The most gruesome situation you've encountered?

[SuzieVN]

During Army Reserve weekend warrior days we went to the children's hospital burn unit. It was a regional center. One lady 'Lois', fell asleep smoking on her wedding night (her new husband burned to death). Burns over 90% of her body. Finger tips and toes were exposed bone. Skull was bare of skin, with screws holding her skull together. They cut skin from under her one remaining breast (the other was burned off) to fashion crude eyelids to protect her eyeballs. She made Frankenstein look like a Hollywood star. It took 5 of us to get her into the tub of bleach water, so she could have the dead skin scrubbed off. She took enough morphine to kill a platoon, yet her screams could still be heard on the floor below. That said- that pales in comparison to the child abuse cases, which are just about...unspeakable. They told us that on average, nurses only lasted two months on that floor.

[Biffbradford]

I won't even go there. Let's just say I kept a 'dead' person alive for 8 hours "for the family" so they had time to adjust (according to the doc). Drips and machines of every kind, emptying out the blood bank, and every possible alarm ... well, alarming.

I WILL tell you about a dream I had the other night. Now, I -never- dream about work, but in this one, I came into work and was given my assignment - it was a patient who just had open heart surgery ... four bypasses ... and it was the DPRK's, North Korea's very own Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il. Now what the heck is he doing in the USA, yet alone in our little hospital, getting OHS by Dr. Q and most importantly ... why is this MY assignment???

As you an imagine the press was everywhere, and to boot he was not doing well.

He had this wicked tachy-brady rhythm that we could not fix, so off to the E.P. lab he went for RF ablation, or who knows what. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for me ... he did not return but now we had a BIG problem of INTERNATIONAL proportions!!

That's when i woke up and had to pee. Hope they don't nuke our little town. :)

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I don't know about you guys - but that kid from Louisville breaking his leg the other day just about made me puke..........

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

I WILL tell you about a dream I had the other night. Now, I -never- dream about work, but in this one, I came into work and was given my assignment - it was a patient who just had open heart surgery ... four bypasses ... and it was the DPRK's, North Korea's very own Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il. Now what the heck is he doing in the USA, yet alone in our little hospital, getting OHS by Dr. Q and most importantly ... why is this MY assignment???

As you an imagine the press was everywhere, and to boot he was not doing well.

He had this wicked tachy-brady rhythm that we could not fix, so off to the E.P. lab he went for RF ablation, or who knows what. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for me ... he did not return but now we had a BIG problem of INTERNATIONAL proportions!!

That's when i woke up and had to pee. Hope they don't nuke our little town. :)

Midway through reading this post I forgot that you were describing a dream, and I'm thinking "I can't believe he would post such specific details about a patient!" Whoops... but that is a very exciting dream, I'm glad you woke up when you did!

[SuzieVN]

I don't know about you guys - but that kid from Louisville breaking his leg the other day just about made me puke..........

Bones were certainly not meant to be displayed, for sure. It's quite a shocking sight to behold.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Open sternum, fungal mediastinal infection, aortic erosion... all that blood running over the side of the bed to the floor... .

[RunninOnCoffee]

Several months ago I had the opportunity to come in to observe an organ harvesting surgery for a patient I had cared for. While the organs itself didn't bother me, I stayed to watch the bone and tissue removal. I will be honest, I still can't eat steak and every now and then that image of the pt with everything from midthigh down gone and the muscles at that point just cut still flashes in my head. Don't know if I will ever observe one again and if I do I will leave before they get to that point. Very disturbing and gruesome.

[SuzieVN]

Open sternum, fungal mediastinal infection, aortic erosion... all that blood running over the side of the bed to the floor... .

Beat me out by a landslide...! Ugh.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

GSW to the head with brain matter hanging out the back of her head. Continued to bleed out all shift. She died the next day.

I also get grossed out watching them drill into the skull at bedside putting in an EVD. Seen it tons of times in the neuro ICU just never got used to it.

[SuzieVN]

Several months ago I had the opportunity to come in to observe an organ harvesting surgery for a patient I had cared for. While the organs itself didn't bother me, I stayed to watch the bone and tissue removal. I will be honest, I still can't eat steak and every now and then that image of the pt with everything from midthigh down gone and the muscles at that point just cut still flashes in my head. Don't know if I will ever observe one again and if I do I will leave before they get to that point. Very disturbing and gruesome.

Since I watched an autopsy, 400 years ago- I've never eaten meat that isn't 'clean'. Meaning skinless, boneless and zero visble fat or veins/blood, and indeterminate looking. Like a pork loin or chicken breast. If it can be passed off as a wad of tofu, fine by me.

[SuzieVN]

(BTW, speaking of autopsies, you can normally attend one by calling your county coroner. Quite the show, really).

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

N

I don't know about you guys - but that kid from Louisville breaking his leg the other day just about made me puke..........

The news in our area wouldn't air the footage after the fact, so I haven't seen it. It's probably a career ending injury, and I'm truly sorry for the guy. But ghoul that I am, I'd really like to see it.