family member misinformed of mothers death.

[necie79]

you know sometimes you don't know if you should laugh or cry. you know there are nights when you two patients that a so similiar its freaky. my co-worker had that night. one patient passed who was a DNR passed away suddenly and the other patients son called to check on his mother. my co-worker told the son of her patient that was still alive that she had just passed away. when he yelled "WHAT?" she quickly realized it was the wrong son and started what i can assume was a very painful, embarrassing explaination. he drove back to the hospital during the middle of the night to make sure his mom was indeed okay. i feel bad for the son but i am so glad that i was not in my co-workers shoes that night.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

for a while, i got a card every year on the anniversary of his admission saying "just want you to know i'm still not dead."

i'm a fan of this guy!!!

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

That Whitney Cerak mistake wasn't noticed for quite awhile. Poor parents.

[AJPV]

That Whitney Cerak mistake wasn't noticed for quite awhile. Poor parents.

It is really amazing that it took that long! The 2 girls looked a lot alike and as bad as the accident was, I guess it was really hard to tell the difference. The more amazing thing is how the families have bonded through the situation.

[JerseyBSN]

I don't get the humor but here's my take. How can the nurse be so flippant to just say your mother died? I would never, ever, speak to a family member whose loved one just died without collecting my most sincere thoughts first. And, to confuse a patient with another in that dimension is just beyond irresponsible.

[diva rn, BSN, RN]

in fact, the only person that wasn't angry was richard thomas, who was so relieved not to be dead that he found the whole thing funny in the extreme. for a while, i got a card every year on the anniversary of his admission saying "just want you to know i'm still not dead."

this reminds me of a song from monty python's spamalot (broadway show)...it goes....

"oh, i am not yet dead, i can dance and i can sing"...

"i am not yet dead, i can do the highland fling"...

"i am not dead yet, no need to go to bed".....

"no need to call the doctor, cause i'm not yet dead!".............

(funny show):)

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Oh Wow! That is the funniest thing I have ever heard. I feel bad for your coworker, but wow. Thanks for posting this story. I wish I had one similar but nothing tops this.

Funny. I see. Being told your mother is dead when she's not. Yes, that would certainly be funny.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

I think it's funny in a dark sort of way. Not to take away from the seriousness of it all but a massive comedy of errors is hilarious.[/quote']

Uh, yeah. Funny like a mass murderer is funny, right?

[diva rn, BSN, RN]

Or like maybe a plane crash??????

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

John Wayne Gacy was a clown= and had more than a dozen bodies in his crawlspace- that is hilarious

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Certainly not humorous in any sense of the word.

Imagine your reaction if you were told that someone you loved with all your heart and soul was now dead.

Calling with a death notification should be considered as serious as hanging blood.

Have the deceased chart open right in front of you when you call, so you are 100% sure who you are calling about.