Monday, May 23, 2005

Well that didn't work...

At about 3:10 AM we get a call for a diabetic with low blood sugar. Now these kind of calls are interesting and you feel like you really make a difference. Sugar is low and patient is usually lethargic or unconscious. You give dextrose through the IV and Poof!... the patient is conscious and signing a refusal of transport.

But not this one....

Patient is still lethargic afterwards and you find that the patient has 2 months to live due to a brain tumor. This complicates a simple diabetic call and refusal, to say the least. Patient thinks wife is trying to kill him (please don't tell me that too) but find that tumor is on the part of the brain that affects emotions...or at least you hope that's the truth and the wife doesn't want the patient dead for insurance reasons etc. Maybe I've seen to many bad movies about this but we always have to think of the possiblities. More family came and everything seemed confirmed (as long as the family didn't want patient dead too...hmmm). Finally we find that the patient is always this lethargic after all the medications are given to him but this is only the 2nd night he's been given meds and did not wake up until later in the morning the last time meds were given (hmm... a lot of medications... overdose?...the plot thickens...ok I'll stop). So we left the patient there in the families care and yes, I did feel comfortable doing so after all that.

Phew!!!

So what do I do after a call like that? I blog...............

1 comment:

Keztral said...

you make hard choices, but you do them to the best of your ability. No-one can ask more of you.