I haven’t been to work since early December, and won’t be going back until the end of July. It’s taken me longer than I thought to think up some good stories for this 13 – probably because I’ve become immune to the strange things people do to themselves and also because I haven’t been working in the ER for a while. If I was back to work I could write one of these every week.
WARNING: Some of you might find these stories gross. As I read it, I think this might have been more suitable for my other site Odd Planet.
1…. One of the strangest things that I ever saw while working as a nurse occurred when I was still a student nurse. A man had come in with a padlock around his penis. He said it hadn’t been there long, but judging from the damage I’d say that it had been there for more than 24 hours. He’d apparently been with a prostitute and then refused to pay or angered her in some way. She slapped the padlock on him and refused to unlock it. When the man eventually came in to the hospital, the lock having been rubbing against his swollen tissue for many hours, had caused necrosis (skin and tissue death) to occur. The lock had to be cut off and the man had to go through several painful debriding (removal of dead tissue) procedures as a result.
2…. Another man had been hit by a transport truck while driving his motorcycle and dragged several hundred feet. All of the skin and muscles on his back were torn off. This poor man was doomed to a life in the hospital because he had permanently open wounds on his back, and no muscles or tendons to enable him to sit up or even walk.
3…. One morning after working a 12 hour night shift, as I was saying good-bye to my co-workers I heard a lot of shouting near the ER entrance. I looked up the hallway towards the doors just in time to see my husband, who works as a Porter in the hospital, jump onto a patient on a EMS stretcher.
4…. I hurried up to where the action was and as I did two police officers and four paramedics also surrounded the stretcher and grabbed a hold of the patients flailing legs and arms. Meanwhile my husband was lying across the mans legs.
5…. The patient was totally out of his mind. He was high on PCP (my initials BTW – call me Angel), Extacy, Cocaine and possibly acid. He’d already violently bitten one of the police officers. This man was the most violent and out of control “high” patient that I’ve ever seen, and my husband was lying across him in an effort to hold him down.
6…. We finally got the patient into our Recus area. Transferring him to a hospital stretcher was no easy feat. I took care of him for a short while before going home and it was like trying to take care of Hannibal Lector – he was all gnashing teeth and spit. He tried one more time to bite an officer, after he’d tried to bite me, that is. When he finally started to come down, I heard that he was threatening to sue the police and hospital for mistreatment.
7…. My husbands first night shift. He was asked to help security with finding a naked old man who had apparently tried to strangle a nurse with a blood pressure cuff. Chris went up to one of the darkened floors and heard a whoosh, whoosh noise, and as he peered around the corner he found one of the security guards staring at the old naked man as he whirled an emergency fire hose around his head. My husband dived under the whirling fire hose and tackled the patient. Noticing after he did that, that the mans surgical abdominal wound was open and he had intestine sticking out of his belly. Apparently his belly was like this before my hubby tackled the patient.
8…. Another time I was near the ER entrance when I noticed a cab driver pull up and help a passenger out of the car. The man was in shorts and the front of one of his shins appeared to be covered in blood. As the man got closer I saw that the mans shin wasn’t just covered in blood but that it was missing all the skin, tissue and muscle from the knee to the ankle. The man had been kidnapped and thrown in a trunk, and as he managed to escape from the trunk while the car was moving, he tore the tissue off his leg. He would need a lot of surgery to repair the damage.
9…. A very large lady passed away on one of the floors. Security usually meets the funeral attendant at the morgue entrance and allows them to remove the body from the morgue. While the funeral attendant was rolling the stretcher with the large lady down the exit ramp from the morgue the stretcher broke and both the body and stretcher landed on the funeral attendant and the security guard. The guard had to call her fellow security guards to come and help.
10…. Then there was the patients visitor who walked through the hospital smoking a cigarette. I was walking down the hallway, behind the director of Emerg and noticed this man pass her. She stopped and stared, as did I, but she didn’t do anything. I went back and told security and while they could smell the cigarette (they later said it was a joint, but it wasn’t when I saw the man) they never found the man. He apparently walked down the main corridors of the hospital at least three times without being caught.
11…. Then there are always the kids that shove things up their nose or into their ears. Peas, beans, crayons, small toys. I guess it doesn’t hurt going in, but from the screams and tears it must hurt a lot coming out!
12…. Kids also swallow some interesting things – coins, toy trucks, pins. These x-rays are often quite interesting to look at.
13…. I’m not even going to discuss what adults swallow or put in various orifices. Nope, I’ve grossed you out enough for one day I think!
What an incredible list! Amazing what goes on in an ER.
You must live in a large city, b/c that never happened in my town!
Tricia says- I live in Toronto, which is the 5th largest city in North America, and I work in the 2nd busiest ER in Canada.
Wow! That’s all I can say B)
At least you can’t say work is boring, 😉
Happy TT day , mine is up.
Hi Tricia! How come you haven’t been back to work in a while?
Goodness you’ve seen a lot of amazing human situations – you will never be shocked by reality shows lol! You are also married to a very strong and brave man! Happy Week to you!
Tricia Says: I have Crohn’s, or the docs are pretty sure that I do, and I’ve been in a constant flare of abdo pain and other undesirable symptoms for nearly 2 years. So I’m “resting” for a while as they try to figure things out. As you can tell my work is a busy place, which is not that great if you are not 100%. I do love my work though and I’d like to get back to it soon. Thanks for asking.
I’m with feedscott . . . wow!
OMG the padlock! eeeeek
Thanks for sharing those stories, and I must say I’m glad I had breakfast an hour ago. Sometimes I sit and read while eating it LOL…
Mandy
Want to see some very rare cases, accidents, go the ER of a hospital and you’ll lots of them.
Padlock on his penis, that was weird and funny.
My TT is up too.
I avoid nasty incidents like the padlock situation by always paying up front when I employ the services of a prostitute.
I’m a generous tipper, as well.
I’ll use FeedScot’s term. WOW. My T13 is now up.
Interesting list. I have heard rumors about those silly adults and the stuff they stuff. Thanks for stopping by and be blessed today.
Too cool I love stuff like that. The poor motorcycle guy though That is so sad.
A really interesting list. Taught me something about myself, too, because 2 and 8 are the ones that are still making me feel a little chilly…..
I must be going screwy, i thought I just commented but cant see it.
2 and 8 – ooooooooh!
Of course, as a nurse I completely appreciate all those stories..but some still got to me a bit! I remember this one kid I took care of swallowed a roofing nail and every 6 hours or so we got an x-ray..it was fun to watch the progression of the nail! Eventually he pooped it out..there it was…waiting for me to fetch from the diaper and put into a cup for the parents to keep! Ahhh…I love my job!
Hm… I think I’m grateful for not sharing more than that… Quite enough strange things I will say. No wonder that hospital staff get tired… *lol*
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
You have an exciting and interesting job. HOLY COW. This is like watching “Untold Secrets of the ER”. It’s on TLC. Great List.
Happy 13!
This is why I respect people who work as nurses. i couldn’t do it. I can’t even deal with my own blood, much less someone elses.
As a guy I know that number one would hurt extremely bad I can’t help but laugh. Maybe it will teach that guy a lesson.
My T13 is up.
I have pulled 2 tic tacs and a black plastic thing out of one of my kids noses. Slow learner I guess.
Who ever said nursing was easy hasn’t an idea what they are talking about!
My kid sister stuck a button up her nose and I never understood why?
Kids do the strangest things!
My WW and TT are up!
re #1… OK, I’ll say it. Owwwwww!!! :/
Yep…I’ve GOT TO finish my nursing degree! I love stuff like this! The grossest thing I encountered while I was in school (during clinicals) was having to empty an ileostomy bag. I have a strong stomach, but that almost made me puke.
I’ll be there is never a dull moment in the ER! Thanks for being such a great landlord! My TT is up.
My favorite on your list was
#13 what adults swallow……
My mind was laughing !!!!!
TT is up!
*thanks*
^.^
I think I like my job a lot more now.
What is there to say to this?? Amazing! Thanks for posting.
My 13 are also posted. (I won’t say “up” in deference to the man with the padlock!)
Well, your job certainly isn’t boring! I admire nurses…I certainly couldn’t do your job!
My TT is up!
thanx for sharing in my TT,,
I hope u can visit my other one,,, you’ll surely love it
nurses are angels helping others
great TT
Wow! Quite an interesting list.
Thanks for stopping by my 13!
Oh my gosh! I grew up in the projects, in the Bronx, and thought I’d seen it all. But man… being a nurse really takes the cake!! How they don’t require nurses to become black belts in martial arts is beyond me! Thanks for sharing… I enjoyed reading these stories.
To be honest, didn’t read much of your list, I am a little squimish! My sister-in-law would appreciate this list-she is a nurse as well. My list is up.
It’s just a scary list to be frank, but I did laugh when i read #1 , i guess serve him right for paying the pros, not he got a padlock on his “beep” hahahahaha. happy t13!mine is up
your list is WAY more interesting than mine! 🙂 thanks for visiting
My husband’s a nurse too!!…and although not in the ER, he always comes home with bizarre/funny tales!
Thanks for visiting my site:)
This is a good one. I wanted to be a nurse because gross things don’t bother me, but now I’m rethinking that one. LOL – great list.
What a job you have! Thank you for doing it, though 🙂
Wow, some stuff! I don’t think I could top all those stories. I love helpin’ folks but with a weak stsomach – the med feild isn’t for me.
Ouch ouch ouch to the padlock thing!
thanks sooooo much for not telling us about the adults!!!! gruesome and interesting TT! thanks for coming by my site!
I found it fascinating. As one of those kids that stuck something up her nose, it really didn’t hurt that much when the doctor removed the jelly bean. It was just very embarrassing, so I recall putting up a suitable fuss.
Here voting on BOTB..good luck! 🙂
I had a friend who would sit and shove things up his nose during church. It was funny til the day he got a piece of candy stuck in the middle of the sermon.
Tricia says- Gee I hope your friend was a kid at the time … as an adult that would just be too weird, especially during church. 🙂
LIfe in the Er…Never a dull moment! LOL I have a cousin who is an ER nurse in downtown Chicago…she has some great stories too!
Happy Thursday!
Reasons why I could never be a nurse.
I have to say that yours is the most horrifically fascinating Thursday Thirteen I’ve ever seen. Hands. down. You should get a crown for this or something.
Wow.
Thanks for stopping by my T13!
Just thought you’d like to know where I’m using the Thursday Thirteen approach to discuss interesting Minnesota-related topics as are likely to have a common thread.
Interesting! I’m kind of glad I dropped out of nursing school now. -Mix
Wow – I had a friend who worked in the ER and I heard some crazy stories. Thanks for stopping by my list!
Sounds like a really interesting job, but I don’t think that I could do it. I’m so glad that there are folks like you out there who can.
My tt is up too http://lillyput.blogspot.com