Reality check (WARNING: not for the weak of heart)

[steph]

Or for anyone who's not a friend or fan of mine 😀

People always ask me how I stay so perky all the time. I'm that way by nature (former cheerleader, class clown, etc.) but my job helps a lot. Next time someone asks me that question, I'm going to tell them about the patient I had yesterday and then ask them if they still think they have it bad...

She is 47 years old, was life-flighted all the way from HAWAII (a five hour trip) with 80% total body burns AND stab wounds, all inflicted by her own SON. Her house is completely burned to the ground. She's been here for 2 days and she's still ALIVE. (Talk about a fighter, huh?) She won't make it, for sure, but it puts things into perspective a little doesn't it?

Tough stuff I know but I can't stop thinking about her...Make sure everyone you care about knows it and don't sweat the little things(hint: it's almost all little things.)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Have a good day friends...

XOXO

 

[Sadistictickler]

Mother - child relationship can be distorted. Last week a 2½ year old boy was beaten to death by his own drunken mother. Reasons can go deeper than they may appear, alot of people judge too easily.

Tragic it is, but it also makes my wonder why he'd do such a thing.

 

[Double T]

Good point, steph. As many know, I am wheelchair, and mosty housebound, due to Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy, but, when I watch the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, I realize how fortunate I really am. I could have had Duchenne MD, and most likely would have been dead by now. Or ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclorosis (I dislike calling it "Lou Gerhig's Disease"). That what Steven Hawkings has. Your mind stays active, but all your motor skills slowly erode away. That scares the Hell out of me! And there are so many people, with problems so much worse than mine! You're right, steph. Most of it is small stuff, and, even though I don't know the woman you described, I will say a special prayer for her.

 

[steph]

Thanks for contributing guys!

My mind is also on the husband of this poor woman who is apparently flying over from Hawaii right now. He's lost his house, he's about to lose his wife, all at the hands of his own twisted, demon spawn offspring (shudders) I cannot conceive of what's going thru his mind...So far, she's still with us. I'll keep ya posted...

And I'm sorry about your illness Double T--Sounds like you're an inspiration to many! (One of my favorite patients is wheelchair bound, was born without legs. He called me the other day so excited--he's one of a handful of wheelchair racers who qualified for the Boston Marathon--his lifelong dream!! Both my legs work and I couldn't handle it!)

XOXO

 

[qjakal]

Did you say...

80%? And they transported her? Crap, we have one of the best burn units around less than 5 miles from here, and even so all they could do at that level is *try* to make it painless. Why in the world did they separate this woman from her husband Steph? 2 days...she IS tough as nails. How the hell can you do that job week after week?
I'd be a wreck mentally and not much good to anybody...if I can't strangle it/shoot it or knock it down with a blunt object I shouldn't have to fight it, imo.

Q

 

[steph]

Re: Did you say...

Hi Honey~

Yep, I KNOW--usually if they're 40-50%, they're dead before sunrise. I cannot IMAGINE what is making her hang on, I'd do ANYTHING for death to come quickly if it was me in that position.

<Why in the world did they separate this woman from her husband Steph>

I warned y'all about the graphic nature hon--as you might imagine, it took a while to ID her in that state. My guess is the gutless wonder DAMIEN waited until Dad wasn't around to have beaten him senseless--Maybe he works night crew?

<2 days...she IS tough as nails.>
I KNOW I'm so freaking out...

<How the hell can you do that job week after week?
I'd be a wreck mentally and not much good to anybody>

<giggles> you sound like my friends: "Why oh why oh WHY???"
Every year at review my boss sits me down and says "You know, very few people can do this job and do it as well as you do..."
I always laugh and tell her, "You're so full of shit" (we're friends in "real life" too.) But secretly I never get tired of hearing her say it...

Seriously though, how I can do it is simple really--once in awhile you actually get to make a difference, get thru to someone, convince them not to commit suicide until you can get their benefits approved and you can find them a specialist...(Believe it or not, I actually threaten to KILL them if they do because I LOATHE having my time wasted--they always think I'm hysterical) "You make me appear before the judge to appeal your denial, take you to doctor's exams, fill out 25 pages of paperwork for NOTHING??? I swear to God, I will hunt you down in the afterlife and make yours a living HELL!"

Sounds twisted I know but I learned early if you can't laugh about this stuff, you'll cry and I get to do plenty of both but I really really enjoy it most of the time. I like to tell people how lucky I am to get paid for making people's lives better. I think it's a really unique blessing...

<if I can't strangle it/shoot it or knock it down with a blunt object I shouldn't have to fight it, imo.>

That's the diff between a man and a woman I think...the beauty really...

XOXO

 

[jk666uk]

sorry steph what is your job by the way
is it police or something like that

 

[steph]

I'm an advocate for the rights of disabled patients. Unfortunately unlike your lovely country, we don't have socialized medicine. So if your job doesn't provide health benefits for you, you either pay for your own or go without, which of course isn't a problem, until something goes wrong. (In this particular case, we were lucky--the pt has private insurance but we weren't able to verify it until recently when her mom contacted the hospital and gave us her ID number and health care provider's name--the bill is already at $300,000.)

I visit every patient who comes in uninsured or on the county assistance program for the medically indigent, which only offers bare bones care.
If for mental or physical reasons, I think the patient will be unable to work for one year or longer, I help them apply for our state healthcare program. My state calls it Medi-Cal (California) but most states call it Medi-Caid. If I do an app for a patient and the state decides they are not going to be disabled, I appear before the judge to overturn the decision. the firm I work for is actually a group of non-profit attorneys (oxymoron I know!)who provide the service to patients for free. (Medi-cal pays us on the back end once the patient gets approved.)
So the patient who had no insurance when they got here finally ends up with benefits as good or better than the private citizen (vision, dental, they get to choose a specialist, whatever they need.)Only they get it for free because they are disabled.

XOXO

Morning update--she's still with us!

 

[tommytikl]

Morning update--she's still with us!


She is a fighter!
Her son will not have a pretty jail sentence...
Guys in prison do not take kindly to mother beaters/killers...
Jail house justice....

 

[steph]

Special place in hell for this one Tommy--I HOPE!

XOXO

 

[qjakal]

Morning update--she's still with us!

Umm..does anyone realize how damn unlikely that is? I don't mean to be morbid, but I've had experience with burn units and this woman should be long gone...what the hell is happening there Steph? A few more days and you'd actually have to think she has a chance, which is, well, *impossible* at that %. I realize this wasn't a combat situation, but even so she's pushing the boundaries of endurance far past what is considered normal for human physiology...

😕 Q

 

[steph]

I KNOW QJ!

I forgot to mention I get the admit reports the day AFTER admission, she has been here FIVE DAYS!!!!

I know it's morbid-- I wonder how many people ignored the warning and left mid-read grossed out (look at the # of replies vs. views!)

I agree with you 100%, there is no way she should still be here.
I know in her position, I'd have wished the a-hole would have finished the job (shudders)Think of her quality of life if she were to pull thru--a lifetime of pain, dozens of skin grafts, not to mention that psych trama she's been through...God.

Are you a doc QJ?

Once in awhile, we see a miracle--I've a patient with a brain mass that is shrinking ON IT'S OWN! I had a very sad case about a month ago. 21 y/o girl on her FIFTH suicide attempt--she's slit her wrists, OD'd, slashed her own throat and finally obtained a gun (to do it right I suppose) What happened? She shot off half her face...

Maybe I'll visit BurnU tomorrow and see if I can get someone to talk to me about her, it may be impossible though...She's probably surrounded by a team 24/7...

XOXO

 

[Oddjob0226]

Which goes to show that this is a nasty unpleasant little planet.

 

[qjakal]

An oddity...

Not a doctor Ms Steph, but my family is heavily involved in the medical field and hospitals in general, and I was 3/4 of a pharmacist before I heard the business world calling.

5 days in that state is as close to a godly mainifestation as I've ever heard of, and having worked a bit as security in the hospital ER in my youth I've seen some horrific appearing humans survive seemingly fatal injuries, including a gent run over by a train...but THAT is beyond the mortal ken of survivability!

If she recovers she'll be a Readers Digest article and might get me to reexamine my system of beliefs. 5 days of that...tough doesn't begin to describe her willpower. I am truly awed, and that is a rarity. Even if she didn't survive another minute I'd tip my hat to a person of superior chi or whatever phrase you care to use for that demonstration of stamina of the soul...wow.

Q

 

[TicklishSinner]

That is terrible

I hope she pulls through!

 

[Ayla ny]

wow... heavy stuff.

I’m not sure how I feel about everything you’ve described... I’ve seen holding on to life be a bad thing in the long run. and for all the wrong reasons. but I did want to say that I’m glad that there are people out there doing the job that you do, Steph. I like to think that basic healthcare would have been written into the constitution if our founding fathers had been able to see how things would develop. and I’m sure that your up-beat, bubbly personality brings a lot to that job.

 

[steph]

Thank you sweet Ayla!

As you probably know, even Canada has socialized medicine. (My friends in London tell me the doctors there actually make HOUSE CALLS, just like they did here, way back when we were civilized 🙄 )

Don't all jump on me, please, for derailing my own thread, and for what I'm about to say (snickers) but his desire to "convert" our system was a huge reason why I voted for Clinton. (Plus, I figured someone who served as Governor 3 times had to be doing something right...)

I carry a DNR order(do not rescusitate) in my wallet for all the reasons you described Ayla. I do NOT want someone to have to change my diapers at the ripe old age of 37...

I've kind of begun to root for her too, in a weird way, but would anyone hate me for hoping the end comes swiftly? I cannot CONCEIVE of what this poopr woman's life would be like--I do applications on a regular basis for patients with only 30% and their lives are a living HELL...

XOXO

PS--I'll update on her condition when I get to the office at 6:30.

 

[qjakal]

Kind Nurses...

Sometimes the answer is indeed a wide open morphine drip. As you say, what kind of life could there be after that kind of burn? For those of you who haven't ever seen it, think of that time when you had skin so dry that it cracked and bled and hurt like hell, and then multiply that by about 1000...there just isn't anything in current medical technology to make her life bearable. Cosmetic problems aside, the amount of pain killer you'd need to function is staggering and would bring about the end anyway. But nearly 6 days now at that burn % is incredible and a staggering achievement.

Q

 

[steph]

I agree QJ

And damned if she's not STILL hanging in--the bill is now approaching 400,000--which tells you the extent to which they're working to save her. She has already received 2 skin grafts from cadavers...

XOXO

 

[qjakal]

Curiousity and technical updates...

I was just up at the hospital visiting Mom, who is a retired (meaning she only works 3 days a week..sigh..parents) pharmacist and she and I went up to the burn trauma center and spoke to one of their nurses, who said they actually have a 40% survival rate on patients with up to 80% burns these days, assuming they don't have extensive lung/airway damage. Pretty amazing, since only 6-8 years ago that number was damn near zero! Of course the stab wounds won't help...sheesh.

Here's hoping this woman is among the 40% Ms Steph....

Q

 

[steph]

OMG honey!

You have got to be kidding--that is AMAZING (who knew? Not me obviously <gg>

We had a Doe in here in November--the hospital had to eat the bill on account of the body being burned so badly, even the coroner couldn't identify him. He died the first night. I had to go to the room in hopes of finding a family member, friend, anyone. It was a mortifying sight--really, nothing left. Just eyeballs I think. I had nighmares for a few days after, I can't imagine what the med staff had to deal with...Thanx for the fascinating update!

Unfortunately I'm done here for the day soon. It'll be interesting to see what took place over the weekend...

XOXO

 

[steph]

weekend update....

Those who know me know I'm a FREAK for confidentiality but believe it or not, Kerry made it thru the weekend! (The bill has now topped the half mil mark....)

XOXO

PS--As testament to her toughness, I just noticed she was "code blue" (in non-med staff terms it's equal to being clinically dead) for only 5 minutes!!!