The Drowning

[Birdstrike]

The Drowning​

"You want them to see you, like they see any other girl"-Against Me!​

I head to work at my new locums job on the California coast. Summer 2015 is going to be a great one, I think to myself. I make the turn into the hospital parking lot and a rusty old Trans Am cuts me off. I slam on the brakes to the soundtrack of screeching tires. Geez, I think to myself. It’s my first day at this job and they’re already trying to kill me. I drive on, and I pull into my parking space. My headache is starting a little too early for this shift, I think to myself. The sun is out, the sand is hot, and it seems like everyone must be at the beach but me. The humid heat is as thick and soothing as suntan oil. I leave it and walk into the cold and clinical hospital.

Out of the EMS radio and through the air crackles, “ELDERLY FEMALE CARDIAC ARREST…DROWNING…INTUBATED…NO PULSE…45 MINUTE DOWN TIME…ETA 5 MINUTES.”

Jane the nurse looks at me. “This one’s yours,” she says with a wink.

“You got it,” I answer. Way to start off with tragic one, I think to myself and take a deep breathe, shaking my head.

“Boom” goes the grinding, mechanical sound of the automatic doors as EMS rolls the stretcher into my ER. In they wheel my patient, while feverishly sweating and performing CPR and bagging air in and out of the patient, one breath at a time. With my back against the wall, they wheel the head of the bed up to me. I see a large, elderly female, dressed in a bright orange one-piece women’s bathing suit. I grab my laryngoscope and look to make sure the ET tube is in the airway. Her face is bloated and purplish-pale except for the mess of pink lipstick smeared around her mouth, likely from EMS attempts at placing the tube. I check the tube and it’s okay.

“45 minutes with no pulse at any time? Drowning?” I ask EMS.

“Yes sir,” responds one of the burly EMS guys. “We got the tube in right away, started CPR, gave epi per protocol, and…..nothing.”

“Did you see any of her family?” I ask.

“No family. She was with a big church group at the beach for a picnic, with a bunch of kids. Youth group, or something,” says the EMT.

“What?! Doc. Look!….” says Nurse Jane who had just cut off the patient’s bathing suit, pointing at the patient’s..........(read more)

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[kmb1908]

Wow.

 

[dchristismi]

Goosebumps...

 

[EMIM2011]

Summer 2015......Bird's working in the ED again?

 

[slystalone]

Nicely written.

 

[Tenk]

Seems like a normal day.

 

[RustedFox]

Had a similar case when I was a resident. Guy looked like he belonged at a Slayer concert, but sho'nuff; where the sausage and beans should be... there was the opposite anatomy.

 

[VentJockey]

Another sad example of how religion poisons our culture and destroys lives. This poor lady was tortured to death by a nasty fairy tale...

 

[Birdstrike]

Nicely written.

Nicely read

 

[Birdstrike]

Seems like a normal day.

Exactly! "Nothing to see here. Move along now". Lol

 

[DoctorMedic]

Had a guy cut off his own testicles at home in the bath tub. Yup, had diagrams all over the room etc. Just forgot to get "something for the bleeding". Interestingly psych told urology not to reattach them as he (she) threatened to cut them off again if reattached.

 

[Birdstrike]

Had a guy cut off his own testicles at home in the bath tub. Yup, had diagrams all over the room etc. Just forgot to get "something for the bleeding". Interestingly psych told urology not to reattach them as he (she) threatened to cut them off again if reattached.

That's quite an shocking act, isn't it?

 

[docdragon]

Had a guy cut off his own testicles at home in the bath tub.... Just forgot to get "something for the bleeding".

[NQUOTE="Birdstrike, post: 16579609, member: 366094"]That's quite an shocking act, isn't it?[/QUOTE]

The one I saw had thought of cautery with an iron. It makes it really hard to answer "ER doc?? What's the grossest thing you ever saw?????" There are things people are really not ready to hear.

 

[DoctorMedic]

[NQUOTE="Birdstrike, post: 16579609, member: 366094"]That's quite an shocking act, isn't it?

Yeah it was pretty crazy. He repeatedly said if you reattach them I'll cut them off again. Ultimately psych stated it would be best to leave them off.

The one I saw had thought of cautery with an iron. It makes it really hard to answer "ER doc?? What's the grossest thing you ever saw?????" There are things people are really not ready to hear.[/QUOTE]

Haha yeah I don't usually share that one unless it's other medical professionals. People who think they are just aren't usually ready to hear that one.

 

[Birdstrike]

Another sad example of how religion poisons our culture and destroys lives. This poor lady was tortured to death by a nasty fairy tale...

Thanks for the comment. I'm surprised this post didn't generate more discussion on the philosophical, on one side or the other, with all the hot button issues that have come up societally regarding these issues in the past few weeks. Regardless, thanks for reading and commenting!

 

[bashwell]

Nice story, Birdstrike! Enjoyed reading it. You're a fine writer, and I hope you never stop writing.

I'm not Catholic, but don't Catholics believe suicide is always a sin? I disagree suicide is always a sin, but if the question is asked to a Catholic, then I'm guessing the Catholic Church would say the person's soul is "not blessed". However then the question becomes what is Catholic doctrine on suicide based on? I'm guessing the Bible? But wasn't Jesus' death on the cross a kind of "suicide" mission (for humanity)?

Also there's the transgender issue about "Pat". It is unfortunate if this particular Catholic church led this trans person to believe there was no help for him/her. But we can't necessarily generalize from one particular Catholic church to all Catholic churches (N=1 after all!). Again I'm not Catholic but I've met a lot of good Catholics (as well as people from other religions) who are kind and compassionate and would help trans people without needing them to feel as if they have to "hide" who they are, etc.

It's easy for both the religious and the areligious or irreligious to demonize one another. As is often said, negative voices often speak the loudest (on both sides -- militant atheists, fundamentalists, etc.). But there are good people on both sides too. Part of what makes them good is that they don't needlessly denigrate others or call attention to themselves. They're the people who others rarely hear about but who work behind the scenes to do a lot of good for humanity. The unsung heroes.

 

[Birdstrike]

Nice story, Birdstrike! Enjoyed reading it.

Thank you very much. You bring up some very good points. By the way, the OP ran on KevinMD.com today, for what it's worth:

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2015/07/after-a-drowning-an-impossible-question-a-doctor-faces.html

 

[Daiphon]

Nice story, Birdstrike! Enjoyed reading it. You're a fine writer, and I hope you never stop writing.

I'm not Catholic, but don't Catholics believe suicide is always a sin? I disagree suicide is always a sin, but if the question is asked to a Catholic, then I'm guessing the Catholic Church would say the person's soul is "not blessed". However then the question becomes what is Catholic doctrine on suicide based on? I'm guessing the Bible? But wasn't Jesus' death on the cross a kind of "suicide" mission (for humanity)?

Also there's the transgender issue about "Pat". It is unfortunate if this particular Catholic church led this trans person to believe there was no help for him/her. But we can't necessarily generalize from one particular Catholic church to all Catholic churches (N=1 after all!). Again I'm not Catholic but I've met a lot of good Catholics (as well as people from other religions) who are kind and compassionate and would help trans people without needing them to feel as if they have to "hide" who they are, etc.

It's easy for both the religious and the areligious or irreligious to demonize one another. As is often said, negative voices often speak the loudest (on both sides -- militant atheists, fundamentalists, etc.). But there are good people on both sides too. Part of what makes them good is that they don't needlessly denigrate others or call attention to themselves. They're the people who others rarely hear about but who work behind the scenes to do a lot of good for humanity. The unsung heroes.

Good points.

I will say that the "suicide doctrine" isn't based in the Book, per se; but rather Church teaching (which was politically motivated).

That is to say, suicide may not be a true sin in the eyes of the Lord but can be propagated as such by the Church's leaders, who as humans, are fallible. I think context matters... as in your point regarding Jesus (and all the martyrs, at that). Somewhat analogous to the ethical principle of dual effect: suicide may kill the body, but will free the soul from torment. Seems like a net win to me, and the God I believe exists would recognize that.

...and now back to our regularly scheduled programming. d=)

-d

 

[RustedFox]

Not sure that you wanna trust the guy with a "Millennium" TV drama logo for go-to advice on scripture.

You certainly don't wanna trust me, however.

 

[Daiphon]

Not sure that you wanna trust the guy with a "Millennium" TV drama logo for go-to advice on scripture.

You certainly don't wanna trust me, however.

Ouch. Just wanted a good pic of an Ouroboros to symbolize the neverending of all things... the Lance Henriksen connotation is gravy.

And now you get me philosophizing again. Nagdabit.

d=)