Stuck in a Furrow
Friday, March 24, 2006
You're Never Really Prepared...
I am trained in first aid, but I don't think I've ever really had to use it in the 4+ years I've been a medical assistant. I never really thought I'd ever have to use it...but today turned out to be different. We had to call a patient in for urgent test results.
It went downhill from there.
It's never easy having to tell someone that they are "sick" but it is especially hard when they have a short time frame. We don't have to tell patients they have cancer very often, usually they know when they come to us or they are in such early stages, that every intervention is possible. Not only did we have to tell this patient that she had cancer, but that it didn't look good. From her results, every possible organ was affected. They had no idea. A complete blindside.
So, when they came in, I put her in an exam room and suggested (in the most non-urgent way that I could) that her husband join her in the room. He immediately knew it wasn't good. Then, the next thing I hear is the door opening and 2 seconds later, the loud crash of our scale being knocked into the wall. Dr. P is calling me and I literally hung up on someone...not even an explanation. The husband was laying on the floor in the "kitchen" with his eyes rolled back and twitching. He came around but we couldn't move him. I was calling 911 and Dr. P spoke to the paramedics but the man seemed ok. Groggy but alert. I did what I was trained to do. Ask questions...keep him conscious and calm. He had to use the bathroom...not a good idea because he still looked pale but he was up and around the corner before I could stop him. Ok. I stood outside the door talking to him...which probably made him annoyed but I didn't really care. Then another loud crash of the toilet tank and I've never seen Dr. P move so darn fast. He was in the washroom and then I was in the washroom, pulling a 200+ lb, 1/2 naked man off the toilet and into the waiting room...not pleasant. Meanwhile, there are patients waiting in the front with looks of wild terror, too stunned to move.
I've seen people faint before. But this was different....I thought he was going to die in our office from a heart attack or something and I was scared...what do I say, what do I do? I felt completely useless. I held his hand and offered her some water. His wife (who just found out that she had cancer) now has to deal with the fact that the paramedics are loading her half-alert husband onto a stretcher and taking him to the hospital. I have a whole new respect for paramedics.
I was shaking ( still am a bit!) and I'm sure my BP was high and Dr. P didn't look so good either...we do internal medicine, we aren't used to emergencies.
So, that is my morning. It was supposed to be quiet....
It went downhill from there.
It's never easy having to tell someone that they are "sick" but it is especially hard when they have a short time frame. We don't have to tell patients they have cancer very often, usually they know when they come to us or they are in such early stages, that every intervention is possible. Not only did we have to tell this patient that she had cancer, but that it didn't look good. From her results, every possible organ was affected. They had no idea. A complete blindside.
So, when they came in, I put her in an exam room and suggested (in the most non-urgent way that I could) that her husband join her in the room. He immediately knew it wasn't good. Then, the next thing I hear is the door opening and 2 seconds later, the loud crash of our scale being knocked into the wall. Dr. P is calling me and I literally hung up on someone...not even an explanation. The husband was laying on the floor in the "kitchen" with his eyes rolled back and twitching. He came around but we couldn't move him. I was calling 911 and Dr. P spoke to the paramedics but the man seemed ok. Groggy but alert. I did what I was trained to do. Ask questions...keep him conscious and calm. He had to use the bathroom...not a good idea because he still looked pale but he was up and around the corner before I could stop him. Ok. I stood outside the door talking to him...which probably made him annoyed but I didn't really care. Then another loud crash of the toilet tank and I've never seen Dr. P move so darn fast. He was in the washroom and then I was in the washroom, pulling a 200+ lb, 1/2 naked man off the toilet and into the waiting room...not pleasant. Meanwhile, there are patients waiting in the front with looks of wild terror, too stunned to move.
I've seen people faint before. But this was different....I thought he was going to die in our office from a heart attack or something and I was scared...what do I say, what do I do? I felt completely useless. I held his hand and offered her some water. His wife (who just found out that she had cancer) now has to deal with the fact that the paramedics are loading her half-alert husband onto a stretcher and taking him to the hospital. I have a whole new respect for paramedics.
I was shaking ( still am a bit!) and I'm sure my BP was high and Dr. P didn't look so good either...we do internal medicine, we aren't used to emergencies.
So, that is my morning. It was supposed to be quiet....
posted by Crystal at 12:23 PM
3 Comments:
Holy crap! I can't believe that happened in your office. That's so scary! Was he just in shock or what? Lucky that you weren't alone and the doctor was there to handle anything too major. Everyday something interesting is bound to happen I guess!
Thank goodness for rubber gloves, bleach and air freshner. I decided today that I'm glad I'm not a mom because I don't do well with body "stuff". I almost lost it.
I just about lost it reading your post. Tearing up for what this family must be going through. How horrible. Sorry that had to happen to them and to you. At least you didn't freeze up as I'm sure I would. Good thing to know that your training came in handy!
I thought my morning was bad because we had no coffee in our office.
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