Case of the day:
An ER patient recently set a record for shortest period of time to elapse between drunk driving arrests. He clocked in at just over 12 hours. In addition, he was arrested after crashing his car both times.
When you think about that, it’s actually kind of incredible. He had to crash his first car, come into the ER, get checked out, be arrested, go to jail, make bail, then go get drunk again, drive another car, and crash again.
Now I firmly believe that alcoholism is a disease, and I truly sympathize with patients who are struggling with addiction. But when I think about how incredibly dangerous this man is, and how little he regards the safety of other people, it makes me angry.
The nurses often make jokes when we have patients who behave this poorly, and I think it helps them deal with the stress of the ER. This patient certainly increased their stress substantially, especially when he started to sober up, and made a point to give each of them the middle finger and some accompanying profanity. He then tried to make a break for it, running down the hallway when the police turned away briefly. His hopes for freedom were quickly dashed when the police wrestled him to the ground, and cuffed him. The patient was quick to complain of police brutality, and threatened them with “I’ll have all your badges.â€Â  Somehow, I think their badges will be just fine.
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Uhm, as someone who’s had a DUI — I ended up in the ED because I tried to kill myself under police custody, never mind that I kept passing out (concussion) at random intervals.
I ended up int he ED with a major concussion. However. I would never, ever think of being rude to the staff. I think maybe I said too many please/thank yous. I was drunk. I knew I was drunk. I knew I did wrong. Also, I had the worst headache ever.
Many of us /are/ regretful. We thank god that we never hurt anyone. We are grateful for our diversion status. Please remember that.
Appreciate you sharing your story. Thank you.