Friday, November 18, 2005
Why are people so stupid??
Last night, to celebrate our good fortune, Marc and I went to the movies. Actually, we were given a free pass to see "Walk The Line" by a friend and it was hosted by a local radio station.
They had a Johnny Cash cover band which played two songs and then stopped. Then they announced.... "Is anyone a doctor or nurse, we have a medical emergency down here". A man sitting in the front section was basically dying. Years ago I had taken CPR and even had to use it once. Since no one appeared to be helping I ran down to the front. When I got there a woman asked me if I was medically trained and I told her just basic CPR. Turns out... she was a nurse. I immediately backed off and told her to just let me know if she needed me to do anything. She asked me to try to find the pulse which I did but it was very very faint.
During this time there were two women who were screaming directions at the nurse. I finally asked them if either of them were medical personnel - they said no so I told them to shut the fuck up and one of them sat down. Another woman came over - she was a cardiac care nurse. Meanwhile, the staff at Loews was just standing around. They opened the emergency door and just fucking stood there. The cardiac nurse was screaming for a mouth piece to do CPR. I ran over to one person who said "I'm just security - I don't actually work here", another person said there was a mouth piece in the first aid kit so I told her to go get it. She then proceeded to tell her little whipping boy to get it. She knew where it was but sent him instead - I don't believe he came back. The poor cardiac nurse was crying her eyes out because she was doing mouth to mouth on a strange man with a history of medical issues (which were unknown specifically what they were by his companion - a neighbor) and she had no idea if this man has hepatitis or another communicable disease!
The ambulance arrived (very quickly but it felt like forever) and I realize that the bands speakers are plugged into the wall and the cables are across the path of where the gurney had to go - I just looked at the staff, they didn't move so I told them to get out of the fucking way, pulled the cable and made sure they had a clear path.
All this time, the stupid crackwhore is trying to tell the nurses (and then the medical staff) what to do. This person wasn't a health care professional, she didn't know the man... just was just a busy body.
If you are ever in this situation and you are not trained, either be on hand to help out those that are medical personnel or shut the fuck up and sit down and mind your own business. If that had been my friend or family member - that woman would have been drop kicked across the theater!
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People really are stupid!
ReplyDeleteI hope the guy is okay. Thank goodness he had someone like you and the cardiac nurse around to help him.
OMG I just read your post of PGN. I am so happy for you I am going to burst. lots of hugs. Second, I can not believe people. Makes me ill.
ReplyDeleteOMG, that is just horrible. I have always known people were idiots, but damn!
ReplyDeleteI hope the guy is alright.
You know, even in a controlled hospital setting, you still get people like that. I'm glad you kept your wits and helped get things done.
ReplyDeleteDuring an emergency you find there are 2 types of people (well, actually 3). Those that jump in to help and do whatever they can regardless of the fact they could get hurt or not. Then there are those who just get all up into the emergency but offer no help at all - just get in the way. Then there are those who stand far away and gawk!
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the special ones who jumps in and helps....that says a LOT about you - and you should be proud!
I wanted to say again that I am so pumped yuo are out of PGN!!
Julie, how awful of that woman! Good for you for helping to clear the area.
ReplyDeleteI took CPR, but I don't practice it, and I'm not sure I'd keep my wits about me in an emergency, but I'd damn sure try if I were the only one available! Reminds me that I should carry my little mouth guard thing in my purse...
Hey, I just saw that you exited PGN - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
What an ordeal!
ReplyDeleteThat's awful. Some people completely go to the pack when faced with such situations but you would expect a little more co-operation & helpful input. Good on you for doing your best, you might have saved a life. That's good kharma girl!
Totally inconsiderate of me to ask, but....did you get to see the movie?
Sounds like a Hellish experience.
ReplyDeletePlease consider writing a letter to the head office and manager of the place you were at.
It might cause something right to happen in the future.
For instance, a store in Canada, big chain drugstore has a very different and wonderful response to medical emergencies in their stores: we were in one when a request for first aid was broadcast over the PA. I swear, a full third of the staff, both from the behind the scenes and at the tills dropped everything and beelined it to the aisle the trouble was in. It was amazing and very reassuring. Every company should have the same policy.
Hope that you are doing okay.
It sounds awful.
Oh geez! This was a good reminder to go out and get one of those disposable mouthpieces and carry it on me at all times. Alternatively, you could lay a piece of plastic over the mouth (like from a baggie) after cutting or tearing a slit in it. Not perfect, but might provide some additional protective barrier.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the suggestion to write a letter to the management. Staff should be trained in basic CPR, and when one of them saw that a person was down, they shouldn't have needed to be asked for the first aid kit. Grrrr.
Glad you were there--good work!
sounds hideously frightening. but i like the division of labor. one person to administer CPR, you to administer butt-whoopings. nice work! (i hope the guy's OK)
ReplyDeleteI hope the guy is okay. I've witnessed something very similar, and it is frustrating when people can't either help or get out of the way.
ReplyDeleteWow - that's about all I can say. Very proud of you for assisting how you could, and shocked that other's weren't more helpful. Hope the man is ok.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved it sooooooooo much when the relatives of the patient are trying to tell you how to do your job (I'm a nurse). Especially the relatives who seem to think that your sole purpose in life is to somehow find a way to surreptitiously kill their loved one. We used to get these nuts in ICU. They would sit there and write down your name and job at the start of the shift and then write down every single thing you were doing for the patient and at what time, plus interrogating about the drug side effects and where did you get your qualifications? As if these people would know anything anyway! I know they're under stress and trying to do their best for their relative or whatever, but it really is misplaced grief that they should really be working on. Not only that, but the relatives who did this were usually the ones that hadn't seen their family member for years and were just putting on a front at the last minute. Annoying!
ReplyDelete