exorcisms and oxycontin
I was off the last two nights. I was expecting a quiet night as it was rainy. It was a fairly quiet night except…. I was reading the reports of the last two days and several were generated about a 10 year old in the ED psych unit. He had struck a tech and had bitten a CRISIS therapist. They had removed his bed because he was jumping all over and trying to trash it. My first round through I checked on him and he looked like a normal quiet kid, playing in the corner. A couple of hours later we got the STAT call. He had thrown his mattress and was all agitated. We had to go in and take his toys out of the room and then had to go back in and hold him down while he was medicated. While waiting for the meds he was yelling, screaming and calling anyone within range “fucking assholes’” and saying how he is going to kill us. He was punching and kicking the door, and head butting it. We went in and got him medicated. The MD came in and observed his behavior and ordered another round of meds. We went in again. We would bring in the mattress, and place him on the mattress and hold him down so the RN can IM him. He punched each of us, but he is only 10. When we took back the mattress he grabbed my arm and dug his fingernails in and broke skin. It was minor but everyone said to sign in. His parents were IV drug users. They abused him and he was taken from then when he was five and he lives with foster parents now. The damage has done and his wiring is all wrong. They were testing him for the alphabet (HIV, HBV etc) because he bit the crisis Dr. Everyone said I shoudl sign in to cover myself, so I did. There have been numerous references to The Exorcist and people were looking for a priest and holy water. I’m glad they didn’t have pea soup for dinner in the cafeteria.
While this was going on, in between rounds of med, we got called to another part of the ED. Nurse found a patient snorting oxycontin. He is a medical patient and they don’t have to change into a johnnie and be searched. My partners searched him and got the oxy and a large knife and removed his clothes and personal effects. We went back in and searched the room. He has tracks and looks like he might be getting dopesick.
We have a police portable radio in our office in the ED. Just before end of shift we heard a pursuit. A guy had flashed a gun in a road rage incident. The police located his car and he rammed the cruiser when they tried to pull him over. A pursuit ensued and ended shortly later with “shots fired” coming over the radio. Then they called for an ambulance and started a crime scene. According to the morning news he wasn’t shot, only his car, but I will find out more tonight.
While this was going on, in between rounds of med, we got called to another part of the ED. Nurse found a patient snorting oxycontin. He is a medical patient and they don’t have to change into a johnnie and be searched. My partners searched him and got the oxy and a large knife and removed his clothes and personal effects. We went back in and searched the room. He has tracks and looks like he might be getting dopesick.
We have a police portable radio in our office in the ED. Just before end of shift we heard a pursuit. A guy had flashed a gun in a road rage incident. The police located his car and he rammed the cruiser when they tried to pull him over. A pursuit ensued and ended shortly later with “shots fired” coming over the radio. Then they called for an ambulance and started a crime scene. According to the morning news he wasn’t shot, only his car, but I will find out more tonight.
