What is the worst hardship/story you have ever seen/heard in your nursing career?

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As nurses, we get to know our patients intimately. So I'm asking this question: what was the worst hardship you have ever heard about that your patient has gone through? Abuse? Torment? Homelessness? AIDS? Trauma? Personal illness? Children with no parents?

Anything. I would love to hear your stories.

Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.

a small child who needed a bowel resection, resulting in a colostomy , extensive anal and lady partsl repair from tears . Yes, your right in how this happened to her. That was my hardest surgery EVER.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.

Micro preemie that fought like the dickens to live. "Mother" rarely visited. Would sometimes come in the middle of the night and stay for a few minutes. I desperately needed phone consent for a blood transfusion one night, and couldn't locate mother anywhere. She shows up a couple of days later explaining that she'd been in jail. She was called another night because the situation was dire and they didn't think the baby would live much longer. Mom responded that she didn't feel like getting dressed, to call when she died. Finally the beautiful little girl was ready to go home. Thanks to the extensive charting by all the nurses involved in her care, she did NOT go home with her egg donor, but instead got to go home with a relative. The relative would bring her back to visit often, dressed up like a little doll and obviously loved and cared for in every possible way. Relative and baby were in a car accident, and baby died even though she was properly restrained. I'm tearing up now thinking about her.

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Specializes in None.
Micro preemie that fought like the dickens to live. "Mother" rarely visited. Would sometimes come in the middle of the night and stay for a few minutes. I desperately needed phone consent for a blood transfusion one night, and couldn't locate mother anywhere. She shows up a couple of days later explaining that she'd been in jail. She was called another night because the situation was dire and they didn't think the baby would live much longer. Mom responded that she didn't feel like getting dressed, to call when she died. Finally the beautiful little girl was ready to go home. Thanks to the extensive charting by all the nurses involved in her care, she did NOT go home with her egg donor, but instead got to go home with a relative. The relative would bring her back to visit often, dressed up like a little doll and obviously loved and cared for in every possible way. Relative and baby were in a car accident, and baby died even though she was properly restrained. I'm tearing up now thinking about her.

This has to be the most touching and heartbreaking. You did all you could for that child, she was definitely a fighter. :inlove: I guess on a somewhat positive note, at least she didn't go home with mom and die because of the mothers negligence.

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Specializes in Psychiatric/ Mental Health.

These stories are pulling at my heart strings. I really feel like the scum of the earth for pressing the like button.

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When I worked as a Paramedic, I had my own personal "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. I just didn't want to know.

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The elderly resident's SON was drugging her & having sex with her. She was confused & didn't know any better. For some reason, they let him take her back home to live.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
The elderly resident's SON was drugging her & having sex with her. She was confused & didn't know any better. For some reason they let him take her back home to live.[/quote']

:no: OH. NO. :no:

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Specializes in Psychiatric/ Mental Health.
The elderly resident's SON was drugging her & having sex with her. She was confused & didn't know any better. For some reason, they let him take her back home to live.

That's beyond sick. People like him should be tortured. I can't imagine the horror of his helpless mother...Lord help.

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Specializes in Oncology, Ortho/trauma,.

Being in the room with a 9 year old while the doctor tells her she is pregnant- her response is "How did I get pregnant? I never kissed anyone."

Women admitted with blunt force head trauma, boyfriend suspected but she gave the okay for him to be there. Our condition was the room door had to be open. making rounds notice that the door is closed, walk in and Boyfriend is on top of her smothering her with a pillow yelling "I'll kill you B..." call security and they chase him down. She leaves 3 hours later AMA to bail is sorry butt out of jail.

Another time a 19 year old women with a grazed bullet to the face 25 weeks preg. kept her laptop on at all times in the room facing the staff so that the husband on skype could see what staff was saying and doing to her. What was odd was a year before she was also admitted to the hospital for a gun shot wound to the face pregnant at the time. weeks later she had a baby family left ama with baby and 3 days after that baby died (they said SIDS but womens parents think the husband did it) Each gun shot to face was an "accident" that the husband was just cleaning his gun when it went off. Her husband was an army Sargent....

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In picky a bot about 12 came in with his mom having trouble seeing and the eye dr told h

To go to the ER. They discover a mass, dr goes to do surgery and discover it's inoperable and he's hot maybe 6 mths to live.

Boy herniated the next day and they ended up removing life support. It was heartbreaking.

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Specializes in Public Health, L&D, NICU.
Being in the room with a 9 year old while the doctor tells her she is pregnant- her response is "How did I get pregnant? I never kissed anyone."

...

We had a 9 year old once, she colored in coloring books from the peds unit after she got her epidural. One of the saddest things I've ever seen.

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Another time a 19 year old women with a grazed bullet to the face 25 weeks preg. kept her laptop on at all times in the room facing the staff so that the husband on skype could see what staff was saying and doing to her. What was odd was a year before she was also admitted to the hospital for a gun shot wound to the face pregnant at the time. weeks later she had a baby family left ama with baby and 3 days after that baby died (they said SIDS but womens parents think the husband did it) Each gun shot to face was an "accident" that the husband was just cleaning his gun when it went off. Her husband was an army Sargent....

How is her husband being a SERGEANT in the Army relevant to her abuse? You do realize that abusers come from all walks of life? You don't have to be in the military or police to have access to weapons.

I've been a military spouse for over 30 years and have met more abused women from civilian life than from military bases.

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