The things you never forget...

[nerdtonurse?]

There are things I've seen that I know I'll never forget. Anyone else want to share?

• The first time I had my steth on someone and listened to their heart stop
  
• The first time I looked at a CT report and realized my patient had advanced and probably terminal cancer...and they didn't know it yet.
  
• Calling a family trying to get an authorization for surgery on an elderly alzheimer's pt, and having the grown child say the patient had been physically and sexually abusive as to them children, and they refused to authorize it, saying they hoped he died...and the other 3 kids (in their 40's) I called all said the same thing.
  
• Maggots
  
• Having to code someone with a living will stating no code blue, but the doctor wimped out on the DNR order because the family couldn't agree

[anurseuk]

Watching a heart transplant and after the pt's own heart had been removed looking into the open empty chest... very sereal.

Looking after an older lady whilst a student, came in loss of contiousness no obvious cause. The family had written a little letter about her and her life and left it in the room. She had been a midwife in germany during WWII and had left the house during air raids and other times when they were not allowed to leave the houses to deliver babies.

Pt who was on an IABP who I'd found standing next to his bed... LAY DOWN!!!

[MrsMommaRN]

i had one this week. i had an woman in her 40s with downs syndrome. she was the best. she was very grateful for everything a model patient. i got her into bed and told her to sleep welll. she said " you are such a good nurse, i love you." then she kissed her hand and put it on mine. :heartbeat

[Pinkster]

I opened this thread to expect perhaps gross and unheard of things people had encountered during their career.

I commend all of you, I really do One could not read through these posts and not cry.

Some are so heartwarming and others unthinkably sad.

Thank you all for what you do!!

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

I'll never forget the time I had a patient who was on Bipap. She was very claustrophobic and kept begging us to take the Bipap off. She was fairly young (60s) in resp failure. My preceptor at the time told her that if we took the Bipap off that she would probably die. The lady said that was fine, she was ready to meet her Jesus. We spoke with the doctors who spoke to the pt about the risks of refusing bipap. She was A&O X 3 and her family agreed to not make her wear the bipap. She took it off at 1pm, thanked us, and she passed at 4pm with her family by her side.

I've never met someone so brave and ready to face death like that before.

Tiger

[mshultz]

...Telling the LOL with the huge glasses on, in response to the all-night repeated question, "am I going to be okay?!" that "no hon, you're dying." It was scary to say but she ultimately benefited from the honesty and had a good, dignified end at her family's home. Now when people ask me if I'm sure they're going to live, I can say "I'd tell you if you weren't" and mean it, 'cause I didn't chicken out...

That is how I would want to be treated.

[BearyPrivate]

Will never forget the day the Physician misdiagnosed my mom, she had a heart attack the physician wrote dx as Chronic back pain, Mom died 1 month to the day, later. COD: Heart Failure, Complicated by A-Fib.

Will never forget a very sweet old man I took care of on ward for 31/2 yrs. Dr. came in one evening to assess him Told the family gathered around it was only a matter of days. Before the Dr got out the door My sweet old man died.

Will never forget A 105 yr old pt. She still had a lot of spunk up until the day she died.

Will never forget doing trach care on a Res and partial Q-tip ended up lodged in her trach d/t facility had these trach care kits for decades. When the patient with a trach arrived they decided to save cost and use the old ones first. The holder of the Q-tip end was wooden. Res sent to ER and piece lodged in Lung. Res lived 5 yrs on.

Will never forget 9-11 I was just getting home from work and just turned on TV to see the first Tower smoking and shortly after the 2nd plane hit the other tower. I sat on the couch glued to the tube in disbelief.

[Schmoo1022]

Ohhh the tears are flowing!

[justpoorfect]

As a student, I took care of a Mormon lady who was beginning another round of chemo to try to hang on until her son's wedding date. She was so happy he had returned to the church from a wild youth. The chemo caused her embarrassing diarrhea, but I gladly rinsed out her "garments" for her husband to take home to launder. When we were alone, I asked her if she feared death, and she said, "No. I am only afraid that I might not be as brave as my oldest son was when he had cancer and lay dying. He was 8 years old at the time, and had to have very painful treatments. He said "Mother, if I can look in your eyes and squeeze your hand when it hurts, I will be okay." She said he never screamed in pain through it all.

I hope she made it to that wedding, and had a hand to hold.

[annmariern]

my pt Susan, bilateral saddle emboli, compartment syndrome bilaterally, fasiciotomies that bled so much, on a unit of 22 pts, only two RNs, we and a resident spent the night pumping blood into her. She was 36 years old with a young son.No ICU bed available, she went into pulmonary edema from the blood at one point. It was the quietest night on the floor, not one of the other pts called fror anything, when we split turns to check on them, they all asked how the young girl was doing. The bleeding continued, the surgeon put her on the list for a bilateral amputation at 8am. At 6am, exhausted myself, i put my hands on her foot to do the a csm check; pointless as she had no pulses and feet were cold and blue. Her foot was warm. Shocked I pulled back the sheets and she now had pulses, cap refill was coming back. Needless to say, her surgery was cancelled; I met her months later by chance at a dept store she worked, apart from the scars, which they were working on, she was fine. What blew my mind was the other pts, talk about a bedpan rush hour in the morning, lol, all asking how she was, they'd prayed for her etc.

[premedturnednursing]

Thank you for your posts....even though I'm only a month in to my 15 month program...you all have given me a reminder as to WHY I am in school......to be a helping hand, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, an "angel" to someone...to truly make a difference in someone's life. Thank you ALL for EVERYTHING you do!

[EarthChild1130]

I remember:

Watching my psychotic patient pull his eyeball out and throw it at me.

Another patient, who we were having to put in restraints because he was throwing chairs over the nurse's station at us, called my nurse manager a 'fat space monkey'...then told me 'I love you even though you look like a spy'.

A terminally ill patient with bipolar disorder, who was getting Risperdal Consta shots at my clinic, received his injection from me, then said 'Tish, you're a wonderful nurse..you really listen to me, and you really LIKE working with all of us here...this is my last shot...I'm tired...' ...He died 3 days later, and I was really sad for him because he'd spent years being unstable before Risperdal Consta came out and turned his life around.

Listening to 2 patients singing 'Freedom! Let my people go!' for the duration of a 12-hour shift...that was loads of fun!:lol_hitti

Sitting with an elderly couple while their daughter took her last breath...her daughter and their granddaughter didn't want to be there...her reason? 'My boyfriend doesn't like my grandma':angryfire

:prdmltywf:

[lil' girl, LPN]

A family that would not let their loved one have anything to drink or eat and no IV fluids. This patient was able and willing to drink and eat,family stated that they did not want resident to aspirate. I really didn't think they could get away with this, but, yes they did. Yes the patient died after about 2 weeks. I just could not believe this. Yes social service was called, MD aware, and we just had to go along with it. I just wanted to scream at the family to let patient eat and drink.