Hospital Stories/Rude People Stories

Emily65Roses

New member
Oh man that would've made me start screaming. I have no patience for nurses who think they know better than you. And you know what... when she coughs up the crap we cough up, THEN AND ONLY THEN, does she have the right to tell you what you can and can't spit in.
 

anonymous

New member
I don't understand how these nurses can be so rude to you guys, I feel for my patients and their families and have been known to break some hospital rules to make them comfortable. I guess the difference between myself and another nurse is that I understand how it feels to be on the recieving end of care, and have had some nurses and even doctors really tick me off and then some that have been nothing but an angel.

I must say one thing in a nurses defense though, By law through hospital standards and documentation policies and procedures we are required to ask our patients to bathe on a daily basis. This is taught over and over again in nursing school and reinterate so often in the workplace. It is passed at shift change, by the charge nurse, and by the nurse coworkers. Every time we ask a patient if they would like to shower, we have to document whether they do it, request to do it later, say they don't want to...the charge nurse checks over the charting hourly and reminds us to ask the patients about hygine again and document again. I am not saying this makes it ok, but just thought I would share why we have to ask continuously. If a patient refuses for me, I will document it (as a refusal which is nothing bad) and ask once more a few hours later just to make sure. Neglect and improper hygine has become such grounds for lawsuits in hospitals that everyone has to cover their butt. Though it might help just a tad in understanding why some of them seem like such nags on occasion.

Maybe just tell the nurse you would love shower supplies, then when she comes back later just say you cleaned up. If my patients tell me that, i don't "follow" up on them. Its their body and they know how to take care of it.

Julie
 

Emily65Roses

New member
Julie,
Okay that makes some sense. They're trying to cover their asses for the lawsuit reasons, and I get it. But holy hell, I don't even shower every day at home. I shower every other day. And if I'm on IV meds? Forget it. I shower MAYBE once a week, if I get the chance (though I do bathe during that time, and have Mike wash my hair for me). At least it makes sense for nurses to ASK if we want to shower. But the ones that are so pushy and wenchy about it can bite me. Hahaha. You just said (and you're a nurse!) that they can easily just document that we were asked, and said no.

But yeah, like you said, I've had many nurses who have broken rules so as to make me comfortable. Giving Mike the elevator code in order to go get our Chinese food late at night was just one example of little things certain nurses have done for me that make them stick in my head. That same nurse actually told me about her younger brother. He had CF, and died when he was relatively young (I think 20s?). She told me a little bit about him, and the smartass stuff he pulled in the hospital, and she told me I reminded her of him. I took it as a huge compliment, and it made me cry. Hehehe.

So I've had huge wenchy nurses, and those stories stick out in my mind, because I do enjoy telling them. But the nurses that went out of their way to treat the patient, not the disease also very much get remembered. Nurses like you (I imagine, from what you've said), and like that girl who had the CF brother (I forget her name, ahhh!!) were SUPPOSED to go into nursing. There are many nurses who should consider another occupation. <img src="i/expressions/devil.gif" border="0">
 

anonymous

New member
Jamey,I just moved fromSt. Louis! Iwas on 3200 also! Who's your fav???? Mines Joanne! I miss that floor so much! Now I'm In alaska, and I have a wonderful doc up here too. I miss dr. R Though! Good Luck!

Dana
30YRS young with CF
 

anonymous

New member
I'm 30 years young with CF and I've been in the Hospital so many times.... My FAVORITE comment is"you don't even look sick!" Usually I cough up a specimen and ask how I look now? Usually they look worse than me!
I used to be on a adult floor, but after moving to Alaska we can go on the Peds Unit....I love it, they have never made a mistake, but that might be because they are all afraid of my doc! He's really great, and I love the fact that I don't have to worry that they don't listen to him! Another perk is the great food, and no visiting hrs. My kids can come with my Hubby whenever they please!Also no vitals at night, and weigh in's at 8:00 AM Sharp! Breakfast isn't till about 8:30 either!
By the way, I hear so many people talking about PICCS -GET A PORT! They are wonderful! I went through 7 centrals 4 piccs, and about 30 reg IVS in 1 year. Got the port because there was no access left, It is so much easier, I just access it before I get admitted! I have alot more freedom!
I see all you young CF ers and I am so happy with all the great attitudes! We can only make the best of the situation, and finding even sad humor helps! Sometimes when I've had the worst Hospital experience, I usaully can look back and find some Humor in it! Keep it up!
 

jamey

New member
Dana, ya Joanne is a good nurse, she got remarried and is pregnant now. Stacy had a baby last year also. r maybe u know that, how long have u been gone? there is alot of new nurses on the floor now.oh, and i know you have to know Paula, well she moved to Florida. i couldnt believe when she quit, i thought she would be there forever. i go to clinic march 7 so i may be there after that,hard tellin.
 

NoDayButToday

New member
Julie, I never realized that rule, but it's really annoying when there are the few nurses who are belligerent about it. Just also wanted to note that 90% percent of my nurses are great... unfortunately the bad ones stand out just as much as the great ones!
 

anonymous

New member
Hi this is my first posting havnt got round to signing up. when i was young in hospitial I had an IV in that I was pretty sure was busted but I was stubborn and going home the next morning so I convinced a nurse to just dilute down the drugs and put them in over an hour so it would be ok. Well I fell asleep And the next morning when the nurse was taking out my IV to send me home my arm had swelled up she looked worried and I couldn't fully move my wrist. So I never tried that again it was about 6 years ago and I still Have a Little Hard Lump under my skin where it was
 

jenhum

New member
Hey Julie do you know if that is a fairly new thing that they have taught nurses? I have never had a nurse bother me, or even ask me about showering. It's been a while since I've been in the hospitalfor CF though, b/c I do mostly home IV's now.

I was in the hospital for a compound fracture/severed artery/nerve damage for 10 days, and they only sponge bathed me one time (I couldn't get to the bathroom until the last couple of days. I wish they had done more sponge baths though!!! I felt so disgusting, and I was so doped up on pain killers that I didn't really care who saw me naked, lol.
 

NoDayButToday

New member
Ruuuuuuude person story here, from just last night:

My friends and I were at the movies, and we were leaving. Well, the cold air hit me hard and I started having a bad coughing fit-- hiccuping, fighting not to puke too, the works. So I'm leaning on a parking meter, my friend is rubbing my back, and still coughing, when.. The Lady In Red walks by with her friends and does one of those rude, mock-coughs. (She is called the Lady In Red by us now because she had a red coat, and an ungly red hat) Well, I was too out of breath to give her a piece of my mind right there, but my friend says "Did she just do that?" and ran down the street to chase her. It must have been adrenaline, because my coughing subsided pretty quickly and I caught up with my friend. We confronted her and the conversation went like this:

Steve (my friend): Where do you get off making fun of my friend? You're a grown woman
Lady In Red: (silent smirk)
Steve: Do you have anything to say?
Lady In Red: (still smirking)
Coll: Well since you have nothing to say, let me say this. I hope you had a good laugh over your lame joke because now I'm heading home to do at least an hour's worth of treatments for my little 'cough', like I do every night since I have a fatal lung disease. [yes, slightly dramatic, but I wanted her to feel as bad as possible]
Lady In Red: (not so much smirking anymore, sort of frightened almost)
Steve: So have a good laugh about it. Oh, and your hat is ugly.
Lady In Red: (turns quickly and runs into the parking lot practically- as if someone who just said they had a 'fatal lung disease' would beat her up)

It was so satisfying to tell her off!
 

cfgirl38

New member
I'm glad you told her for all the rest of us. Maybe her and people like her will stop and THINK before they do insensitive things. Yeah, Go Coll. Becky
 

princesss

New member
I have so many stories...another great post! I actually just got out of the hospital on Fri and I'm currently home on IV's. Oh man I'm having such a sh*t time with the @ home care. 1st of all is it just me or is the PICC the worst. I always have such trouble with them. They had a difficult time getting it in and man oh man it hurt like hell for days. My veins are crappy but still PICC's suck. My home nurse came over and noticed I was to be hooked up 24 hrs to a pump, and start a gravity line on my left?? uhhm no, I refused..my viens would never last and no way are they gonna poke and re-poke numerous times. I'll find out tomorrow what they are gonna do about the meds I'm not getting. Secondly, my pump keeps stopping and starting when ever it pleases. It stopped one day for the entire day when the nurse came I told her and she said to make sure I call if it happens again. This morning I woke up at 6:30 and it stopped and didn't go all night, I called the number and they said they'd send someone asap...no one came? I'm hopefully done this Tues, thank god. Anyways for the hospital stay, for some reason something is going around here and the Respitory ward was full. I went into Emerg Sat and wasn't able to get a room until the following Tues. Yeah, 4 days in Emerg...fun!! NOT. I was in isolation...it was hell. No tv, no radio, nothing. I was hooked up to all this crap when I had to go to the bathroom really bad. I buzzed, buzzed again and again and no one came until 1 hour and 10 mins...I freaked out, I said they had to un hook me and I was not being hooked up again until I was on a floor. I was in so much pain and just lied there with nothing to do except think about how much pain I was in. They did give me demerol and gravel, plus some morphine..even that wasn't helping all that much. Anyways!! My craziest story ever was, once I was in a room with an olderly women. I came to the room started to unpack and introduced myself. Later that night, she buzzed the nurses claiming I stole from her?? Then one time she came to the end of my bed slamming her cane on it saying she was gonna get me. THEN during the night I woke up to my cheek feeling as if it was on fire, she managed to put teh little reach lamp over my face and turnd it on. She was crazy, the nurses knew this but couldn't move me until 4 days later. Well that's all for now. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 

NoDayButToday

New member
Yeah.. it was so satisfying to yell at that woman. I'm pretty good about standing up for myself in situations like that. Sometimes you hear someone say something though and can't really say something back, since it would look lik eavesdropping. Once I was at a restaurant with my best friend Bridget and coughed and the man next to us at the other table said "Way to go out and get us all sick. JESUS!" to his dinner partner, so my friend said "So, Coll, what did your cystic fibrosis doctor say at your last appointment?" VERY oubviously and loudly. Even though we didn't talk TO them, I think they got the message.

PS: Yes, Steve is cool Emily. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 

terber

New member
I have LOTS of stories (I could type for days) about people being rude but, one story in particular sticks out in my mind the most. I was shopping with my sis and I had parked in the handicap spot. As I was getting out of the car, some lady yelled "how can you go in and shop with a clear conscience?" I said "excuse me?" She said "you know you are not handicapped and you have no business parking there." I said "I didnt know that everyone who was handicapped had to be in a wheelchair!!!" People are so IGNORANT! I think she was mad because she couldnt park there...hehe <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 

anonymous

New member
I remember when i was in grade 6 or 7 and we sat in tables i sat next to this kid for a month or so and then all of a sudden he started to make fun of me because i cleared my throat and coughed all the time.. everytime after i would cough he would mock me with a little cough of his own. One day I turned to him and told him it wasn't funny and how would he like it if i poured molassis down his throat and into his lungs!? i was so mad it was the only thing i could think of other than crying. He never did it again after that. Also i was just in the hospital like yesterday i was just sent home for home care but i got this old lady as a room mate and she was sick obviously but she wanted so much attention that my nurse one night forgot to give me my tobramycin and then the next day she was changing my iv line and she sucked up some saline and then got a whole bunch of air in the syringe she unhooked my one iv line so blood started backing up into the line of my mid line and i forgot so it freaked me out and she was like oh i guess i have to flush your line then. So she set up the other tubes and went to flush my line and then pumped eveything including the air into my line. I freaked out i picked it up and tried to flick the air out of the line.. and she was like oh i didn't see that.. so then she tried to back the line up to get the air out but she couldn't. So then she took more saline and just pumped it all the way in. I know it takes a lot of air to kill you cause the girl in radiology told me later it takes about a meter of air to kill you, but it still freaked me out a lot case i mean... it's the idea of it, what if i had a weak heart and didn't know about it. It was my first time in the adult hospital and i hated it. I hate my picc line and i hated being there, like my arm hurt fromt he mid line cause the stupid iv nurse wouldn't put it in the left arm cause she couldn't really feel the vein so she put it in my right my dominent arm and it hurt and they still made me set up my masks and stuff myself. It wasn't hard but it made it just that much worse haveing to do all that extra work with my flimsy left hand. But anyway i think that's it for me.


Ashley 20/w cf
 

Emily65Roses

New member
Terber, that story quite literally makes me angry. Like, physically truly angry. I just reread it again (I read it earlier before class) and it actually makes my adreneline rush a little. I HATE that, and I swear, I wish I was there. I would've been all sorts of rude and nasty.
 

Mockingbird

New member
I met a ladt from another site; she doesn't have cf, but she has a lot of other problems, and she caught some bunk from someone when she parked in the handicapped spot. So, she listed off everything that was wrong with her, and then said, "Thank you for reminding me how ****ed up I am!" =-) the person who yelled at her couldn't go anywhere, either, because they were in a drive-though or something like that, they just had to sit there soaking in all their embarrassment. =-)
 
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2sickkids

Guest
My kids ped is agood dr but sometimes the things she says about their cf upsets more then a little. Today I was in there because my 2yr old w/cf is sick and has stuff flying out of both ends. She had a med student with her and she was on the other side of the door. I heard her say we are a sad case because both boys have cf my 6mo has lots of comps and hearing vision and developmental problems and I am not healthy either . Gee she could have closed the door. But I mean we are people just because we have problems doesn't mean we shouldn't have been treated with respect and a little care.
 

terber

New member
I just thought of another rude person I encountered...This rude person (of all people) was a geometry teacher I had back in high school...I had kept coughing in class one day and the teacher told me "please dont die in class...Id hate to have to sign all of the papers.." My friend told him "she has cf you idiot"...Apparently he didnt pay attention to what she had said and said it again a few other times during the course of the week until finally my mom went into the school about it. The people in the office told her she was "over reacting to the situation". So, she went to his class room in an outrage and he locked himself in his class room and wouldnt come to the door!!! The next day he apologized!! ha
 
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