I feel like I've been letting the readers down lately, posting inspirational stories and thank-yous and such. BUT NO MORE! I'm getting back to stupid patient stories, and this one certainly qualifies. I'm not really sure what to make of this next patient though. Maybe some of you can help me. I'm truly at a loss for words.
A 30 year old woman was brought to me having fallen down the stairs. She apparently struck the front of her neck on the banister and passed out briefly. When she arrived she was awake and talking normally, and she was complaining of a headache and neck pain. She also said that she had just found out a week ago that she was pregnant.
And she also admitted to having several vodkas that night. And to smoking marijuana.
She must have seen the ire rising in my face, because she quickly explained that she didn't even like the taste of the vodka, so it was ok.
That's when the steam started to shoot out of my ears.
In my mind, I started beating the shit out of her for being such a clueless cretin. In reality, I quickly and firmly explained that alcohol is extremely dangerous at this early point in the pregnancy. Despite the pregnancy, I told her that we needed to get a CT scan of her brain and neck to make sure she hadn't seriously injured anything, and we could shield the fetus with a lead shield to minimise any risk.
"Oh no, I can't expose my baby to radiation! I won't get those scans. Uh uh, no way!"
But dousing the embryo in vodka is ok??
I just asked the nurse to have her sign "Against Medical Advice" papers and leave. Then I walked out of the room without another word.
Sooo... I can imagine what YOUR blood pressure was after that encounter.
ReplyDeleteSort of reminds me of the patients with "multiple chemical sensitivities" who smoke.
Maybe you should have made something up...like that the vodka and lead shield would prevent radiation risk to the baby. At least half of that would be true, and she sounds moronic enough to go for it. Some people really don't need to be breeding.
ReplyDeleteThis really bugs me, I have seen the end result of children whose parents drank while pregnant and it can be really rough for those kids. I also know a girl who recently had a still birth due to her alcohol usage in early pregnancy, and she didn't even care. Some people truly should not breed.
ReplyDeleteWow. I don't understand how people can be like that. It surely can't be ignorance but I can't think of any other reason why someone would be that stupid.
ReplyDeleteI would give anything to be pregnant and this bitch is hurting her child. I would have not been able to hold in my anger had I been in your shoes.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, my boyfriend and I tried to have a baby for a year with nothing but a very early miscarriage, I get so angry and upset when I see and hear about people getting pregnant then doing ABSOLUTELY nothing to protect their unborn child. It really breaks my heart.
DeleteWow...I hate people like that. They have no sense of what it means to carry a baby inside their body and how important it is to shield the fetus from harm. Poor child...
ReplyDeleteI think in situations such as these bedside manners should involve a slap to the face.
ReplyDeleteShe didn't like the taste so it was ok? What kind of argument is that? "I don't like the taste of human flesh so it's ok for me to eat people."
ReplyDeleteSo she smoked marijuana and drank vodka... while pregnant? And it's alright because she "didn't like the taste"? How the heck did you hold back your impulse, doc? I hate it with a passion when a parent does not care for their baby. Patients can be so annoying, for lack of better word.
ReplyDeleteAt the pediatrician office I work at, a woman came with her 5 year old and yelled at us and calling us lazy bitches because we magically didn't have her child's vaccine records and now he was going to be rejected from kindergarten... He was a new patient and she was even instructed to have a his vaccine history with her when they came in.
Doc, I totally dig your responses on FML and I am really liking your blog but I have to applaud you more than anything for holding yourself back with this because I wouldn't have been able to...*5 stars to you*
ReplyDeleteI would hope that doing that would be illegal.
ReplyDelete