A Rant of Sorts

I've blogged (many times) about the interesting dynamics of my patients and their situations and circumstances. We have a running joke at work that no normal people get burned. Not quite true; however,the normal ones are usually victim to some freak situations.

Some of the odder injuries and/or mechanisms of injuries include:
-sitting on a pot of boiling water
-trying to throw a burning mattress out a porthole window
-Icyhot on the genitals
-man hole steam explosion
-building implosion from gas explosion
-smoking while polyurethaning some wood--POOF!
-smoking in bed, while wearing oxygen

At any given time, we have at least two or three homeless people on our unit. I'm not passing judgment, because we are only only just a few paychecks away from being that way our self...

Anyways, this last week I was taking of an undomiciled man, or at least one of temporary transient housing as he liked to call it. I had a really hard time with this man. Not because he was homeless, but because of his behavior.

#1. He refused to shower-he had bugs on him. Not enough peppermint spirits in the supply room to mask this odor

#2 He complains about the food- sorry, forgot to tell you the 5 star chef is on vacation.

#3. After vomiting, he refused to let me remove it. Thought it he might need it later. For what?

#4. Stated reasoning for #3 was that "he might get hungry again later". Are you bulimic or burned?) Sorry, that comment was rather tactless

#5. Patient refused to be washed but requested that I cut his talons toenails. Sorry pal, I didn't bring my chain saw to work today

#6. Peanut butter. He couldn't get enough. He stockpiled it, took it of another person's dirty tray, ate it with his fingers-his dirty, bug laden, fingers



#7. Attitude. When I asked him if he wanted his meds before or after his wound care, he told me to get the "F" out of his room...he'd let me know later. Umm, so I'll take that as a later?

Okay, I just needed to vent and get that off my chest. Thanks for listening.