Wednesday, June 6, 2007

ER is still utter mayhem.
Crazy-Vietnamese-lady on a stretcher in the hallway was screaming all day...in Vietnamese. Meanwhile, I was trying to ambulate not-so-small-Greek-lady. This Greek lady had come in for intractable left knee, hip and lower back pain and so I needed to get her to walk to determine if she needed to be admitted or if she could go home with some morphine and extra help from the CLSC. Then Greek lady started yelling because excruciating pain would shoot up her leg every time she bent it (bending legs is required in walking) so I was starting to go deaf. I put the lady back into her stretcher, which was not easy because of her not-so-small-ness, did the paperwork (recommending admission) and went to find some sanctity in a linen closet. Where I bumped into cute-ER-intern. He was also hiding from the zoo that was ER so we settled among the isolation gowns and washcloths to have a chat. Which is where uptight-Indian-nurse found us a few minutes later. And now she started on whatever Indian niceties were in her vocabulary. He went back to doing his new consult, I went back to doing mine. Who says the hospital isn't a multicultural experience?
On a more unfortunate tack, a girl was rushed to ER today with a subdural hematoma. Only 19 years old and had just given birth. Sometimes this happens. When the abdominal muscles are contracted, pressure increases in the veins. During contractions in labour the increase in blood pressure in the brain can burst a small blood vessel, causing a bleed, which accumulates and presses on the sensitive and soft brain tissue, damaging it. The CT head on her showed the hematoma to be cerebellar, where muscle movements are controlled in the brain. Muscle movements include those involved in respiration, heartbeat and gut function. Crash cart has been sitting beside her bed all day. Newborn's in neonatal care. I hope she lives.