Probably the worst was a 400+ lb guy brought in by EMS because he couldn't care for himself any longer. He was early 50's and was still wearing the hosp gown he was d/c in 3 weeks before.
He was so big and the house was so piled up with garbage they had to cut a section of wall out to get to him. When he got to us he was covered neck to toe in fecal material.
Me and 2 other nurses went in to start giving him a bath. Lots of hot soapy water and about 50 towels. As we turned him onto his R side, we noticed something hairy stuck in a fold.
It was covered in poop, and upon futher inspection we noticed it had blown pupils. That was the first rat I have ever had to pull out of a fold. We also recovered some Little Debbie wrappers in other folds and a crushed coke bottle stuck in his a$$
We did get this guy admitted and sent to a nursing home for better care.
When we have anyone who is questionable about their survival in the ER we put the body bag on the stretcher before they get there. You put it on kind of inside out, so it looks like a sheet, tuck the rest under the mattress. When it's time to bag them, you just zip it up. Nobody can tell the difference, and if they survive, then great.
Responded to a "belly pain" one night in beautiful WVa...18y/o female c/o lower abdominal pain. While enroute I asked the usual barrage of questions and got to the one I was dreading..."could you be pregnant?" (she was married...not that it mattered, we have to ask, anyway) She answered in a serious voice "of course not, we have been using the other hole." OMG!!!!!!!...She was SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!! She was also pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy
When we have anyone who is questionable about their survival in the ER we put the body bag on the stretcher before they get there. You put it on kind of inside out, so it looks like a sheet, tuck the rest under the mattress. When it's time to bag them, you just zip it up. Nobody can tell the difference, and if they survive, then great.
I was a patient in the ED, but I still find this hilarious. Of course, I like black humor.
In my case, the squad set the stretcher on a bed without transferring me, so the squad would have had to provide the body bag. Finding a body bag underneath you would be considered a bad sign. Other bad signs are:
Being seen by 3 or 4 nurses and a doctor one second after the squad leaves.
Being immediately uncovered, having the staff introduce themselves, and then starting to treat you without even asking for your name.
Being seen by 2 additional doctors while in the ED.
Being transferred to the Critical Care Unit as soon as the ED is done with you.
All of this happened to me, but made no impression on me at the time. I just considered it to be typical small-town good service. I did not understand why my parents seemed so scared, either. A GI bleed where the squad finds you lying naked on your living room floor, not actively bleeding but covered with blood and fecal matter, and with a bp of 110/60, gets you this kind of service. Even with an I.V. started before departure, my bp had dropped to 78/45 at the hospital, with a temperature of 93 degrees (still alert and oriented, though). I had lost about 4 units of blood.
I wonder now what they did with the other patients, since I could not hear any signs of activity outside of the curtained-off area I occupied.
I was a patient in the ED, but I still find this hilarious. Of course, I like black humor.
In my case, the squad set the stretcher on a bed without transferring me, so the squad would have had to provide the body bag. Finding a body bag underneath you would be considered a bad sign. Other bad signs are:
Being seen by 3 or 4 nurses and a doctor one second after the squad leaves.
Being immediately uncovered, having the staff introduce themselves, and then starting to treat you without even asking for your name.
Being seen by 2 additional doctors while in the ED.
Being transferred to the Critical Care Unit as soon as the ED is done with you.
All of this happened to me, but made no impression on me at the time. I just considered it to be typical small-town good service. I did not understand why my parents seemed so scared, either. A GI bleed where the squad finds you lying naked on your living room floor, not actively bleeding but covered with blood and fecal matter, and with a bp of 110/60, gets you this kind of service. Even with an I.V. started before departure, my bp had dropped to 78/45 at the hospital, with a temperature of 93 degrees (still alert and oriented, though). I had lost about 4 units of blood.
I wonder now what they did with the other patients, since I could not hear any signs of activity outside of the curtained-off area I occupied.
sounds like they used some plastic tarp device or maybe even a bag to protect the stretcher from your fesces or bloody vomit. getting seen by the er staff, then the critical care doctors come down to see you right away as the er staff hands them off to you seems normal to me.
what you described is exactly how it should be in the ED. present, evaluate, test, stabilize, then admit and get up to the appropriate setting (in this case, intensive care)
it sounds like this hospital really has its act together, and this is the way all patients should be treated. glad to hear you made it! GI bleeds suck!
OMG!!!!!!!...She was SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!! She was also pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy 
Katnip, RN
2,904 Posts
When we have anyone who is questionable about their survival in the ER we put the body bag on the stretcher before they get there. You put it on kind of inside out, so it looks like a sheet, tuck the rest under the mattress. When it's time to bag them, you just zip it up. Nobody can tell the difference, and if they survive, then great.