I was working a night shift on a tele floor as a new Nurse.
We had this one poor old lady who was confused and was restrained as usual for her safety. She was our designated resident nightmare geri from hell, so she was placed near the Nurse's station.
So we are chilling out at the Nurse's station, chatting and trying to get through another night...
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see our lady in question standing in the dimly lit doorway of her room!
I instantly leap out and run to her. As I approach her, she appears to be falling towards me, so I meet her in a bear hug...my arms around her waste, and her arms around my shoulders.
As I catch the lady, I notice a very strong smell of feces, and I feel something warm on my hands, arms and shoulders...
My fellow heroes come in behind me, and as the lights are turned on, my worst fears are instantly realized.
Yes, I caught the poor old lady with a good old bear hung football catch, but I was also covered in the lady's feces.
As I look at her, she has feces smeared all over her arms and hands... (and even her face!)
I work in CCU, and one night we got in this 27 y/o GI bleed. He was a heavy ETOH user who had esophageal varices. Anyway, the guy was NPO, vomiting bright red blood, and complaining heartily about how thirsty he was. The GI doc walked into his room only to find him drinking his own bloody vomit. Pretty disgusting IMO. Unfortunately, this guy is a frequent flyer. =(
Once a post-op colectomy patient coded. I started chest compressions and green stool mixed with blood fountained out of one end of his incision with every compression.
Once a post-op colectomy patient coded. I started chest compressions and green stool mixed with blood fountained out of one end of his incision with every compression.
that is lovely! don't you just love your job?!! LOL
I think I was about one year into my nursing and I went to change the dressing on the stage 4 ... and I literally went into ... the ulcer to change the dressing...
Ya'all catch my drift...
I touched the bone, not just the muscle mass and fat tissue.
Flipped me out...
but I think I kept talking normally and did the dressing change.
I must have I didn't pass out.
IT IS THOSE FIRST TIMES OF EVERYTHING in nursing that get you.
No matter how many years you have been around the block ... every once in a while those first times just jump up and bite you.
Between the ear wax & the bloody vomit..... I am gagging over here! OH my goodness... that is my biggest fear.... that I will hurl right in front of a patient!
Okies, how about the the guy that vomited into his emesis basin during dinner and then soaked it up with the bread from his dinner tray and ate it? True story! The entire nursing station nearly vomited (as he was in ICU, he was visible to everyone!).
I had a patient one time with can\cer to the mandible. He had gone to the doctor, went through surgery, but they were unable to get it all. I was a fairly new nurse. When I began taking care of him, his face looked grusesome. By the tiime he died 6 months later, his face was literally falling or flaking off. Just about everytime I went into his room, he would be looking in the mirror and peeling pieces of his flesh off. It was really sad. The nurses were applying neosporin to thepeeling areas several times a day. When we would wipe znd clean the old neosporin off, it was like pieces of skin would wipe off. The night before he died, he had become unresponsive on day shift. I was wroking 3-11. I noticed that he was unresponsive when I came in that shift. At about 7 pm, his call light went on. It kind of freaked me out at first when his call light went off because he hadn't really moved the whole shift and I had been unsuccessful in arousing him. When I entered the room. he had family visiting (I had never seen any family before). the atient was sitting on side of the bed fully awke. He said "I need pain medicine". I went to get the shot. When I returned a gave him the shot. He then sat on side of the bed. As I stood there he began staring at me. All of a sudden out of nowhere, his hand flies up and slapped me across the left side of my face. He left tears burning my eyes. His family jumped up and told him that he could not hit the nurse. Guess what? Stupid me stood there in shock so long that he hit me again. I kleft the room, the family apolocized and left. The patient was unresponsive a little later. he died in the middle of the night !! I will never forget how bad his face looked and the look in his eyes when he hit me !!
Furball
646 Posts
My jaw dropped to China when I read that line....my heavens! I don't know WHAT to say but it made me feel sick.....:stone
:stone