You're in the ER with your grandmother and the rest of the family. The neurologist, while hacking & sneezing, has informed you that Grandma has suffered a massive bleed into the brain, and is going to die. You cope with this by:
A. Crying, and holding your grandfather.
B. Silently hugging your parents and kids.
C. Offer the neurologist some Sudafed and a Kleenex.
D. Looking up at the ceiling and yelling, "WHY?" repeatedly.
E. Complain loudly that you've noticed the wall sink in the ER room (which you're being moved out of, anyway) is broken, and demand to talk to a maintenance supervisor immediately.
If you answered E, it was a blast meeting you this morning. As you requested, a plumber and a neurosurgeon have been called, in that order. I think we can fix the sink.
Amazing how some people cope!
ReplyDeleteOMG that is horrible! But I can totally see this happening. Sigh. How did we become so numb to our fellow human(s) and demanding of others?
ReplyDeleteMaybe she/he wanted to go with number 1, but needed to wash her/his hands first - precautions, just in case grandma had swine flu.
ReplyDeleteOr, maybe not...
I would probably do A, B, and C at some point in the next few minutes. As for E, WTF is the difference if you're being moved out of the room anyway? (It might have been another story if this was a patient room on the floor; then I would have just discreetly asked the nurse if she could call maintenance when she had a minute.) I'm sure that's what you wanted to ask her in the back of your mind, and I would have wanted to tell her to quit the complaining and focus on what's really important. (I would never have made it as a nurse!)
ReplyDeleteAnd then you call the chaplaincy service and request an emergency consultation because it appears that a family member has been possessed by Satan and transformed into a blithering asshole.
ReplyDeleteHow sad for the rest of the family...and do feel better soon, Dr G.
not the reaction i would expect ...
ReplyDeletefor some, any control is better than no control. odds are the grandchild is from out of town and has had no contact with grandpa in years.
ReplyDeleteAs we say in hospice at times like this, "Everyone grieves differently." And we include the quotes when we say it.
ReplyDeletePriority check, room with broken sink?
ReplyDeleteHaving been with other families who are sobbing hysterically because grandma is going to die of a brain bleed.....all I got to say is PEOPLE. They're too much. Seriously, really?
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon.
Let's give this family a break - in the face of overwhelming stress/grief, it is so much easier to focus on a small detail that IS fixable. Ranting about the sink is just their way of delaying the inevitable. They'll deal with Grandpa's stroke soon enough.
ReplyDelete-whitecap
Perhaps focussing on something else is their way of coping with the stress and news. Some people are just like that. They do their breaking down and crying in private.
ReplyDeleteLessee, my late grandmother (who would come up with good reasons why drivers did dumb things in front of my grandfather) would have said, "They were worried about the doctor coming in next having to wash his or her hands and not having a sink in good condition. Concentrating on this made it easier for them to deal with losing their family member."
ReplyDeleteOr the grandmother could have had a massive bleed to get away from them obsessing about maintenance issues, who knows!
That would be my family. Much easier to bitch about the Betadine splotches on the floor or the nurse where English wasn't her first language, than process the mayhem on hand.
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly not like that, but surround by an entire tribe who is.
LD50 Rat
I am so insensitive because I am laughing hysterically at this moment!!!
ReplyDelete