You arse piece!

Another example of how my workplace is about as appropriate as a child molesterer running a creche.  I asked if I could go and watch an excision and drainage of a massive perianal abscess yesterday.  The lovely woman was 5 ft 1 inches and weighed 224lbs.  The trolley for theater was so narrow that her bum stuck out one side and her boobs the other.  She was wearing a dreaded paper nighty and was scared. 

I was with "Doris" for the entire time.  While inducing her anesthetic the Anesthesiologist commented.."this would be less dangerous if you weren't so very large" as she was drifting off to sleep.  I gave him the stink eye and the nurse working with him said "WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT FOR?  LARGE!!!!" He got defensive and said that that was because she is so huge and that it is really hard to maintain her airway when her breasts and stomach are pushing up onto her chest.  I was silent during this and piped up and said "what does she weigh"?  At which point he said 16 stone/224lbs.  I then smiled and said "oh that's nothing I was 24 stone/341".  Silence descended on the room and he sheepishly said "you had that lapband thingy didn't you"?  "Fuck no! I had the Duodenal Switch operation"  I then had to explain it by which time all the theater staff had shared looks of horror.....yeh it was a big op folks.  The next question was "since your surgery how many complications have you had"?  I had the pleasure of telling them that aside from two episodes of bacterial overgrowth nothing and my bloods are better then 99% of the population.

After surgery the surgeon looked at my sleeping patient "Doris" and said "I really need to talk to her about her weight".  I told him not to bother....I had it covered.

I am surrounded by arse pieces!

{Shaking my head}  Kirmy, I don't know how you stand it. Kudos to you! And, give Doris a mental hug for me.

--gina

Mate I have spent the last 6.5 years under siege in that place.  I got to show "Doris" love and support and her experience was a good one thankfully.  I just never realised how much of my job is acting as a human shield for patients from the barbs of my colleges.

Sigh......February 2012 and hopefully I'm out of there.

xxxxxx

I am glad "Doris" had you there,those immature jerks, I get "you had gastric bypass" no I had duodenal switch  " ahhhhh same  thing"  I have given up trying to explain, difficult when NO surrounding states do the DS near me and I had to fly to have it done......such is life.....

I got the "same thing" comment for a week when I was in the hospital prior to having my gallbladder out. (Lots of complications. Ended up being their 33 days.) A friend brought my lap top up and I actually showed them a diagram of what my insides now look like. They still thought I was nuts and would say so to my face. Well...until the head of surgery made rounds with them, saw my chart, got all excited and started telling them the same things that I had been telling them. Suddenly I was super smart.

33 days?  Did they tip it up and then shake it all about?  Bloody hell I'd be tearing off balls at that point!

The first week (prior to the surgery) they just were getting the infection under control. Then, afterwards, I developed one leak after another. I ended up with 4 drainage tubes, 2 on each side. Including one that went between to ribs. That one was incredibly painful and made it hurt everytime I took a breath.

Oh my darling....you poor thing. xxxxx