"Funny Codes"?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

One night we got a new admission into ICU from ER. It was a female patient being admitted with COPD in her 40's. She did not appear to be in distress and was able to talk with o2 on vital signs were all within normal limits no red flags anywhere. Her nurse got her admission assessment done without incident and pt settled in. Suddenly, we are charting at the desk, when there is a loud crashing sound in her room. We run to her room to find her face first against the wall(Like she had collide with the wall at a great rate of speed) and was slideing face first down the wall, her catheter was stretched acrossed the room (connected to the bed still) her water pitcher spilled all over the floor and her heart rate dropping in the 40's then 30's then 20's call a code. It was a disasterous (sp) code having to perform it in the floor. It took forever to get her intubated and the doctor was soaking wet when he was done with that, then he had to shock her in all that water (with paddles in his hands he said..just say I was a brave man). We were calling for our strong monitor tech to help but he had run to the "Can" and could not come out. It took us an hour to get her body up out of the floor so the family could see her (we had to bind her up like a turkey and use a backboard and hoyer lift plus 6 people to lift).

I now this was tragic but afterwards we all were talking about the code and how it went and we all started laughing. Sometimes laughter is the only way to cope with this job. Are we just sick or does anyone else have codes like this and how do you cope?

Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.
There were several of us that started at the same time on the same floor - one day a code was called, and one of our co-workers (who was known for being rather intense - and also a bit large) came RUNNING into the room, LEAPT onto the bed, which for some reason wasn't locked - and the whole bed went sliding across the room into the bed of the other patient!

I know I'm sick, cause these stories have me laughing!

Now I have heard it all....bed surfiing during a code! :roll

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.
now ruby, that story takes the cake

that thar bath done kilt her

Maybe all that dirt is what was holding the poor women together????:confused:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A couple weeks ago we got a code announcement over the intercom: "Code 1, COR zero, first floor atrium near the vending machines. Code 1, COR zero, first floor atrium near the vending machines." I run downstairs near the vending machines to find a large man supine on the floor, major head lac and blood all over the floor. We run through a series of assessmnets, I find his wallet and get his name and also find a small glucometer and insulin supplies in a fanny pack he was carrying. When I do his blood sugar it's obvious why he's on the floor: it was in the 40's. I couldn't help it, I just started laughing. There he was, on the floor bleeding like crazy, with a blood sugar in the 40's, right next to the vending machines. I had this vision of him feeling sluggish, walking to the vending machines...gotta...get...some...sugar. Dollar...bill...too...crinkled...fading now...fading...fading...

I couldn't help it. For whatever reason it just cracked me up. We got the guy settled, got him to the E.D. and he was fine. After all this was done I was walking back to the unit. I was still smirking to myself at the absurdity of laughing about a situation in which a person took a header due to low blood sugar. As I'm thinking about this, another announcement comes over the intercom that ties up the whole thing: "Environmental services to the first floor atrium near the vending machines. Environmental services to the first floor atrium near the vending machines."

Started laughing again. Man, I have some sort of illness of inapprporiateness...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Maybe all that dirt is what was holding the poor women together????:confused:

I have had bad luck with bathing borderline pts. It's like they think, "Hey! I'm clean now! All set to see God!"

Up Vote Up Vote ×
...gotta...get...some...sugar. Dollar...bill...too...crinkled...fading now...fading...fading...

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: Poor guy!!! M&Ms so close, yet so far away....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I can't help but laugh. We are a sick bunch....

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Guy in his 30's came in with CPR in progress. Shirt off, no boobs to speak of....but the body shape looked female. Face looked female. We were glancing at each other, mouthing "Male or female?" No one could tell. Someone cut the pants off to get a foley in. Doc glanced down and casually said, "It's a boy, folks!"

Ran a call with a new fire medic on a CPR in progress. The medic said he wasn't able to intubate because the pt had a bull neck. No IV either, because of his size. MICN asked him "Is there any lividity?" (sounded dead to us).

Medic: "No."

Pt gets there, he's huge. We managed to wrestle him onto the ER gurney. I took one arm to try for an IV, other nurse took the other arm, doc took the tube. He glanced up to see other nurse and me both lifting the arms and looking underneath.

"What are you ladies looking at?"

We glanced at each other and in unison said "The lividity."

Pt was stone cold dead. Medic couldn't intubate because there was rigor. No IV because blood had long since congealed.

Medic slunk out of the room and left.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case Management.

I had a very weird code when I worked nights on tele. My pt was complaining of moving chest pain and his doctor ordered "tylenol and maalox". I was going to pour the meds and the tech shouted, "Patti, go see your pt he is in V-tach". I told her call a code and ran in to find him in the middle of some kind of struggle with his body. He was purple in color, and was sitting up and laying down, with agonal respirations. He would not stop sitting up and laying down over and over. the code team hardly knew what to do because he was really in the throws of some kind of struggle. all muscles tense and color was completely purple. Someone removed his gown and all of a sudden I grabbed the hand of the ICU nurse next to me and said, "what is that?" When he sat up it seemed his whole stomach pushed out like a fist was inside pushing out. It stuck out about a foot. When he went down, it went away and when he sat up out came this big thing. It kinda looked like the thing in alien right before it breaks out of the host body. The seasoned ICU nurse laughed and said, Oh, he must have a large hernia. I heard she and her friends had a good laugh at my expense, but I really had never seen anything like it. It was very scary, and I thought something was going to pop out of him at any second. He ceased, by the way.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

"When he sat up it seemed his whole stomach pushed out like a fist was inside pushing out. It stuck out about a foot. When he went down, it went away and when he sat up out came this big thing. It kinda looked like the thing in alien right before it breaks out of the host body."

:lol2: I am sitting here picturing this in my mind and trying not to fall off of my chair laughing!! Good story! Thanks for sharing!!:chuckle

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER, Peds, Charge RN.

I only hope that when I die I can give my code team a great story like these!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.

Oh my - I'm just not sure ...

I had to get my Fire Chief to "approve" the purchase of a new commode and send the city pubic utility workers to install it at a "patient's" house.

The patient had coded on the toilet and had his head firmly wedged between the toilet and the tub! I could not get him free (tried EVERYTHING). Could not even get the bolts loose - since time was important, I ELECTED to bust the toilet out to free the patient!

The code was not successful.

But, I felt bad for the patient's wife - for so many reasons! But since the patient had only had the ONE bathroom and the toilet was now in pieces, well - I had to do SOMETHING!

After all, there was going to be a funeral and the widow (elderly) was without a toilet - so I felt that we had to fix that! I couldn't save her husband, but I could save the plumbing!

The Chief approved it, but you can bet that I was the butt of many a joke!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Me Surge.

I heard paged overhead "Code Blue at the Morgue. Code Blue at the Morgue." I said "oh sh*t somebody brought a live one down to the morgue." Turns out a hospital employee fell unconscious in the morgue hallway. The employee did ok.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment