Old Fashioned

I was eating my spaghetti during a lunch break when I heard a code called on the floor above. I always went to the codes there, as that part of the hospital was a small hike from the main building and it usually takes the code team a little longer to arrive. Also there were lots of new nurses in that building.

I found the room easily and mosied inside. There was a little old man in the bed, Respirations looked shallow, but he still had his gown on. I jumped in to help and got the gown off. No respirations. The femoral pulse (the one at the groin) was fading. I saw he had an implanted pacer or defibrillator in his left upper chest. Two started to bag him as more hooked him up to the monitor. I placed an 18 gauge in his left upper arm, telling him what I was doing in case he could hear me. He did not flinch.

The code team had filed in by then and we had some atropine ready just in case. I drew some labs as everyone buzzed around him. To this day I have no idea why he was in the hospital. As the MDs were having discussions, the man came to. He wanted to explain that he felt something pulling his chest to the right. He seemed barely disoriented at first and kept saying the same thing over and over again. The staff kept moving around his bed. I stayed by his head to tell him what everyone was doing.

Now that I have seen a few codes, I always try to remember to talk to the patient. He kept his eyes on me as I told him step by step what was going on at the time. One of the MDs gave his hands to the patient and asked him to squeeze. The patient did so with great strength. The patient says once again that something was pulling him and that is why he pressed the call light. He asked me if they knew. I repeated it to the MDs at the bedside and tell the man they heard him.

Then that same MD asked him to lift each leg, one at a time. He lifts the left leg, then looks down as he lifts his right leg. He gasps so loud and looks at me with total embarrassment all over his face. He says, "HEY! Wait just a minute now!" and tries to fumble for the covers that were on the floor long ago. I grab the closest thing to me to cover him up. A washcloth was as good as I could do. I toss it over his penis and he grabs a hold of it, turning his knees in. He looks at me again with that surprised face and says, "Hey hey hey! There are ladies in the room! My momma taught me better than THIS."

As someone gives me a sheet to cover him up, I explain that we are terribly sorry, but we were very concerned about what just happened to him and had to take his gown of to work on him.

"Well show a man some decency here".

"Yes sir", I say.

I stay with him another couple of minutes and tell him what the MDs are saying since none of them are acknowledging him. They were busy looking at the monitor and strips from when he was out of it, and talking amongst themselves. I left as they were rolling him out to ICU. I couldn't help but chuckle as I went down the stairs back to my floor. We thought the man was in the process of kicking the bucket and he "wakes up" more concerned that he is nude. Bless his old fashioned heart. His Momma taught him better than to be naked in a room full of strangers.....