Louisiana Sandusky shares a story about a female adult patient she is currently taking care of in the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit).
I finally have a name for the female patient that has been in the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit) at our hospital for the past several days. We have an identity on her; she is no longer a nameless face. The woman in question is named Tottie Ruth Weatherspoon, and she is 48 years old (she really doesn't look it, though). She lives in Sydney, Australia. She is visiting the United States "on holiday", but it already looks like her "holiday" has gotten off to a very rocky start.
Anyway, Tottie is visiting the United States for the next three weeks. It looks like her holiday will be extended for a while. She was on her way to her hotel from the airport when a semi-truck plowed into the cab she was riding in. It was a nasty accident, according to witnesses on the scene and the paramedics; the cab driver was instantly killed (he was decapitated in the accident), and Tottie's leg was amputated when a piece of steel sliced it nearly clean off. The truck driver, amazingly enough, wasn't hurt, but this accident backed up traffic for miles.
Paramedics rushed the injured woman to the nearest hospital, which was ours. In the E.R., she was quickly treated for her lesser injuries, then was immediately rushed to surgery for her leg (and also her spleen; it, like her leg, had to be removed).
She was in surgery for over two hours.
Tottie was placed into the MICU, where she has been ever since. This is my first meeting with her, but Calamity Jane, Kerry, and Mary (my nurses) have been attending to her since her arrival into the MICU. They have done a wonderful job in caring for her. She has been plugged up to tubes and monitors, and she has been drifting in and out of consciousness. Her blood pressure and her other vital signs have been fairly unstable; this is one reason why she keeps drifting in and out. One never knows what they will do; the vital signs have kept us on our toes.
Tottie awakened again just a little while ago; once we took her medical history, we had our hands full with her because she kept trying to go for the nasogastric (NG) tube, which went from an outlet on the wall to her nose, down her esophagus, and to her stomach, where it removed gas, air, and stomach contents into a small, semi-clear canister. We ended up having to tie her hands down, which did not bode well for our patient: she was severely claustrophobic.
A sad but dramatic write here, Karen. Poor lady! Imagine losing a leg? Not what you would expect when going on holiday. This is one case I'll be following closely. Terrific write, K.
Oh this is such a reality on out dangerous roads and a daily drama at most hospitals.
Funny enough I wrote a poem about an Accident...will post it soon!!
Karen this is another amazing story, you have a way of bringing these characters to life, and you make your reader care about them like they were family, in my opinion a mark of a great author
God Bless
Michelle~
OH MY GOODNESS. This grips me in all me vitals and crushes my lungs.... I soooooooo could not be a nurse, though in spirit I would love to be able to be one. But I'm just not temperamentally geared to all this stuff. I am in awe, Karen, of you being able to write so clearly with that mixture of objectivity and sympathetic engagement. Thank you for making me aware of all that others go through on both sides of the hospital sheets. Your writes are amazing. TY K xx
A poignant story about letting go of a narcissist in your life. Have you ever been attacked FULL force by a narcissist? It's the closest thing to being stabbed over and over in the back.
Rovella is a beautiful woman with a cold heart whom blames herself for an unfortunate old family secret that is literally ruining her life. This secret impedes a gorgeous woman from having happiness in her childhood, and throughout her life. Dark sec
