I held off on posting this for a couple weeks, since I was so rattled by the whole experience, and since you just never know who may be reading here and recognize someone. However, since this story is ALL OVER work now and anonymity is pretty much out the window, I wanted to get some feedback.
2 weeks ago, I worked the evening shift at my plant. I was the only nurse there. At shift change, a lady came in for ibuprofen, and signed her name. This was a blessing later, since that was the only way I knew who she even was.
I was sitting in my office at 1630 when I heard the outer door hit the wall -BAM!- and someone start yelling "Hello, hello!". I ran out to see Ibuprofen Gal, flanked by 2 coworkers, diaphoretic and sweaty, saying over and over, "I need a tablet, I need a tablet". One look, and I knew she was having an insulin reaction. We had no insulin tabs, we had gel, so as I am running around the counter with the meter, I sling a tube at her. She picks it up and goes, "Ew, I don't like this", to which I said "Deal with it".
Her sugar was 77, came up to 113, and the shaking stopped. She was out of tabs, and I gave her my last 2 tubes of gel, and made her turn off her pump. She refused to go home, said she did this all the time, she was just not used to B shift (1430-2230). Against my better judgement, I let her go, with instructions to come back if she felt funny again.
I could not find any more gel, all I could find was some fast-food jelly packs that I put in my pockets. I must have ESP, I just KNEW it would not end there. Ever have a gut feeling? Called the day nurse to ask where more gel might be, called my sup to tell her what happened, and was in the midst of ringing her when the lady's sup walked in.
"Can you come take a look at her?"
I walk out, and she's shaking like a leaf again. OK, now I'm worried, and I tell her she's going home.
"No, I'm not!!!!!! I just need to eat, I get like this, I need to eat."
Her sup tells her to go eat, and I get her bag and invite her to eat dinner with me, mainly so I can keep my eye on her. She stands up and WHUMP!
As we're running to Medical, (me and the 2 men that are carrying her) we pass Security, on her golf buggy for her rounds. I yell, "I need an ambulance!", and she whips a U-ey and speeds off.
Meanwhile, we get Low-Sugar Lucy on the trauma table and pour the gel and OJ to her. She's arguing and refuses to give us her # to call her hubby, and her cell is in her pocket. ( I know the arguing is the sugar, and allowed for that) The guys all looked at me to get the phone, but I was not going to get slapped with a sexual harassment charge for trying to dig a phone out of skin-tight jeans. As luck would have it, hubby called about then. She spoke to him, and handed me the phone.
"Here, he'll tell you I get like this and I am fine."
"Hello, hubby? This is Angelfire. Yes. Yes. Well, I am not releasing her to work nor am I to drive home. Can you come and get her? An ambulance is on the way, but she says she will not go. Yes. Well, she can't stay conscious. Yes. I believe she needs a dextrose infusion, and I cannot do that here. Well, I don't know who will pay for the ambulance, sir, but I can find out and let you know 
."
The ambulance gets there, she refuses it, and 5 minutes after they leave, while we wait on hubby to pick her up, she has the first seizure. i have no IV supplies, no intubation supplies. All I can do is lay in the floor with her and the sup and hold her, protect her airway, and time the seizures. 14, count 'em, FOURTEEN seizures later, the EMS crew gets there, loads her up, and gets an amp of D50 in. She perked right up. Off to the ER she went. If she had tried to refuse at that point, I believe I'd have strangled her, lol!
About that time, Security said, MY sup called and said to tell me that she was on her way, that she was taking her time, since I was as good as an NP, and she knew I could handle it. All I could think was, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, now GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE!!!!!!!!" I just needed moral support at that point. Well, that, a 55-gallon drum of Mountain Dew, and an Ativan the size of a hockey puck.
Anyone else ever do anything like this? Anything else I should have done? By all accounts, everyone says I did well. I know she could have coded on me, she should not be working at all in her condition. I just can not stop thinking about it. Thanks in advance.
Ruthiegal
280 Posts
Symptoms of hypoglycemia are different for everyone! I'm under good control and when mine hits the high 60's I begin to have symptoms. Everyone feels them differently, you have to look at the person not just the numbers while being aware some people are unaware even at a low number.
OP did a great job of handling the situation!
:)