Patient Story 04

Patient Story 04: 15 year old boy with a ruptured appendix

This boy was my patient for 2 nights. The first night he was totally fine, the second night...**RAGE QUIT** Here is a list of things that he would ring for/complain about:

- "I need to use the bathroom, can you move my table out of the way"
- "I...don't know what I want. I just feel so disorganized and my bed is a mess, my table is a mess...I haven't slept in 3 days!"
- His tablet fell on the floor. "OH NO. *starts crying* diiiid...I break it?"
- after positioning him in bed and I give him his meds, he says, "I need to literally stand to take my meds...but I'm just SO TIRED.." **starts falling asleep on me**
Me: WAIT! TAKE YOUR MEDS FIRST -.-
- "Does that water have ice in it" ..yes.. "I need water without ice. I can't take pills with ice in my water"
- "My back hurts so much!"
- "Nothing tastes right! WHY DOES MY MOUTH FEEL SO METALLIC"
- His roomie was an older fellow with gastric cancer and in the middle of the night, he fell. While the nurses were in the room helping this man, the boy rings his bell, "can I have a blanket" ....NOW IS NOT THE TIME.

Lesson: Keep calm and nurse on.