funny bone

Posts Tagged ‘stories’

Tonight on my ER shift, I’m walking down the hallway and I see this little Kid (two or three-ish) running around in circles, just outside Gyno (the room I NEVER want to be in).

The thing is, kids aren’t supposed to run around the ER–

It’s dangerous.
There are a gazillion germs.
Sick People aren’t really into Wild Kids.

So I pop into the room and ask the Mom if she wants me to play with him, which is a rhetorical question ( I think that’s the right usage) – because the Mom is flat on her back on a gurney, so of course the answer is, “Obvi.”

ER Volunteers Need To Be Creative

I say, “I’ll be right back” and go into the Storage Room (where the ice machine is) and grab a bunch of cups. Since I’m not sure if it’s allowed, I kind of hide them under my Volunteer Smock, which no one notices, since no one would ever actually look at someone wearing such a hideous outfit.

Back in the room, the Kid (notice how I don’t use names — I’m getting SO good at this Patient Confidentiality stuff) and I sit on the floor building cups. Yeah, yeah – I know there are a disgusting germs on the floor, but I try really hard not to think about them. Usually I don’t ask personal questions about why patients are at the hospital, because I figure they’ll tell me if they want me to know.

So as we’re building our architectural cup masterpiece, the Mom mentions that the Kid was born here two years ago (oh—I guess that makes him two- duh!)  So I ask if it was a happy experience (expecting a “yes” since the best reason to come to a hospital is when you get to take home something besides a bill) but she says, “No.” Apparently she and her husband didn’t think the doctor and nurses were the nicest (oops!)

Sometimes It’s Hard To Know What To Say

She goes on to say that her husband (who’s away on business in Chicago) insisted she come into the ER tonight to be checked because she’s spotting (I didn’t even know she was pregnant.)

I say, I’m really sorry and she goes, “But, tonight’s a completely different experience. Everyone’s so nice and attentive.” Whaaa?

Isn’t it weird she thought things were bad on a good day and good on a bad day?

(Has it ever happened to you where something turned out good from something bad or vice versa? Let me know in the comments.)

Talk about feeling the pain in unexpected places, I felt SO bad for the Teen Guy and his Girlfriend who came in with cuts (ahem!) everywhere. Ouch! Keep reading Love Hurts: ER Drama

So here’s a quick update on my Valentine’s Day Heart Shaped Coffee Cake surprise for the ER Staff and a certain ER doctor. Keep reading Valentines Night: Quick Report

Maybe it’s girly, but I’ve always loved Valentines Day and the opportunity to do the “unexpected.” This year I think I’m going to use my baking genes to create something for the staff in the ER (and a certain doctor if he happens to be working.) Keep reading Valentines Day: The Way To His Heart

Tonight being in the ER was like a Hitchcockian drama with a mysterious woman, a bag full of hypodermic needles and an innocent bystander (me!) Keep reading Drama in the ER: Unsolved Mystery

I keep having the same dream where I’m stuck in a white room, hearing my supervisor’s voice “Remember the P’s,”(Purell, Post-its, Politeness). But the real nightmare is the Private Physician who’s Paranoid about Privacy. Those are the P’s I can’t seem to forget. Keep reading Minding Your P's and Q's

We’re all searching for “Happily Ever After,” right? Some people are really lucky in the love department and some aren’t. I wonder how you know when “the one” is the one… Keep reading True Love = Happily Ever After

Mom’s birthday reminds me of all the memories we would’ve packed in if she were still around. One of my best is of our flower planting contest. I think I was about four. Sunflowers still makes me grin… Keep reading Sunflowers = Mom

Will manners die out with this new generation of guys? Seems to be trending in that way. And I notice it a lot more now that I’m in the ER. Is consideration a thing of the past? Keep reading Manners - Are They Extinct?

So my head feels like it’s bursting with too much to think about. Worries snowball into an icy boulder of brain cells pretty much 24/7 as I’m constantly wondering when my next job will happen.

I’m a wreck worried about this stuff. The only paychecks I get right now are from a CSI guest role last year and thankfully CSI plays non-stop on

“Volunteering” in the ER on a Saturday that’s also Halloween? A very scary story for some; for me, playing a different kind of character, and I wasn’t being an actress at all… Keep reading Volunteering for the Unexpected

My childhood Halloween quest was to find a more original costume for “me;” funny how I now make a profession out of dressing up like someone else. Keep reading Halloween? I Dress up for a Living

You might think it’s a little weird that Dad and I celebrate his wedding anniversary, but Mom’s always with us… somehow. Even though I was little when she died, I have so many amazing memories of her through Dad’s stories… and this one time – Keep reading Favorite Traditions