[60Gunner]

ER Nurse Stories ping. Been awhile.

[Kozak]

I cracked the RSI medication box and pulled out the Etomidate (very fast-acting knock-out drug), Succinylcholine (longer-acting knock-out drug), and Vecuronium (paralyzing drug).

Might want to go back and check your pharmacology here. Succinylcholine is a depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent. A fast onset short duration paralytic.

That said, I crap my pants at pediatric codes too and I've been an ER doc for more then 20 years.

[wastedyears]

Nice story

[patton]

Man, that one made me cry.

Excellent writing.

[OpusatFR]

Great job!

My youngest had acute epiglotitis as a toddler. Thank God we have dedicated doctors and nurses, medicine and hospitals.

[Fairview]

We went through something similar with my son last December. Thank you for telling me your side of it as a nurse. Everyone in the ER seemed so calm (including me) and it’s good to know that they were probably deeply affected too.

Your stories are wonderful, you have a perfect sense of rhythm and timing. Keep ‘em coming.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

You have a way with words, my friend. What caused the girl to be in this condition? Did you ever find out?

[redlocks322]

That is such a great story. Did you ever find out what was wrong with the little girl - what caused the swelling?

[Gay State Conservative]

I worked 20+ years in the ER of a large University hospital.Given that there was a major pediatric hospital about 100 feet from our front door our ER (in fact,the entire hospital) was just adults.

I became famous in our ER for saying,as we were cleaning up after a fatal GSW,MI,CVA,MVA,etc....."thank God that we don't work at Children's" (the hospital next door).IMO,as bad as it is to see a dead 20 year old...or 80 year old...I (thankfully) can't imagine what it's like to see a dead 6 year old.

Pediatrics is a job that's gotta be done but I'm glad that I never had to do it.

[Teacher317]

It's a crime that good stories like this are never broadcast on the news.
Just one per week (without the talking heads smiling over it as if they were part of the team) would be great.

[trimom]

Well, it wasn’t you who did it, but 25 years ago, a team did this for my minutes old son, bagging him for 6 hours while we waited for a teeny enough vent to arrive with the transport to take him to a NICU.

I thanked them then. And every day, I remember them in my prayers.

That 30 week gestational baby is 6 foot tall now and preparing to get married.

[call meVeronica]

Thank you for what you do. It is not an easy career. God Bless

[napscoordinator]

Thanks for that great story. We have gotten such dreary threads lately that this was a very welcome change.

[Mad Dawg]

Diagnosis?

I was a pediatric chaplain (PICU/NICU) a million years ago at MGH. We lost about 2 kids per week from Xmas to Valentine’s. That’s when I learned about crying as tension relief.

[Grammy]

Even just reading this gave me an adrenaline rush!
Your writing is wonderful. Thanks.

[reagan_fanatic]

Wow. I'm not sure how well I'd react under those circumstances.

Thank God for those dedicated Doctors and Nurses who have to deal with this every day.

[Responsibility2nd]

As a father myself, I had a meltodwn while reading this paragraph....

Dad was in the room, holding the girl's hand and saying soothing words. We put a lead apron around him so he could stay with his little girl while we snapped a portable soft-tissue neck x-ray and did really, horribly noxious things to his baby.

I'll have to return later to finish reading.......

[Chickensoup]

As a baby young nursing student, many years ago, the ER lost an acute epiglot...many complicating factors...

It was horrible.

When my children were young, most had croup and I overreacted every time. I still hear that child’s dying breaths.

My primary humored me, he understood the story.

[upchuck]

Thanks for the ping.

Scary but uplifting story.

Bump to YOU!

[Halgr]

God’s Blessing Upon YOU and all those that stand in the Gap