Diagnoses you never thought you'd see?

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What's the most unusual patient you've ever had? I've had a couple--one was a woman whose admit orders included that she was NOT to have any food from home. They suspected that her husband was POISONING her.

The other was a woman who was a former LPN with a textbook case of Munchausen's syndrome. There was really nothing wrong with her but she kept insisting (moaning, actually) that she was SO sick. Very weird.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

During my pedi rotation, one of my patients had Trisomy 13. He was in his 20s; the longest reported lifespan is 35.

Some of my classmates cared for an infant that was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries.

The other thing I've witnessed was breast CA, that had grown so large it broke through the skin, it was really awful, but the dear old lady did not seem to be in any discomfort, strange, huh?

I've seen this, too. The woman said her cancer bled now and then, but it never hurt.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

Botulism! I used to work in a tertiary pediatric center so I've seen almost everything that has been listed here and more but I never expected botulism! We had an old-timey pediatrician who thought Karo syrup was an excellent laxative for infants. Um...not so much.

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anencephaly, beautiful baby boy born with half his skull/scalp missing...for some reason the OSH decided he should be transported to us (large pediatric hospital) but I think it just gave the family a false hope, not much you can do when born with half your brain exposed, he died a few days later.

Baby boy born with his intestines and part of his stomach in his scrotum! An inguinal hernia that must have occurred very early on in pregnancy, his scrotum went almost to his ankles!

Prune belly syndrome.

Conjoined twins

And I've only been a nurse for less than a year!

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Botulism! I used to work in a tertiary pediatric center so I've seen almost everything that has been listed here and more but I never expected botulism! We had an old-timey pediatrician who thought Karo syrup was an excellent laxative for infants. Um...not so much.

How did the baby get botulism from Karo syrup? It's honey that people need to be concerned with, IIRC.

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During my pedi rotation, one of my patients had Trisomy 13. He was in his 20s; the longest reported lifespan is 35.

Thats out dated information.. There is a 51 year old Partial Trisomy 13.

Featured Albums

Oldest Surviving Trisomy Variation Stories on this Website

Tenecia Hargrave is the Oldest Living Full Trisomy 13 born in 1982

Lynne King is the Oldest Living Partial Trisomy 13 born in 1959

Becca Trewin is the Oldest Living Trisomy 13 Mosaic born in 1975

List of Albums - Photos of Over 90 Children & Adults Living with Trisomy 13

And a full trisomy 13 off this facebook page

He's 33 yrs.

Incompatible Browser | Facebook

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Specializes in LDRP.

saw a pregnant woman with diabetes insipidus---put out 8 liters in 12 hours. didnt know she had it right away, i just knew that i was dumping her FOley bag over and over and over again

holprosencephaly in a baby (not a live baby-induced at 21 weeks)

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Specializes in LDRP.

pregnant woman with a history of hansen's (leprosy). not active, hadn't had it for a long time. they weren't sure what to do with her. airborne precautions, standard precautions, etc.

active TB in a pregnant woman (not in labor)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Also saw an Australian Aboriginal lady come in with late stage gonorrhoea. She was not for treatment, only palliative care. I as a young nursing aide I said: 'There must be SOMETHING we can do for her!' I didn't understand then that the Drs just couldn't give her a shot of antibiotics and she would get better. I have never seen such a God-awful gooey, foul smelling, putrid green fluid oozing from this woman, before in my life. She had the onset of dementia, and other neurological symptoms.

I only hope now she died in peace.

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Specializes in Hospice.

Calciphylaxis in a patient without renal failure.

Supposed Creutzfeld-Jakob (today in fact!) without the dementia-first sx started 1 month ago

Trisomy 13, 18, and a family with 2 children with a degenerative brain disease where the kids develop normally to about 6 months or a year and by 4 or 5 years die. They have had dna and tissue samples sent throughout the world without any diagnosis. The really crazy thing is I took care of a boy from a separate family in a different part of the county with almost the identical thing and no official diagnosis.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.
How did the baby get botulism from Karo syrup? It's honey that people need to be concerned with, IIRC.

No not just honey but also Karo syrup as well. Neither of these should be given to infants under one year of age. The Karo syrup given to this child was tested and popped positive for the toxin.

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

in school, one of my friends cared for a patient with worms infesting her brain d/t bad pork (ended up dying), and another who won/lost (Im not sure?) at russian roulette

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

We've had a few babies born - always to migrant farmworkers - with no eyes.

:(

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