Code Blue

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Specializes in Post Surgical.

What code have you run that stands out in your mind the most?

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#1 The patient that died after a full ACLS round .. that was wrapped in his body bag.. and started to breathe again.. while I was cleaning the scene.

#2 The code where the intern was NOT clear and zapped herself.

#3 The time there were 2 codes going on at once and I was running between the two. ( Midnight shift ya know).

Could not just pick one.

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Too recent and too unique to comment on. I'm sure myself and co-workers will never forget it.

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We had CNA's helping in ICU. A patient coded. A resident who was vertically challenged asked the CNA to get him a stool, (to stand on, he was all excited to start compressions). The patient had very recently pooped. You guessed it, the CNA got the dirty diaper out of the trash and brought it to the intern. He was the kindest, funniest intern, he thought it was funny and laughed with her, not at her.

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Oh, one time a coworker stuck the cap end of an atropine syringe in her mouth intending to pull it off the syringe and popped the cap of her front tooth off instead!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Coding my professor. She was an amazing woman. Didn't make it, but we got her alive long enough to where she could donate her organs. Ultimately saved a lot of lives that day at the expense of one.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

My most unforgettable code was a young father of two who had inherited a deadly heart condition that had killed his father and brother at young ages. I was admitting him and he looked great, just a little nervous because he'd had palpitations at work and figured he'd better get himself checked out. I left the room for just a couple of minutes to give report to his primary nurse. When we came back, he had gone from pink and cheerful to purplish and unresponsive. His poor wife and little children were out in the waiting room while we worked on him for what *seemed* like an eternity. Unfortunately, this was a battle that was over before it began, and we were unable to resuscitate him.

I can still hear his wife's screams when the doctor told her he didn't make it. This was one that required a debriefing session for those of us who had been involved as we were somewhat traumatized. It's tough losing any patient, but when the victim is a thirty-eight-year-old man with a young family, it's even harder.

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

The teenage known diabetic who was found down at school for an undetermined length of time. She completely crashed despite treatment for DKA. Later we found the tampon in her. Suspected toxic shock syndrome. We did CPR for almost an hour. Her parents didn't make it to the hospital before we had to stop. Bed 13 on Friday the 13th.

The school-aged child who was on their Make-a-Wish trip and went into septic shock a day after flying with parents to their vacation location.

The toddler who started having bright red blood out of her NG sump around 4am. It was reported to the attending and he said "just pull it back a cm or two". That didn't stop it. By shift change she was hemorrhaging from his mouth. That code was a short one.

The teenager whose ventilator kept alarming high pressure, but the new grad nurse didn't have alarm bells go off in her head when the usual measures (suctioning, etc.) didn't fix it. The patient was going into pulmonary edema and it wasn't caught until it was almost too late.

#3 The time there were 2 codes going on at once and I was running between the two. ( Midnight shift ya know).

That one too.

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Specializes in Hospice.

The old man who coded in the bathroom and we were all skating around in bloody poop.

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Yes, lots of codes on the toilet.

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Yes, lots of codes on the toilet.

Years ago doing my pre-requisites I was talking to an EMT who said they always hated it when the family member answered the door and when asked, "where's the patient" they reply, "Oh, he just went to the bathroom". Instant horror and "No, it (the bathroom need) can wait! Let's go!". They most likely had to try to resuscitate many of these calls.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
Yes, lots of codes on the toilet.

Or already on the floor of the teeny tiny bathroom and the pt was rather overweight.

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