ABANDONED

[GitanoRN]

Certainly, several of you have witness this kind of treatment within families. Let me explain what I'm referring to, a week ago a teenager was brought to ED; after being examined by one of our ER doctors and labs.were done, he was diagnose with HIV. Unquestionably, the parents of the teen were outraged! to hear that their football player son in high school, came down with this disease.

Undoubtedly, after offering our support and guidance, along with social worker and other services; the parents advised one of our staff that they were going get something out of their car. However, they never returned to claim their son. Furthermore, several attempts to contact the teen's parents fell in death ears; on the last call to his parents the father answered and stated " My son died when my wife and I took him to your ER" Needless to say, the father used some derogatory name to refer to his son as well.

Having said that, my question is how can a parent abandoned their own flesh and blood, at a time of crisis, with all the new knowledge that's out there regarding this disease! It's truly beyond my comprehension as a single parent myself, I can't fathom what this teenager is going through. No one can deny, that there's still work to be done in order to educate the public. In conclusion, it's not easy to swallow why the public wonders the increase of Teen suicide!!!

My great grand mama use to say in one of her many sayings and I quote " There's nothing worse than the blind that doesn't care to see"

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

A friend of mine fostered a teen who suffered a broken arm after telling his parents that he thought he "might" be gay. The parents preferred to pay child support to the state to have the child placed in foster care rather than have the blankety-blank-blank-blank living in their home. Turns out it was the best thing that could have happened to the kid -- he now has a new family that loves him and a bright future.

My mother disowned me when I was in my 30s because I put my sick dog to sleep without first getting her permission. You can bet your sweet bippy that I won't be visiting her in a nursing home or sending her Christmas cards either.

Not everyone who is a parent is worthy of actually being a parent.

[mclennan, BSN, RN]

Sad as it is, sounds like the teen will be better off without those jack o' lanterns who call themselves parents. Maybe this was his ticket to freedom, not his death sentence from HIV. He might end up President some day.

[FORTHELOVEOF!!!!]

Depending on the size of the lab and the instruments they have an HIV test can be ran within an hour. I have worked at a smaller hospital where we had to wait a while because we didn't do the test inhouse, but my current trauma hospital runs it in an hour.

[JenniferS_CNA]

There was an elderly Alzheimer's patient who lived in LTC and had only a single contact, her MPOA who happened to be her son. She did not own a single stitch of clothing nor any trappings for her "home." No one would call her nor would anyone vista or send her cards.

A concerned nurse who grew very fond of this sweet little old lady became very upset that the son "abandoned" his mother. How dare he not even provide for some simple clothing or a single picture! He had the money, he was a MD with a thriving practice in an adjacent state.

Right before Christmas the concerned nurse called the son so that she could try to get her patient some clothing so that she could participate in the Christmas activities with dignity instead of the drab hospital gown she always wore.

The son's response is as follows,

"Look, I know how this looks but I will explain my negligence to you. My mother, my mother abused me as a child. She was a heavy drinker and would beat me every time she became drunk. At the age of 7 she abandoned me at a store. I went to live with my grandmother who effectively raised me and gave me the love I never had. At the age of 14 my mother sobered up and came to live with my grandmother, I could not be happier with this.

After living with us for several months while getting back on her feet we were preparing to move out to my mother's new apartment. The day we were supposed to move she abandoned me again. Before she left however, she cleaned out my grandmother's bank account and stole her entire life's savings, not to mention stealing all of her jewelry.

My grandmother went and got a second job and worked hard to put me through college. After college my mother reappeared and took care of my aging grandmother who had been able to financially restabilize and provide for her retirement.

Again my mother left after cleaning out my grandmother's bank accounts. Fortunately I was in the financial position at the time to ensure that my beloved grandmother spent her final days in comfort.

Now I am older with grown children of my own and I receive a phone call from you guys stating that I was placed as her only point of contact and I am not her MPOA. My mother brutalized me, abandoned me, and she attempted to destroy the only woman who ever loved me growing up.

My mother is an animal. Like my dogs I will ensure that she has a roof over her head and food in her belly. Other than that I will not provide any other comfort for her. I do not care what happens to her and I know where monsters like her go when they die.

Do as you wish with her but do not ask me for any assistance. Thank you."

True story.

This is why I try to reserve my judgement and stay neutral.

Wow. This is a great story that shows that things may not always be as they seem. Judgement get us no where.