☀Ignite Your Creativity☀ discussion

**Note: Details including locations, names, ages, initials and other details have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

In my day job I work in health care and I am here to tell you that truth IS stranger than fiction.

If I was to write about some of the people and incidents I have come across in my day job people would scoff and say, "That's ridiculous! Impossible! NOBODY would do that!"

To which I would say, "Oh, ya? Well, I didn't make that one up. It really happened."

Only nobody would believe me. I know it. I don't write about the nutty things people have done, including staff, because some of them know where I live. And they're a bit scary.

There was a staff member obsessed with smells. Bad smells. Smells from wounds. Smells from poo. Uh huh. He would seek them out. If he heard someone had 'explosive diarrhea' he had to go to that room and have himself a good sniff. What IS that?!!

He sometimes went into a trance like state if people were talking about something that might smell. I saw him go into this trance state one day when two nurses were talking about dressing a large abdominal wound. His jaw went slack, his eyes glazed over and his shoulders slumped as he sat staring at them until he asked, "Did it stink?"

"WHAT?!" One of the nurses asked and then said, "We aren't talking to you!"

Yup.

Then there are the patients, such as the young woman who pretended to faint on the street. Traumatized passersby would summon the ambulance and in she would come. She came in one day and one of the nurses looked at me, who hadn't experienced one of her visits before, and whispered, "Watch this." And she lightly flicked our 'patient's' eyelash, causing a flinch.

Later, I heard the patient, in a room near the desk, moaning and laughing alternately...ten seconds of moaning...ten seconds of laughing...again and again...

But the weirdest thing was how she left emergency every time. This was a very tall woman, close to six feet. Her short boyfriend would come to pick her up, he was about five four. And he would PICK HER UP, LITERALLY, AND PIGGY BACK HER HOME!

The boyfriend didn't speak English and one of the funniest things I've ever seen was the emerg doctor, the really good looking one all the young ladies would call for, pointing at her and then making little walking movements with his fingers and saying over and over, "She can WALK! SHE. CAN. WALK! SHE CAN-oh, forget it! I need a coffee!"

Uh huh.

There was the young jock who had a ski accident and didn't want us to cut off his pants. He really didn't want us to cut off those pants. We had to. He had a banana taped to his leg. Looked impressive under the spandex.

Ya.

There was the guy who wanted a male doctor because he accidentally sat on a vibrator and couldn't get it out and it was running inside of him during his thirty minute drive to our hospital and was still running when the doctor, a female, plucked it out. I heard the racket it made skittering across the metal tray it was set on. It skittered around on there for quite awhile. There weren't many volunteers to shut if off.

Sweet.

There was the forty something woman who appeared to be an ex-hippie (hey I liked hippies). I tried to check her into emergency and one of the questions stopped her. She didn't know where she worked, "It's those A-frame chalets, the first ones on Harvey Heights street or road." Then she wouldn't tell me her occupation, insisting she was a student even though she had just told me she worked in '...those A-frame chalets on Harvie Heights street or road...' Apparently, she was embarrassed at working in housekeeping, but there's no shame in that, I've done my share of cleaning jobs over the years.

It went downhill from there though I was my usual friendly self. I asked a question that infuriated her: "Do you have a family physician?"

"You can't ask me that!!"

"I can't?"

"I know my rights and that is confidential information!"

"No, it's not."

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

At this point my sunny disposition had dimmed considerably (there were many circuitous questions and answers I've left out in the interest of brevity) so I said, with a bit more force than perhaps I should have, "In case you get hit by a BUS and can't SPEAK for yourself!"

That sent her over the edge and out of her mouth came words I had never heard from a patient before, or since: "Are you trying to wreck my Karma?"

Oh, boy.

The upshot was I waited a few minutes after sending her back to the charge nurse and then I called the charge and said, "Hey, Karen, how are things back there?"

"Oh, just peachy."

"Having fun?"

"Oh, yes."

"It's not that patient I just sent you is it?"

"Oh, yes. She wants to see the doctor she saw here six months ago. She doesn't know that doctor's name but that day six months ago that doctor was wearing a really nice red dress. She wants that doctor."

Not five minutes later I saw the patient walk out in a huff and called back, "What happened?"

"She didn't want to see Dr. L because of her accent. She figures she got her degree by mail order in the Caribbean."

Wow.

And, you know something? If I were coming into emergency on a stretcher after a serious car accident who is the one doc I'd really like to see working that day? Yes. Dr. L. Accent and all.

So, there are a few 'stranger than fiction' truths for you.

And, the final truth?

Health care is a great place for writers to work. Not just because of the 'grist for the mill' but because, honestly, it's very rewarding.

Thanks for visiting.

Wow, is this what you can expect in a typical day? It sounds kind of exciting.

I work in an office. It's not always boring, but it takes a lot of work to make it fun.

I've also done my share of office work and actually I do office work in a health care setting now. I used to be a hospital unit clerk which requires medical terminology, drug and other training. But, I'm now a receptionist/secretary at Home Care Nursing, but it's still a lot of fun because you just don't know what's coming with the next phone call or the next person coming in the door.

There's a lot of laughter in health care, and it's very rewarding, even just doing reception is rewarding because I get to talk with a lot of seniors and have regular clients coming in who I look forward to seeing every day.

Thanks for reading my blog! And commenting too...I appreciate that:)

I look forward to future posts!

I also have started a blog, if you're interested in checking it out. It's called The Random Musings of Buffy on this site.

I don't think that it's as exciting as yours though. haha!

Lol 'She can WALK! SHE. CAN. WALK! SHE CAN-oh, forget it! I need a coffee!' That just really cracked me up.

And that guy with the obsession for bad smells? Funnily enough that reminds me of myelf and my death-obsession. If someone was murdered or died I'd instantly ask how and beg for detail as opposed to comforting someone-those sort of social cues just dont come naturally to me. >.<
I also go through the whole laughing one minute, depressed the next thing though more often than not its usually hyper-as-heck one minute and sullen-as-heck the next. -_-'

Awaiting future Lols.

BTW the vibrator incident made me laugh too. OMG what an unlucky guy! XD
And the karma thing too. XD

Tis true. Sometimes reality is MUCH stranger than fiction.

Buffy wrote: "I look forward to future posts!

I also have started a blog, if you're interested in checking it out. It's called The Random Musings of Buffy on this site.

Hi Buffy - thanks for writing! Glad you enjoyed it:). I will check out your blog. Do you write books as well?

I started a group called First Page of Your Book. It's a place where writers can post the first page of their books and get comments from others about it. Since there are only two members so far I'm the only one commenting LOL.

Thanks for writing!
Diane

Vyanni Krace ~Wisdom of the bitter sea.~ wrote: "Lol 'She can WALK! SHE. CAN. WALK! SHE CAN-oh, forget it! I need a coffee!' That just really cracked me up.

Hey Vyanni, thanks for writing! You know with your death obsession, maybe you should be a funeral home director. I know some of them, lovely people, who spend most of their working lives comforting people who'v- oh, wait, you said you just wanted the details and not to dispense the comfort LOL. Maybe Coroner then?

The 'She. Can. Walk.' is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

I get what you're saying about being depressed one minute and happy the next, but this woman was switching on and off within seconds. I sometimes wonder what became of that couple. This was a long time ago now, thirty years!!

Thanks for writing!
Diane

Diane wrote: "Buffy wrote: "I look forward to future posts!

I also have started a blog, if you're interested in checking it out. It's called The Random Musings of Buffy on this site.

Hi Buffy - thanks for writ..."

I've been working on my first novel. I'm just trying to finish it. Perhaps I'll post my first page. I'm just not at the point where I'm ready for people to read it yet. You know how it is when there are things you know that you need to fix, but haven't gotten there yet? I don't want people to tell me something that I already know. The hubs hasn't even read it yet. :)

I'll check out the thread though. It sounds interesting and I enjoy helping other people with their work.

Diane wrote: "Vyanni Krace ~Wisdom of the bitter sea.~ wrote: "Lol 'She can WALK! SHE. CAN. WALK! SHE CAN-oh, forget it! I need a coffee!' That just really cracked me up.

Hey Vyanni, thanks for writing! You kno..."

Nice suggestions :) a past friend of mine once said quite bluntly that I should work in a mourge. I looked at her and laughed and then found myself seriously considering it only half an hour later. XD

Ok I honestly I can't stop laughing . My god I had no idea the stories that happens in hospitals . You should write a comedy book.

Diane wrote: "**Note: Details including locations, names, ages, initials and other details have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

In my day job I work in health care and I am here to tell you that truth..."

*whistles* Wow. AWesome job you have thereXD