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

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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.

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.

Right, I think the point is just that he's a sergeant and someone we would typically respect and look up to in society.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology, Ortho/trauma,.

Actually it was more to the fact that I would assume a military person would know how to clean a gun without it discharging. Not to the character of any military person.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I suspect the poster meant it was notable that he was military and yet no real investigation into the circumstances was apparently done? I didn't read it as a 'dis on military men/women/families.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

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.

Because soldiers are put on pedestals, like police. The military also has a spousal abuse problem. Instead of a blue wall, the abused spouse faces a green wall.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
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.

Because TWICE she was shot in the face by "accident" when he was cleaning his guns. I hope they provide better gun training to anyone in the military

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology, Ortho/trauma,.
Because TWICE she was shot in the face by "accident" when he was cleaning his guns. I hope they provide better gun training to anyone in the military

That is what I was making a point of- I assume that in boot camp 101 you are taught how to clean a weapon. So discharging a weapon on accident not once but twice was more than highly suspicious.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Actually it was more to the fact that I would assume a military person would know how to clean a gun without it discharging. Not to the character of any military person.

Same thing I was thinking that she was trying to get at. At least that's the first thing that popped I to MY head.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Service personnel do not take their weapons home. They are kept in an armoury and signed out as needed.

I do not understand the need to have weapons in a family home. But then I live in a nation where gun ownership is not a right.

Don't American hospitals have a requirement to report gunshot wounds and cases of domestic abuse to hospitals?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

Don't American hospitals have a requirement to report gunshot wounds and cases of domestic abuse to hospitals?

As far as DV, the onus is for the person to report; it is not a requirement; GSW's can be reported, but if the person doesn't want to press charges, there is no further investigation-depending on the local laws; some may continue to investigate and bring charges.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peds Urology,primary care, hem/onc.

I remember taking care of a 9 year old girl who had been stabbed by her father. He was separated from her mother (and estranged, Mom had a protective order against him). He broke into her house, stabbed and killed her mother, her grandmother, her siblings and sliced her throat from ear to ear. She played dead while he killed the rest of her family. The SOB got into his car, drove to his job in a neighboring state and WENT TO WORK like nothing happened. He left no evidence and if she had not survived, he may have gotten away with it. She was able to tell the police it was her father and he ended up in prison for the rest of his life. It was so scary when she was first in the hospital because they initially could not find him. The story was all over the news but they did not give her name or where she was. We were in a small town so it would have been easy to figure out what hospital she was taken to. There was armed police guards outside of her room at all times. Her name was never on any of her paperwork (we listed her as NPNI (no press/no info). Her aunt and uncle took her in and last I heard she was doing well (this was in the 90's). I just could not believe what that poor child went through listening to her father murder her whole family and had the presence of mind to hold her breath and fake being dead when he went back to her to make sure she was not breathing. It was a miracle he did not succeed. He literally cut her from ear to ear across her throat. Still can see her face to this day.

Took care of a young boy (3-4 years of age) that was in a horrible car accident. His parents were killed instantly and he was unconscious at the scene. In the PICU, we were cleaning him up and getting him stable, his grandparents came into the room (the police had called them). When he woke up and saw them there, he asked them "are Mom and Dad ok??". I will never forget the look on that Grandfather's face... he looked at all of us in the room (who knew what had happened to his parents) and looked at him, with tears in his eyes, and said "yes sweetie, they are ok now". He was still critical from his injuries and the MD's did not think it was the right time to tell him his parents had died and wanted to wait until he was more stable before they upset him. Broke my heart.

We had a teenage boy, soccer star who collapsed and coded on the play field. They coded him in the ER and were able to bring him back. He got diagnosed with severe leukemia and septic shock. He was in the ICU for months but he had a severe type of leukemia that, itself had a very poor prognosis. Because of the oxygen deprivation from the multiple episodes of being coded, he got gangrene in ALL of his peripheral extremities and started losing limbs. He lingered for months. We are in a small town, and one of my friends (who did not know I knew who he was) sent me a link to his families web page they set up to give updates on how he was doing and asked me to pray for him. His parents, understandably, never fully disclosed how horrific what he was dealing with was. Because of this, people would tell me, after reading the website, oh he is doing better!!! Because of HIPPA, I obviously never said a word about the fact I knew who he was, cared for him etc, but it was SO hard to hear all of these people comment, with hope, that he was doing better and going to make it when I knew he wasn't.

This one is less tragic but made me SO angry. I went into an exam room to see a new patient. I see a Mom that is obviously down on her luck and struggling but was trying SO hard to do well for her baby girl. Mom's clothes were old and ill fitting but the baby was in a brand new outfit, well fed and you could tell how much mom loved that baby. I sit down to get her history, and I notice mom is really sweating and fanning herself (the exam room was cool). I asked her if she was ok. She told me that the van driver (she lived 2 +hours away from her specialist appointment and was using Medicaid paid transportation to get her to the appointment) REFUSED TO TURN ON THE A/C in the car in the middle of the summer. This poor woman was SO embarrassed I felt so bad for her. I pick up the infant and her sweet little outfit was damp with sweat and her hair was damp from sweat. The drive had brought up several families. This Mom told me he refused to even open the windows. There were several families in the van being brought up for appts. They all asked for the A/C to be turned on our to at least open the windows and he refused. He was also blarring loud, lewd rap music and refused to turn it down either (with young kids in the car). You could tell this poor mother was so embarrassed that she even needed this transportation, she only said something when I asked her about it (you got the feeling she believed she deserved to be treated that way). I called our social worker who called the transportation company. We told the supervisor what had happened. He had us give this mom his personal cell phone # and she was to call him, from the van, if there was any trouble on the way home. Made me SO angry. This driver was paid out of my taxpayer money, no reason to judge these poor people and make them (and their children) endure a 2 + hour drive with no A/C and having to listen to offensive music. We did confirm with the supervisor that the AC WAS working in the van so it was not b/c it was broken, but because he was a jerk.

We had this 10 year old boy with a severe neurological disorder. He was completely noncommunicative and had severe self injurious behavior. He had to have a weighted blanket over him at all times so he would not hit/hurt himself. His adoptive mother brought him for a clinic visit. She had adopted him 3 years prior completely aware of all of his severe medical issues. She loved that boy SO much it brought tears to your eyes. As I was helping her move him to the exam table, I looked at her and told her that her son was SO blessed to have her as a mother. This mother looked at me, with tears in her eyes and said, "NO, I am the one who is blessed to have HIM as a son". Here was a woman who volunteered to take a poor boy who will never talk to her, never communicate with her and has to be restrained so he does not hurt himself and loves him SO fiercely. It is one thing when it is your own flesh and blood, but to willingly adopt a child like this, just was SO moving. Gave me chills.

In my specialty, there are some things seen on ultrasound when Mom's are pregnant. We see these Mom's before they deliver to do counseling and establish a relationship with them before the baby is born. One of these mom's we saw antenatally was young (I think she and dad were around 18). They had a lot of support from both sets of grandparents and the young Mom and Dad were so cute and excited about the baby. We found out that the Mom should up to the ER around full term and literally dropped and coded in the ER waiting room. Turns out she had an undiagnosed aneurysm of her aorta that blew there in the waiting room. They were not able to save her but were able to save the baby. They baby, a beautiful little girl, was fine and the issue we saw her for was mild. We saw her at 2-3 weeks of age. Dad and the two grandmothers came to the appointment and there was such a weight over the whole exam room. Here is this beautiful baby girl, that everyone was so excited for, who had lost her mamma in such a tragic way (and she was so young). She came back for followup around 6-9 months later. It was just the grandmothers at the appointment. Turns out the father ended up committing suicide a few months after we saw her for her first appointment. I still can see that poor young man doting on that new baby girl. Cannot imagine how lost he must have felt to feel he had no way out. Her grandmothers are taking good care of her and she is doing well. Cannot imagine having to tell her when she is older what happened to her parents.

I have others but I do not feel like continuing on.....makes you grateful for what you have in your own life that is good. Life is so fleeting and you never know what could happen.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

^Just...WOW....thanks for sharing those stories!

:yes:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I had a homeless woman admitted to our cardiac stepdown unit with chest pain to rule out ACS. She had a negative stress test but was found to be diabetic, hypertensive, and had head lice. We treated her head lice and the attending luckily was the most compassionate hospitalist in our hospital. He started her on metformin and lisinopril both of which you can get free at publix. Our hospital also gives out free glucometers to needy patients in a lunch bag with a fax to a company so that they can follow up with the pt to provide more supplies. Now whether or not she actually followed up idk, but I had to discharge her. I packed that lunchbox full of sandwiches, jello, sugar free puddin, everything we had stock in the nutrition room. I couldn't imagine being all alone with all these new health problems with no where to go.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment