation because the Boston Marathon IS Boston. I seriously doubt that there is a single nurse working on that floor who does not have some connections to people who were there. This city is not that big. Beth Israel cared for dozens of people hurt in the attacks this week... these nurses saw young adults whose lives will never, ever be the same because of this man and now they have to provide the same level of care to him.

Just today, I realized after seeing a familiar face on the morning news that- by association- I know the person whose boat the kid was hiding in and the Huffington Post had a picture of him in a high school wrestling match with someone from my high school. I am quite certain that there are at max two-three degrees of separation between me and the girl from Medford who died. What would keep me going if I was charged with caring for him would be the need for answers. The older brother is already dead and as of right now, there are no other suspects. This kid is the ONLY person who we know has the information we so desperately want. I'd want to get him well enough so he could be released to the general Boston prison population. (This won't happen because he is in federal custody.)

To the person who asked if they missed anything and how we know he is more than just a suspect- you missed A LOT. They killed an MIT campus police officer on Thursday night, car jacked someone driving a Mercedes and bragged about being the bombers, led police on a chase into the suburb of Watertown, threw bombs at them, engaged them in a shooting match which killed the older brother and caused the entire city of Boston and its immediate suburbs to be on lockdown for the entire day yesterday. Prior to the FBI naming him as a suspect, they had much more than just a picture of him with a backpack. They had video footage of him leaving the backpack at the sight of the second bomb and then fleeing the scene the minute the first bomb exploded- since he knew the second one would be going off in a matter of seconds.

Someone I went to college with works on the floor where he is right now and my thoughts are with those nurses. I am glad it's not me.

Thank you for your unique perspective!

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

I came across similar situations as a LPN in a county jail. Some of those inmates were rapists, murderers, etc.

I imagine they way I looked at it is similar to how a defense lawyer looks at defending such clients. You still have to perform your job and be impartial about it. I guess that's where being a licensed professional comes in. The system falls apart if we refuse to treat pts based on who they are. There's no room to compromise on that even a little.

Obviously, any sort of personal connection to the pt and/or his victims would put a whole other complexion on the matter.

[Biffbradford]

If I was given a VIP patient like that, a VIP of WORLD WIDE importance, I would give him/her the best damn care I could because there are a lot of powerful people looking to get their hands on him ASAP and he better be in good condition when they do. He would have the cleanest, smartest looking wound dressings, the counter would look like an O.R. with everything perfectly in it's place, my charting would be impeccable, and if I had to get him off the bedpan, he'd get the best ass wiping of his life! The air in the room would smell like it just had a springtime rain shower in a field of tulips!

'Cause if he doesn't do well, you can bet your bottom that YOUR name is on a lot of lists who have taken care of him, and you don't want that!

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

Here's my perspective as things sit right now... as a Paramedic and nursing student. Had that "kid" been my patient when he was recovered from the boat, if I were to allow my personal feelings to rule what I do, I'd have been sorely tempted to give that kid a HUGE air embolism after starting an IV or two on him. However, I'm first and foremost, a professional at what I do, whether it be Paramedic or work with patients as a student nurse. There's absolutely NO WAY that I would allow myself to provide anything less than the best I can do. I've had to care for murderers, rapists, etc as part of one job I did. Those people were already convicted and serving long sentences. Why would I provide good care for them? Simple. They need to complete their punishment. It's not for me to decide when that punishment should end for that would mean that I unilaterally decided to shorten their sentence. The same applies to those awaiting trial. I'm not the judge/jury/executioner. Not my job. My job would certainly be to do my best to see that the accused makes it to trial to be found guilty or not guilty.

We're not allowed to care for prisoners while in school because we haven't gone through the training, however that doesn't mean that I personally wouldn't be safe caring for prisoners.

[BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN]

I have taken care of worse. I treated them like everybody else. When they are my patient, I identify them as their diagnosis and disassociate myself from their person-hood. I would do this if they were the Boston bomber, the Boston strangler or a Nobel Peace Prize winner. And yes, I recall that we are taught not to ID people as their diagnosis, but I always have and likely always will. It is easier for me not to get personally involved with them/their circumstances, no matter who they are.

Obviously, no one with a personal connection ought to be in a such a position.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I am so glad you posed this question. I have been asking myself the same question since the kid was apprehended.

Here's my take:

He's a CHILD. Maybe he was brainwashed by his older brother, maybe he was influenced by a culture that we don't even know about. Maybe he is just a lost kid just trying to seek the approval of his older brother...who knows what the real story is. We can make up things from here to next Thursday to try to understand what this kid did.

Back to the question: what would I do if he were my pt?

If he came into my OR, I would comfort him, I would hold his hand while he was induced, and I would make certain that he was warm and as comfortable as possible when he emerged from anesthesia.

That's my role. That's what I expect of myself as a professional.

In the back of my mind, I would know that this would likely be the last kindness that this kid would receive. I hate to sound Polly Anna, but if he took only one moment in time to really feel what it's like to be cared for, perhaps it might change his viewpoint. Maybe he will pay forward the kindness that he received from his health care workers.

It takes one person to dramatically change the lives of thousands of people. We all witnessed how two people changed the lives of an entire nation. Wouldn't it be great if one nurse, one doctor, one health care worker helped this 19 year old to understand what caring actually means?

A nineteen year old isn't a "child" but a legal adult. He made a decision to do something that resulted in the death of innocent people, including a REAL child (an EIGHT YEAR OLD).

It is time that we stopped treated this young adults as if they are children and started expecting them to behave like they have some sense. People wondering why childhood has been extended...it is THAT mentality "oh they are just kids." Right....

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

All we know is what we've heard and seen in the media. I'd probably have some discomfort, but would want to make sure he survived so the investigation could be completed, and he has his day in court.

If/when found quilty I'd then expect him to receive the full penalty of the law, and justice would be served

[kalevra, BSN, RN]

If hes a full code, life is not gonna be good. Chest compressions are going to be painful.

[Julius Seizure]

My nurse friend and I were just talking about this. Se said that she would take decent care of him, but wouldn't exactly be running to get him his pain meds as fast as possible. I couldn't agree with her....he may be the 'Boston Bomber', but while he is under my care, to me he is simply a human who needs my help. I am a nurse, not a judge or executioner. I would care for him with respect, compassion, and kindness, as I would for anyone. Period.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Guy hasn't been convicted yet. However likely it is that he is guilty, there's a large group here that I hope never get someone like you taking caring of you if you're falsely accused of something. Would suck to be falsely accused AND given an air embolus...