Patients who come in with night bags packed....

Specialties Emergency

Published

It seems like a running joke around here -- especially if it's the family who went ahead and packed the bag, cuz... like, they can go home and GET the stuff if it's needed.

I just got discharged after a two day stay due to an asthma exac complicated by pneumonia in my good lung (my bad lung has a lot of scarring, collapsed aveolar sacs, and apparently a granuloma from the CT they did from an extended bout of pneumonia years ago), admitted through ER. I don't have any family in 200 miles, so there was no one to pack anything for me. (Friends are apparently far from reliable.)

If I'm ever in an exac again, and it's as severe as it was -- the only way I could get any airflow was breathing very shallowly, and I was tempted to use my epi-pen while waiting for transport when I was dizzy sitting down, but had already used my MDI at least 12 times that night and wasn't sure how much of the dizziness was from all the inhaler use.... well, I'm gonna be one of the people you laugh at for bringing a bag just in case. (Obviously if they kept me two days it was pretty darn bad.)

Cuz as much as the fancy lingerie provided by the hospital flatters my figure (105 lbs) and must cost your hospital a fortune.... it's ... well.... uncomfortable. ;)

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Specializes in ER, M/S, transplant, tele.

First, I hope you are well and that you don't have such a severe exacerbation again any time soon.

Now...there are different degrees of bag packers from the humorous to the practical to the sad. A few years ago we had a lady come in critically ill with not only a STEMI but also a fungal infection in her lungs. After that experience she became hyper sensitive to any changes she felt from a twinge of gas pain to (I kid you not) the rate at which her hair grew! Anyway, every visit she came in with what looked like a three piece matching flowered luggage set. I thought she was super sweet (if not a little dingy) and would tease her about her impending "travel plans". On the other hand, I've seen so many families bring in another family member - usually on the elderly side and usually around a major holiday - with bags packed hoping we would keep them so the rest of the family could go out of town! Ugh! Makes me so angry sometimes!

On a more personal note, I too have some chronic health issues and have learned - since I have no family here - to pack at least a small backpack with the bare necessities just in case. I've discovered the backpack isn't so obtrusive as to look like I'm expecting an admission but it is big enough to accommodate my needs in the event that friends are unable to help me out in a timely fashion.

I think my absolute favorite was one of our homeless ladies who brought in her entire shopping cart!

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Specializes in Med Surg, Home Health, Dialysis, Tele.

Baggage is one thing, but what am I supposed to think when the family is bringing a large box fan? The pt is definitely expecting to stay! :uhoh3:

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

i can understand bringing a toothbrush, but who needs a suitcase full of snacks, electronics and toys to visit the er? i actually admitted a patient to the icu from the er one time with a bag full of knives and marijuana. now that was an interesting patient!

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Specializes in Family Medicine.

We admitted a patient to the floor who brought a coffee table with her. I could not beleive it.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
we admitted a patient to the floor who brought a coffee table with her. i could not beleive it.

many years ago, when i was first married, my father built a coffee table for me and dh as a wedding present. they didn't have it ready in time for the wedding, but months later when we drove 2000 miles to visit them, they cautioned us to "bring the truck so you can take your coffee table home."

on the way back (with the coffee table and two large dogs), dh developed sepsis. it was a truly frightening situation -- he had what looked like an infected pimple when we started driving in the morning, and by noon i couldn't wake him up. i had to drive another few hundred miles to find a hospital. i took him to the er, and because it had progressed so quickly, they admitted him on the spot. there wasn't a hotel room to be had in the city, and i had a truck, coffee table that my dad built as a wedding present, and two large dogs. i was afraid to leave the coffee table in the back of the truck with the dogs and there wasn't enough room for us all to sleep in the cab at night. so i had the bright idea of taking the coffee table out of the back of the truck and putting it into the cab while i slept in back with the dogs. i couldn't manage it on my own, so a couple of employees who saw me struggling came to help out. in the end, we took the coffee table in to dh's hospital room. i'm sure his nurses thought i was crazy! i certainly felt like everyone thought i was crazy.

dh is all better now, the dogs died of old age over a decade ago, dad died a few years ago and the truck was junked after nearly 200,000 miles. the coffee table still has pride of place in our living room.

this is not to say that i thought it was a good idea to bring a coffee table to the hospital.

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Many years ago, when I was first married, my father built a coffee table for me and DH as a wedding present. They didn't have it ready in time for the wedding, but months later when we drove 2000 miles to visit them, they cautioned us to "bring the truck so you can take your coffee table home."

On the way back (with the coffee table and two large dogs), DH developed sepsis. It was a truly frightening situation -- he had what looked like an infected pimple when we started driving in the morning, and by noon I couldn't wake him up. I had to drive another few hundred miles to find a hospital. I took him to the ER, and because it had progressed so quickly, they admitted him on the spot. There wasn't a hotel room to be had in the city, and I had a truck, coffee table that my Dad built as a wedding present, and two large dogs. I was afraid to leave the coffee table in the back of the truck with the dogs and there wasn't enough room for us all to sleep in the cab at night. So I had the bright idea of taking the coffee table out of the back of the truck and putting it into the cab while I slept in back with the dogs. I couldn't manage it on my own, so a couple of employees who saw me struggling came to help out. In the end, we took the coffee table in to DH's hospital room. I'm sure his nurses thought I was crazy! I certainly FELT like everyone thought I was crazy.

DH is all better now, the dogs died of old age over a decade ago, Dad died a few years ago and the truck was junked after nearly 200,000 miles. The coffee table still has pride of place in our living room.

This is not to say that I thought it was a GOOD idea to bring a coffee table to the hospital.

Oh my!!! This story is incredible. While I'm happy that everything worked out- I suppose as well as it can, that coffee table has quite the background.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

We do have gthose patients that want ot be admitted like the frequent flyers or the elderly during holidays whether they are lonely or being dumped by the family....we call it a positive smasomite sign.

I once had a patient that had her suitcase and when I asked her if she had anything valuable to lock up.......she opened her suitcase and it had $35,482.00 :eek:.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
we do have gthose patients that want ot be admitted like the frequent flyers or the elderly during holidays whether they are lonely or being dumped by the family....we call it a positive smasomite sign.

i once had a patient that had her suitcase and when i asked her if she had anything valuable to lock up.......she opened her suitcase and it had $35,482.00 :eek:.

​oh wow! just wow! i hope you didn't have to count it all!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
​oh wow! just wow! i hope you didn't have to count it all!

we did! it was unbelieveable! of course it was in the middle of the night during a blizzard....no kidding! two security guard and myself and another nurse counted every dollar bill (they were mostly $50 bills). i can't even tell you ....when i opened that suitcase all i could say was "oh my god! which brought everyone running. this sweet little ole lady was smiling sweetly and said....."i lost everything in the great depression dear..... you know the banks will just steal your money"

i wish i knew then she was a profit....:lol2:.

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