Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Some People Really Suck
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: The Hospital

I haven't posted in a while, so I am sitting here at work with nothing to do (yet) since its still very early in the shift thinking to myself that now might be a good time to jot a few lines down.  Early in the shift is about the only time that I'll ever be able to do this when I'm working.

Last week we had a 9 month old baby brought in by EMS.  I was working up front in the Triage area when all of a sudden 1 very hysterical woman and a rather anxious looking man came up to the window.  The woman was crying uncontrollably and asking to be let in to see her baby.  Now, since I was working in Triage and not back in the actual ER itself, I didn't know what she was talking about.  That was because things were so busy that day that the charge nurse didn't have time to tell me that EMS was bringing in a pediatric patient. 

I told the couple to wait a minute and went back to see what was going on with a pediatric patient, assuming that EMS had brought him/her in.  To my horror, I found out that the patient was in cardiac arrest and that pratically the whole ER was working the "code" on her.  I rushed back to Triage to let the parents in.  I explained to them that there were a lot of people working on their daughter to try to save her life and to be prepared to see things like IV's, breathing tubes and defibrillation (electrical shock therapy to the heart).

I wasn't able to stay to help because I was needed elsewhere in the ER.  I'm actually kind of glad because the little girl wasn't able to be resuscitated.  She was pronounced dead a short time later.  Needless to say, it was a sad moment not only for the parents, but for the whole ER.

At this point I feel the need to say that some people really suck.  Really.  Remember that "anxious" man that I told you about?  He turned out to be the father of the little girl.  I use the term loosely.

In Tennessee, it is mandatory that infants who have died receive an autopsy, no matter what. Therefore we sent the body of the little girl to the coroner's office. It turns out that the little girl had been abused.  She had some rib fractures, a ruptured liver and bleeding in her brain.  It turns out that the father of the child was responsible.  What makes it worse is that he had just gotten out of jail a few weeks earlier for several things, one of which was battery of a woman. 

That just makes me sick to my stomach. How can anyone to that to a little child?  I can understand becoming so mad at someone that you just want to hit them, but not at a child!  A child should never have that done to them, no matter what.  And just what did that accomplish for that guy? 

Now he's in jail on murder charges, his wife (and he) are childless and the little girl is dead.  What good came out of that for him?  None, that's what.  If anyone in the world deserves to have their knees turned into hamburger meat by me and my Louisville Slugger, its that guy.  Then he needs to be put under the jail.  Forever.

Posted by vader6 at 9:07 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 9:09 AM EDT

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