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Discussion

My first Code Blue!

One person on my floor ( Med surg) is the " code nurse" for the shift. That means if we get a code, we go down and supposedly our job is to stand back and be the messenger between what is going on in the trauma room with the family, since they have ER and ICU nurses down there who have had ACLS training.

Well I got called down to a code blue. It was someone found naked in their car, homeless, diabetic, no heartbeat. They are doing CPR as I get down there and it's an emotional shock to see someone on the brink of death. Anyways, there was no family there and it was chaos trying to get all the medications in, intubate, get an IV line in- they had to put a intraosseous line in. So everyone is getting tired, and they say " you want to take over compressions?" Umm, no! LOL but I did. I have never done CPR on a real person before. So after about 20 minutes of doing everything, the doctor is about to call time of death, pupils fixed and dilated, still no heartbeat. I am now standing at his feet and we can see aortic pulsations. So we say " do you see that?" Doc looks, listens again for a heartbeat, there is none but he has a faint femoral pulse. Ok start CPR again! Push meds- dopamine, norepi, insulin, bicarb, calcium etc! Now people have left thinking he was already dead so I am in the thick of it again. The respiratory therapist had to leave and help someone else so I was bagging for an hour- mind you I am supposed to only be the messenger! This code lasted 3 1/2 hours! Finally got a central line in, and then an arterial line. By the time we finished he had a very weak femoral pulse but he had a pulse. Due to the storms flight for life was grounded so they took him by ambulance to the larger hospital. Turns out he was acidotic from high sugars and who knows what else happened. K+ 8.4. Ph 6.5. I have no idea if he'll pull through, but man my first code was a doozy! I dont know if I want to work in the ER!

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w00t! Sounds like you did a good job!

Sounds like an exhausting experience. My last code was a two hour nightmare.

Wow!!! Great Job! I hope the guy makes it too...man just when they were going to call it...see that's why you never want to give up that "hope".

wow what an adrenalin rush......you did great, it reminded me of my days as a student nurse tech in the ER of a major hospital.....I too assisted then in a code......had to do the EKG, his shirt was ripped opened and I had to put the leads on......however mine did not have a good ending...he was a john doe and he did not make it....I then with another aide had to tag and wrap his body.....I even had to close his eyes....I found myself talking to him (I know weird) and then said good bye to him, then we put him on a special stretcher and wheeled him to the morgue. :(

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They decided to let him go once he got to the other hospital. I coudln't imagine a good qulaity of life the way he was when he left. I'm sure iot was for the best. It was a great learning experience though and we know that we did all we could.

Wow!!! Great Job! I hope the guy makes it too...man just when they were going to call it...see that's why you never want to give up that "hope".

"hope"? he was found homeless, pulse-less and naked in a car in DKA. goodness only knows how long he had been 'down'. get a faint pulse back and i 'suppose' there could be a miracle and he will wake up gain full strength and no residual from hypoxic brain injury -hip hip hooray! :twocents:

sorry was that too cynical-? codes get me focused. maybe i should work the ED.

anybody else think that this smiley is inappropriate for a nursing board?:smokin:

Congrats (I THINK????), Achoo!

My first 'code' when I was walking into the lobby of my clinical hospital as a 3rd semester nursing student! LOL I didn't do compressions, but I was the first to arrive, (the first responder), and assessed the man. By the time I was about to start compressions, a doctor ran up and asked me if the guy had a pulse. I said NO, and he started compressions.

Probably a good thing...he did them much harder than I probably could have. lol

It was exciting....there's more to the story, but I felt really good being part of it. I'm not sure if the guy lived. The ED came up, used the AED, did more compressions, etc, then took him off to the ED. (I guess....)

"hope"? he was found homeless, pulse-less and naked in a car in DKA. goodness only knows how long he had been 'down'. get a faint pulse back and i 'suppose' there could be a miracle and he will wake up gain full strength and no residual from hypoxic brain injury -hip hip hooray! :twocents:

sorry was that too cynical-? codes get me focused. maybe i should work the ED.

anybody else think that this smiley is inappropriate for a nursing board?:smokin:

I think the point is she managed her first code, stuck it out and did everything she could, even things she had never done before, depsite if any one agrees with the docs need to continue resuscitation.

Good job Achoo. Learning is always a good thing.

:icon_hug:

Tait

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