#196 - BM

This is a story about a patient.  Before she was my patient, she was a much-loved elementary school teacher at a popular local school.  One day, she had a brain aneurysm while at school and fell off of the auditorium stage.  They rushed her to the hospital and she was in ICU for a few days, and then was transferred to the floor.  That's where I met her.  I was working the weekend as a fill in PT.  My goal as a fill in PT was to see the patients on the list they gave me and try to get out of there before noon.  I have never liked working on the weekends, and basically was only doing it as a favor for my partner.  Anyway, I walk into #196's room.  My orders are to get her up out of bed and get her to walk.  She had not gotten up since she fell off of the stage, and it was time.  I go in...introduce myself to her and her husband...explain my plan.  She kept her eyes closed the entire time I was talking to her, but her husband nudged her and said, "Come on honey, it's time to get you better."  She partially woke up, and started to make some moves towards sitting bedside.  I was helping and encouraging her all along the way.  "That's good!"  "Don't move too fast!"  "Hold on a second and let me untangle your line."  "Stop for a minute and let the dizziness pass."  Nothing too complicated...not really talking too much, just keeping my eyes on the clock and trying to finish.  So now, we are up and walking towards the door at about .5 mph.  A shuffle really.  She is holding my hand and I am holding her catheter and pushing her IV pole.  I continue to monitor her status by asking, "Are you dizzy?  Feeling weak?  You're doing great...keep going."  We get about halfway to the door and she opens her eyes all the way and looks at me and says, "Will you shut the f@!# up!!!  I know what doing good looks like and I look like s#@!  I wish you would quit saying all these stupid, asinine statements to me because it just shows how stupid you are!"

WOW!

Up until then, I was kinda thinking she reminded me of MaMa Ellen.  I don't know whose jaw hit the floor first, mine or her husbands.  Anyway...I shut up (you usually don't have to tell me twice) and we got back to the bed.  I told her husband see ya...and I was out of there.  Kinda offended, but really...I got it.  Anyway, that's where I thought the story would end.  About two weeks later I got a call from the home health agency that I was working for and they wanted to know if I could take a referral.  A really nice school teacher who had suffered a brain aneurysm.  When they told me the name...I said, "no way, no how."  They could not understand...she was so nice...she lived in a nice neighborhood...very clean with a good family.  Anyhow, they talked me into it and a few days later, I made my way to her home.  I really was nervous but I had a game plan in place.  Short commands...to the point...in and out.  Do what I needed to do and get out.  No small talk.  No encouragement.  I can honestly remember my palms sweating (lol now because I had probably only been practicing about a year at the time.  18 years later, the ornery patients are my favorites!) 

Anyway, I go in and guess what I found.  A lovely, kind, serene elementary school teacher would asked me a thousand questions...not only about her illness and rehab, but about my family, my kids, and where I grew up.  I was taken aback.  As I continued to see her week after week, I really could not believe that this was the same woman I had seen in the hospital.  She was so nice.  She baked cookies for me and always was so glad to see me. 

After a few weeks, I asked her if she remembered me from the hospital.  She looked at me quizzically and said that she did not.  I slowly told her the story about what had happened.  She was mortified.  She could not believe that she had spoken to me that way.  With her face red, she told me that she did not even know that she knew those words... She apologized and apologized.  I, of course, told her not to worry about it.  We were good.

She recovered and although she never went back to teaching full time, she substituted.  I still she her and her husband from time to time around town and they always praise and thank me for my part in her rehab.

Moral of the story:  Being sick is not fun and people should not be held accountable for their actions while under the weather!