Be Careful Out There

Specialties Emergency

Published

We all Know what we are supposed to do, what is safe and what is right but sometimes those lines get blurred and we don't think before we act, especially if there is an infant involved.

The other day a woman WALKED into the waiting with a limp 6 week old infant in her arms. The first nurse to reach him observed the infant was not breathing, yelled for help and immediately started mouth to mouth.:o

Now if that had been an adult all of us would have screamed for help and opened the airway while waiting for an ambu bag to arrive. This however was a tinny tiny baby so the nurse started mouth to mouth and ran back to the code room.

I guess most of you can figure where I'm going with this. After we coded this infant for a very long time and were unsuccessful we called the code. Upon telling the "mother" (who was in the room the whole time but didn't seem the least bit concerned or upset) she informed us that she was only a foster mother and she had only received the baby yesterday but she hadn't expected him to die so quickly. That of course perked every one up because we had been yelling questions at her the whole time and had no idea the child was sick... The woman's response was "Oh, he wasn't sick but he had AIDS"

That was a wake up call none of us expected. As professionals we are all aware of the dangers around us but before this I never really associated those dangers with a 6 week old infant. Until this time it would have almost seem to be inhuman to pick that child up and run, not doing resus until you got that infant ambu bag (even though we were all taught differently at some point in time). Now we all know better. Most of us would have expected a caregiver to tell us immediately about the childs condition but apparently there are some who really don't think (or care) about others safety. The "mothers" behavior probably should have clue'd us in but nobody was really paying attention at that time. We saw all this in hindsight.

We have a good exposure plan at our hospital and the nurse was treated quickly and efficiently but there is still that little black cloud that has everyone thinking, whats happening to our world.

Sorry I got carried away but I wouldn't want any other medical professional to make the same mistake my co-worker made (and had it been me I also would have made). Just be careful out there, many dangers hide well.

My heart and respect goes out to that nurse.

I hope she will stay well.

Wow, I hope all goes well. Thank you for sharing you story, what an eye opener. Saying a prayer.

I don't think the foster mother did not tell for any other reason than panic and shock. She was responsible for this baby and although she knew that the child would die, she did not think it would be this soon. I think that I would have probably been just as shocky as she was, like disbelief.

This is my first reply to this site, but this was quite a story!! Can I just tell you that the foster mother must have been in shock. My mother is a foster mother and the child that came to stay the other day, named Ashton has a major medical problem that none of the social workers decided to tell my mom until she was at my moms house for three days. I can't imagine my mom not telling the nurse if she had to take her to the hospital, had she known! I hope everything is well with the nurse and you have opened my eyes!! Too bad for that baby!!

Specializes in pre hospital, ED, Cath Lab, Case Manager.

What a horrible thing for you and your department to go through. It's traumatic enough to deal with an infant code, but then the HIV exposure just adds to the mix. I would have done the same, I think most of us would. My boss gave us face shields that attach to our ID badges because of something similar that happened where he used to work. I don't know if I would have stopped to even use it. I hope that your co-worker is OK.

Specializes in LTC, Alzheimers, hospice.

Welcome Julz to the BB.

This is such a sad case the foster mom must have been in shock after all she only had the child in her care for one day & the death while expected eventually was unexpected. I'm upset your coworker may have been expose hope all turns out OK for the nurse. I would have done the same thing without thinking of AIDS or any other contagious disease.

Thats the state of the world we live in now.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you, your staff, and your coworker. This story (and I hope you don't mind if I use it) will help me in an upcoming inservice. We have numerous nurses that do not use PPE's very often - not even to start IV's. Hopefully your story will give them something to think about.

Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

Wow. Certainly something to think about. I'm sure I would have done the same.

Sorry about the babe. And wishing your coworker the best. Must be hard on her right now dealing with the loss and her new concerns... Hugs to her.

Thanx for sharing this.

Specializes in ER, Hospice, CCU, PCU.

Thanks for all your replays and thoughts. My co-worker appears to be doing fine.

For those of your who have asked to use this story, please do. My intention for sharing was as a learning experience so that others will stop and think twice about their own health before someone elses. Although this may sound selfish, the only way we as health professionals can continue to help others is by keeping ourselves healthy and safe.

:imbar ,I probably feel as most of the rest--an infant --who thinks first? In this day and age we should all be more careful, best of luck to all concerned.

debbyed:

Yikes! Terrifying story, for the nurse as well as for the foster kids that are being placed with dolts such as these! I guess the "system" is stressed to place these unfortunate infants, and these are the types of homes they are going into. Any good ER nurse would have done the same, instant response--however, we just have to hope for the best in these situations. May God protect us! Also, I hope it's true what a neonatologist told me once that these infants born to HIV/AIDS mothers have the mom's HIV positive status at birth, but many are not actually HIV positive, they seroconvert to negative within 18 months. This infant, however, had to be legitimately sick, either from the HIV or something the foster mom did/did not do to care for the infant.

My prayers and thoughts will be with the quick responder RN who truly exhibited the selfless behavior typical of many ER nurses.

Patty :zzzzz

Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

What a wake-up call, yes!

Reminds me of related scenario: While 6 mo pregnant and driving home from work at dusk, thru scary part of town, I watched a pickup truck at the side of the road, in the dirt, back into a building and the driver then collapse over the steering wheel. I didn't have a cell phone, didn't know the name of the street I was on. I drove to find the nearest phone, called 911, drove back to the scene, where paramedics had arrived and were resuscitating the driver. I pulled over and got out to speak with a policeman who was in attendance. I identified myself as the one who had made the call, said I was afraid to get out of the car and start CPR in my state and in that area. He looked at me and said, "Lady, if you were my wife I'd have told her to do exactly as you did."

As a nurse, I am still bothered by my decision not to start CPR. At the time it seemed the right thing to do: no one responded or came out of houses nearby when the truck hit the house with a bang (would I do CPR with NO backup coming??? For how long??). I feared for the safety of the child I carried (HIV, HepB, etc -- all the unknowns). I now have a cell phone, carry a barrier and try to make note of the name of the street I'm on, at all times. I checked at our hospital ER (the nearest one to the scene) the next day, for DOAs, and they said none came in. Maybe he resuscitated, maybe was taken to another hospital. Maybe he died.

Some lessons learned are harder than others. -- D

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